SEDA/SEDA301/Identifying and Developing Socially Innovative Solutions/Overview of developing innovative solutions
After reviewing the content for Learning Pathway, you should:
- Understand the different methods through which social entrepreneurs explore and uncover issues/challenges experienced by people in their community
- Have an awareness of different methods which social entrepreneurs can use to develop innovative ideas to address social challenges
So, you're a budding social entrepreneur and your deepest desire in life is to create some sort of social impact in your community. How might you do this? How do you know what issues are most relevant or pressing? History has shown us that the most successful attempts at creating positive social change start at the grassroots level. When issues in a community are identified by community members, and solutions are developed in collaboration with the community, then the impact and sustainability of social initiatives is enhanced. Top-down approaches, or approaches where interventions and initiatives are designed by someone who does not understand the specific context and are based upon what they perceive to be the problems that exist within a community, have been criticised as failing to account for the needs and wishes of those people in the community.
The need to stop and listen to people and understand their world-view is beautifully captured in the below TED Talk by Dr Ernesto Sirolli. Dr Sirolli founded the Sirolli Institute which is a social enterprise that teaches community leaders how to tap into the creativity and passions of individuals within their own communities. He advocates for 'responsive, person-centered approaches to local economic development'. In the video below, Dr Sirolli talks about the life-changing experiences he had as a young charity worker in Africa which led him to develop his trademark program, Enterprise Facilitation. The first 10 minutes are particularly relevant to the topics presented this week. Enjoy!
Another important component to developing effective solutions to social challenges involves understanding not only the challenges and needs within a community, but also their existing strengths and capabilities which can be harnessed within social interventions. Lecture 8 explores the asset-based model of community development in greater depth. The reading associated with the lecture is the Community Assessment Tools guide used by Rotary for their projects. It provides some great guidelines for different data collection strategies, as well as questions that you might like to consider when developing your own strategies for social change.
Lecture 7 - Slides: Understanding social issues and strengths in your local community
Online Resource:
Rotary, n.d. Community Assessment Tools: A resource for Rotary Projects. Rotary International.
See link: https://my.rotary.org/en/document/community-assessment-tools
