This week’s “Innovators for Change” forum hosted by the Casimiro Foundation at the University of Miami reminded me of a few important themes that should be part of our thinking around social innovation and entrepreneurship — and they are themes and reminders I need to hear often. I jotted down a few notes and am always looking for good ideas on how social innovation and social entrepreneurship interact and are helping shape our future.
Talking to those who govern
During a powerful presentation by Lorna Owens, she reminded the forum attendees that social entrepreneurs cannot forget to talk to local leaders, whether at a village or national level, when developing plans for projects. It is sometimes easy for people to assume that by consulting with smart people who are innovating around an issue,that the know-how, buy-in, and perspective of the local leadership is up-to-date. While not all local leaders welcome innovation, the majority will. And if innovation will really go to scale, local leadership needs to be part of the consultative process that helps inform, improve, and facilitate a plan. Lorna’s experience proved this point true and reminded me that just because something is new/different/innovative, it can’t circumvent the people who are in a position to take it to scale…or in the worst-case scenarios slow it down if they don’t know about it.
I was struck by the number of young people in Miami who asked me how they could weave social innovation into their university programs without having to “take a break” or “separating it from their studies.” I know there are a number of smart programs out there for savvy students like these, but it reminded me that I should find and post a list of university programs that are good examples of ways to make social innovation an integral part of academic programs. Know any good lists or reviews of this kind? Let me know!Talking big
Big Data, no surprise, was on everyone’s mind and on most people’s lips. There was a good discussion, driven by Felipe Arango and his excellent presentation, on how Big Data will allow for greater transparency and better decision-making on the major development issues of our time. What struck me about his remarks was that not only will this data help drive the direction of certain decisions and hold people and organizations accountable on a number of levels for the impact of their projects, but that the speed the data will change the social innovation ecosystem and the political decision-making process as well.Check out some of these recent articles on Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. Whether or not you are talking about it, or attending conferences on the topic, it is something that has the potential to change our world — and our lives — and some pretty amazing people are working on your future now.
Articles:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/
1 comment
Great synopsis, Aaron. It was wonderful to have you at our Innovators of Change forum.
Regarding programs of study that incorporate social innovation, we recently tweeted about one that looks pretty cool: KaosPilot in Denmark (http://goo.gl/Fgzce & http://www.kaospilot.dk/).
Stanford has some great programs through its Center for Social Innovation (http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/)
Babson has a Social Innovation Lab (http://www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/the-lewis-institute/lab/Pages/home.aspx)
Those are a few that stand out. There are others. It may seem like there aren’t many out there, in comparison to other programs of study, but someone who’s really interested in social innovation will seek out the knowledge they need no matter where they are.
As a student you can turn any program in business, international development, education, agriculture, engineering, arts or any other field into your own program of studies in social innovation, by choosing social topics for your essays, projects and theses, and by recognizing problem areas, researching their causes, and identifying ways in which you and others can use your own talents to solve them!
As you mentioned in your talk, we are at the RIGHT TIME and have the RIGHT RESOURCES (Internet, social media, investors interested in social impact, etc.) to make change happen!