The Why of Social Innovation
“With our minds alone we can discover those principles we need to employ to convert all humanity to success in a new, harmonious relationship with the universe.”
-R. Buckminster Fuller
So in ‘What is social Innovation?’ we looked at definitions of social innovation. Now that we have a better idea of what social innovation is, ‘an initiative for the public good’ we realise that is a very broad concept indeed. Many things can be framed as social innovations. To me, the ‘why’ of the social innovation is very important. I’ve been influence by the ‘Start with Why guy’ Simon Sinek and his thoughts have helped me think of a framework for social innovation. This talk is worth the watch.
At the core, or at the beginning, I think knowing your personal why and your group’s why is extremely important. We often fall into the jobs we are in or even start initiatives or enterprise because of the meeting of a range of circumstances. We don’t always step back and think with intent, we could really do almost anything, why exactly are we doing what we are doing? Why are we doing ‘this’, and not one of an infinite number of other things. That’s a big question we often avoid by latching onto opportunities and circumstances that present themselves.
So the overall framework looks like this: Philosophy, Strategy, Tactics, and Practicalities, or Why, How, What, Who/Where/When. It’s really a Theory of Change or Program Logic framework. It’s strategic planning for social innovation.
So, let’s start with why. Let’s start with the philosophy and purpose of your initiative. To me this means defining the vision, mission, principles and values of the initiative.
Wait, what is the real reason we are doing this, and why are we doing this now. Doing it first. Having these things written down and consented to will save you massive amounts of time, effort and resources as you develop an initiative. If you don’t have a very clear common purpose and language to talk about what you’re doing and to use as a frame of reference for decision making, you and your team will burn so much time and energy working at cross purposes. That’s why this is so important to do up front or as soon as possible. What you come up with does not have to be final, it just needs to get everyone on the same page and ensure everyone is clear on the purpose of the initiative and ensure that all are aligned to it.
So with Flashpoint Labs, the social enterprise I started with Leanne Townsend, we had a shared philosophy which naturally developed by working together at the NSW Reconciliation Council. The idea and choice to co-found Flashpoint Labs, as opposed to the myriad of other initiatives we could have started, was the result of our social innovation sweet spot. Something I’ll explore in my next post.
At the beginning our vision and mission where different to what they are now. Even our name was different. But it got us on the same page and allowed us to work towards a common goal with a common purpose.
‘See Through’s vision is for a world where young people are empowered to express themselves creatively and determine their own lives.’
‘See Through’s mission is to engage, educate, equip and empower young people to express themselves and determine their own lives by teaching them practical and life skills through photography.’
We even had a side note on our vision and mission: Note: ‘While this enterprise focuses on underprivileged and marginalised young people, it aims not to use deficit language in reference to them so as not to reinforce personal and social perceptions of disadvantage by participants and stakeholders.’
Here are some prompting questions to help you and your team define your vision, mission, principles and values:
1. Define Vision – what kind of world do we want to live in?
A vision outlines the ideal, or desired state, of the world the organisation wants to operate in and contribute to bringing about.
2. Define the Mission – What is our purpose and unique contribution to making this vision become a reality?
A mission defines the fundamental purpose of an enterprise, succinctly describing why it exists and what it does to achieve its vision.
3. Define the Principles – What are our fundamental assumptions about how the world works and how it should work?
Principles are universal, natural, perennial and self-evident laws about the known universe that govern our enterprise.
4. Define the Values – What are the core guidelines and the most important characteristics of behaviour for our project?
Guidelines or standards of behaviour, our collective judgement of what is important in the enterprise’s life and work.
