Module six examines the concept of social innovation and its importance to a fully functioning business

1. Innovation At Work - Social
Innovation
TUTOR’S NAME HERE

2. Innovation At Work: Social
Innovation
Learning Objectives
Unit 1: WHY social innovation?
Unit 2: WHAT is social innovation?
Unit 3: How to achieve social innovation?

3. U. 1
WHY social innovation?
A response to personal challenges and/or group
ambitions inspired by social problems…

4. • Recognising and defining SOCIAL
PROBLEMS
U. 1
WHY social innovation?

5. Recognising and defining social problems
• Change can create new or
exacerbate existing social
problems

6. Drivers of Societal Change
• Economic
o New sources of competition
o Altered supply and demand relationships (eg:
China demanding more high protein foods; glut
of oil and/or steel in world markets)
o Loss of investor confidence
o Devaluation of assets (eg: property; certain
company shares)

7. • Technological
advancement
o Exponential acceleration
o Computers have become indispensable
o Convenience and access to information
o Negatives?
 Loss of privacy
 Blurring of traditional lines between work and
home
 Devaluing of intellectual property rights
Drivers of Societal Change

8. • Cultural - eg secularism; religious
fundamentalism
Drivers of Societal Change

9. Cultural patterns - - - Values
‚powered by‘ frames of reference
[„shifting baselines“] *)
Perceptions
Information
Opinions,
attitudes
Behaviour,
social action &
potential of
change
*) Sáenz-Arroyo et al. 2005: Rapidly Shifting Environmental Baselines Among Fishers in the Gulf of California
Knowledge,
awareness
CULTURAL LEARNING CYCLE“
Roles
Activated values
Norms
Relations
Newpractices=socialinnovations

10. • Population – growth; migration
• Environmental pressures
• Media/arts - Diffusion from other cultures
• Single dramatic events – i.e. wars
• Others?
Other Drivers of Societal Change

11. Societal Change can create
problems
Emergence of new or exacerbation of old divides:
o Altered economic relationships
o Gap between winners and losers
o Economic decline generates adversities
o Digital divide
o New sources of labour displace old sources
o New ways of thinking can displace adherents of
old ways

12. U. 2
WHAT is social innovation?
The role of INNOVATION
in solving
Societal Problems

13. The Role Of Innovation In Solving
Societal Problems
• Desire to make things better than they are
- improve
• In order to improve one has to innovate
• The ‘innovation’ begins with how one thinks
about a problem
• Too often people focus exclusively on the
lack of resources rather than looking at
their problem(s) in new ways

14. Some theoretical considerations
• Innovation = Invention +
Execution
• Effective Innovation = Validity +
Reliability

15. A comprehensive paradigm of
innovation
In general, innovations have primarily either economic or
social objectives,
They may be technology-based or not;
In the social sphere they may require formal regulation or not.
Innovations, addressing primarily economic objectives1), include
 products
 processes
 organisational measures
 marketing
Innovations, addressing primarily social objectives2) , include
 roles (of individuals, CSOs, corporate business, and public institutions)
 relations (in professional and private environments, networks,
collectives)
 norms (on different levels, legal requirements)
 values (customs, manners, mores, ethics) – ‚powered by‘ frames of
reference
1) „Oslo Manual“, OECD/EUROSTAT 2005, re. Schumpeter 1912 2) My extension, 2011

16. All innovations are relevant across all
functional systems of a society*
* Functional systems according to Parsons, 1976: Zur Theorie der Sozialsysteme. Opladen: Westdt. Verlag
Eight types of innovation ...
o Products
o Processes
o Marketing
o Organisation
o Roles
o Relations
o Norms
o Values
... across four functional systems:
o Economy
o Culture
o Politics
o Law

17. Social innovations are new practices
for resolving societal challenges,
which are adopted and utilized
by the individuals, social groups and organizations
concerned.
*) Zentrum für Soziale Innovation, 2012:
„All innovations are socially relevant“
ZSI-Discussion Paper 13, p. 2,

18. U. 3
HOW to achieve social innovation?
• From the theoretical to the
practical

19. How Social Innovation Can Solve
Societal Problems and improve lives
Where need is not being addressed because:
o It is not profitable for the private sector
o the public sector has insufficient resources or
political consensus to intervene
• Paradigm shift - looking at existing resources
and organising them in a new way
• Increased financial investment may not solve the
problem

20. Examples of Innovative solutions
to Societal Problems
• Credit Unions
• Gramine Bank (India) – micro-finance
• Co-ops
• Local Enterprise Agencies (NGOs in N. Ireland)
• Many charitable campaigns
• ‘Co-production’ – various movements
• ‘Time-banking’
• Community Councils
• The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland

21. The „4-i process“:
– Idea >> What‘s the issue, what could be the
solution?
– Intervention >> Conceptualisation, find methods and allies
– Implementation >> Overcoming resistance, stakeholders, life
cycle!
– Impact >> Not necessarily ‚good‘, nor for the whole of
society
Idea Intervention Implementation Impact
The Making Of Social Innovation
Three perspectives to analyse objectives and impact:
 the „social demand“ perspective,
 the „societal challenges“ perspective, and
 the „systemic change“ perspective.
Agnès Hubert et al. (BEPA – Bureau of European Policy Advisors)
„Empowering people – driving change. Social Innovation in the European
Union.“
http://ec.europa.eu/bepa/pdf/publications_pdf/social_innovation.pdf

22. How to achieve lasting positive change?
Ministerial
Approval
PUBLIC POLICY
CHANGE
IMPLEMENTATION
A MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE AND NGO’S ACTIVELY
INVOLVED FIELDWORK
POLICY
CHANGES
APPROACH ADOPTED
BY OUTSIDE GROUPS
A BIG NEW
IDEA

23. Design Thinking is….

24. Emotional intelligence..…Multi-Disciplinary
Influences…. ……Ideation…. Prototyping…
….Consider all alternatives.
Design Thinking
No more “so what?”………

25. “These crazy guys will never
deliver a product”
“Give me the budget and I will
deliver whatever you want”
“We have to concentrate on
what we are good at”
“The new ideas are interesting
but we don’t have the time or
necessity”
Emotional intelligence……intuition…..positivity
“If we don’t change now it will
be too late”
“We have to stop living in the
past regardless of the success
we had”
“New things are possible, we
only have to have the will to
want them”
“There are better ways to do it”
Left Brain Scepticism: Right Brain Positivity:
Design Thinking

26. Turning knowledge into action
Concepts Competencies Capacities Levers
Data
Information
Knowledge
Wisdom
Abstraction
Pattern
recognition
Linear thinking
Lateral thinking
Documentation,
order and analysis
Attributions,
contradictions
Intelligence,
empathy potential
Creativity,
consensus
Facts &
figures
Foresight,
scenarios
Strategies,
conventions
Collaborative action
and new practices
Resources of social innovations driving socio-cultural changes
Cognition
Design Thinking

27. •How quickly can I configure the solution to suit my
needs?
•Is the solution easy to maintain?
•Is it consistent with my current system landscape?
•Can the solution be easily supported?
•Does the solution
show empathy
for end-users?
•Is this the
simplest solution
that gets the job
done?
•Is it elegant?
•Is it useful?
•Can we afford it?
•Does it make me
more profitable?
•Do we have the
skills?
•What is my ROI?
feasibility
technical needs
desirability
human needs
viability
business needs

28. Results of the
Research,
Artifacts,
Pictures
Needs &
Motivations
User profiles
Use cases
Rough
Prototypes
Feedback from
users &
stakeholders
Results
Low-fidelity
Prototypes
Feedback from
users &
stakeholders
Project Plan
Resources
High-Fidelity
prototypes
and/or design
specifications
Observe Synthesis
Design
Assess &
Refine
Prototype ImplementUnderstand
Develop iterative
Prototypes and test
with Users
Interview &
Observe
End Users in
their work
place
Identify Needs,
Motivations & Ideas
for Solutions
Deliver a
prototype to
Solution
Development
What
Scope Project &
define
objectives and
outcomes
Work with
Development to
build the final
design

29. The prototype must communicate
design intent to both internal
and external constituencies
Design
Prototype
Rapid End
User
Feedback
Multiple iterations continue
the dialog between the
design team and the end-
users
Packaging the
design for
sharing

30. Sketches Mock-ups Wire Frames HTML Flash Functional Code

31. •WHO? ..... YOU!

32. • Exercise: Devise An Action For A
Specific Social Innovation Proposal