MediaWiki:LC 00819/en

Social innovation – a short introduction

A matter of identity and culture: who we are (or want to be) and what we do (or want to do)

Introduction

Social innovation can be seen in many ways. Our point of view is that social innovation is a process that is used to tackle wicked problems. Wicked problems are issues in which various parties have differing and opposing interests and points of view, which are not easily united. What is a problem for one party, means something else entirely to another party. There are many examples of this, such as climate change, geopolitical conflicts and the increasing gap between the poor and the rich. Wicked problems are often intertwined with other wicked problems. All this means that it is not easy to understand an issue or find solutions for it that are acceptable for all parties. It requires a carefully thought out process of Social Innovation (SI) that brings parties together to take joint steps forward.

The SI process described here gives a central role to the societal challenge. That means that it surpasses individual parties. The SI process aims at obtaining arguably desirable and culturally feasible societal changes. The solutions should not only be rationally and technically feasible, but they also have to fit into a society’s culture. A culture is not a static condition; rather, it is something that is constantly in motion through mutual influencing. Through dialogue for example. In essence, the SI process focusses on identity and culture. It is a process to decide who we want to be and what we will do.

The principles of social innovation are mutual understanding and shared meaning. The SI process starts with creating mutual understanding: recognizing and acknowledging each other’s worldviews, who we are and what we do. The next step is explicating shared meaning, which aims at taking solution-oriented steps that fit in with the culture’s and individual’s identities and serves a higher purpose at the same time. Recognizing and acknowledging each other’s worldviews is essential in this, because through dialogue, several aspects of the challenge are shared which may lead to a broader understanding of said challenge. This creates room for change.

The process of social innovation

The SI process is based on the following three principles, one axiom and two injunctions: 

• Axiom: we got to move;
• Injunction 1: Create room for change;
• Injunction 2: Determine the right direction.

We got to move

People are adaptive beings. They use their senses to explore their surroundings and, if necessary, react. Movement is in our blood, especially in case of immediate danger. We are faced with serious challenges (wicked problems). Not yet everyone sees or feels the urgency, but despite that, taking proactive measures is imperative. Doing nothing is not an option. It is not just necessary to face the current wicked problems, in the future we will have to face new wicked problems, which may or may not be of our own making. In short: it is a given that we are in motion as an inherent condition of being human, or that we should be moving in case of urgent, existential threats. In any case: we got to move!

Create room for change

We got to move, but without room, movement is impossible. Room for change can be created by recognizing and acknowledging each other’s worldviews. When doing so, you have to look beyond the surface and not just focus on how people or organizations act, but instead look at deeper motivations, i.e., a person’s identity or an organization's culture.

The model below shows how an individual’s or organization's worldview is interpreted. The model is based on the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM, see …) PQR formula (P-what, Q-how and R-why). A strict distinction is made between the intentions (motivation, driver: the what-why) and the manifestations (tangible, observable: the how). Intentions are based on convictions and assumptions one has, regarding the world. The intentions, convictions and assumptions together form an individual’s or organization's worldview. They not only determine the way one regards the world, but is even felt by individuals or organizations to be their reason for existence.

To save us all some time (and repetitions) the term ‘individual or organization’ will not be used in the remaining text and the all-encompassing term ‘party’ is introduced from here on in, knowing that anything that is said about a party, applies to both individuals and organizations. In case of an organization, it may be better to speak about a mission (what), vision (why) and strategy (how).