Sara, this is a wonderfully articulate framing of the difference. There is definitely a difference in working with or in corporations vs. social design. The difference in the dynamics is rooted in value generation and constituent structure.
For corporations, the value is generating profit for its shareholders (constituents) and hence requires ‘polished, refined strategies and solutions’. While for social sector or the not for profit, outcomes are entirely invested in impact and delivering the mission to a variety of constituents, all of whom have different focuses. So the big role of design in social ventures is to orchestrate. Which requires persistency and constant evolution of ideas and flexibility of approach.
I have been working on my social venture for the last one year and I have learned that basic word documents work better then even well designed PDFs, and knocking at doors and cold emails is the fastest way to move forward and make things happen.
