The term “Social” in the Non-Profit field is the prefix for a plethora of different concepts - Social Entrepreneurship, Social Responsibility, Social Solutions, Social Sector, Social Value, Social Change, Social Problems, Social Responsible Business, Social Investments and Social Innovation etc. (To a certain extent the wide use of the term “Social” can be linked to the application of Corporate and business practices and applications to the Non-Profit field.)
Social Innovation seems to be the new catch phrase. Some claim that it is just a fad, a passing phase or the rebranding of activities that have been done forever .Funders use it to describe their area of social investment or responsibility, and Non-profits utilize it to define their service products. An impatient social sector and social investment field sees innovation as the be all and end all of progress. Other see Social innovation as a set of tools, merging business principles and social missions can be amalgamated and unified.
When can a Non-Profit or Social Investors claim to implement or support Social Innovation practices?
Firstly the concept must have an element of uniqueness and freshness.
The ideas themselves do not need to be new, the novelty comes to play in the adaptations, or recombination of existing ideas or their application in new areas
The concept or product must be more effective and efficient than existing alternatives.
The majority of experts highlight that social innovation must be social both in terms of the end and the means.
Value created must accrue primarily to society or community
The novel solution to a social problem must be sustainable
Must have broad impact, must have on impact to the broader society as a whole, as opposed to individuals
Cutting across traditional boundaries between government, business/corporate and non-profit field
Potential to be taken to scale. If a product cannot be scaled or replicated it cannot be transformative.
Create systems and process change
Changing underlying beliefs and structures
Build and support collaboration
Social Innovation in the NGO Field: Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation said that “Solutions too many of the world’s most difficult social problems don’t need to be invented, they need only to be found, funded, and scaled.” This is particularly true if innovation is seen as a development shortcut and the core business of organisations are ignored. Focussing on innovation at the cost of consolidation of the core or routine business of an organisation often does not contribute value. Social innovation must not just be seen as an outcome or impact, but as a process. It may be less trendy to focus on the process than the ideology, but might just be more beneficial and constructive. We also need to take into consideration that ignoring existing internal organisational factors and Organisational culture can detract from the strategic impact of social innovation initiatives. In short, high level interaction and commitment to social innovation, without taking into consideration (and addressing) the realities of the present status quo of the social sector field, will not produce desired results. We need to make sure that the intent of social innovation – process and impact – is here to stay. The alternative is that we every few years develop new terminology for long standing initiatives, and never affect real lasting change.
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