Social innovation: an innovative solution for a social problem

Thanks to the class of social entrepreneurship, a new “world” has been opened for me. I become fascinated by the motivation and the ideas beyond the decisions of these Changemakers.  For example, how it is amazing to use rats as an innovative tool to detect landmines, or give the opportunity to blind people through their high sensitivity with their hand to detect early tumours on breast. These two ideas are so basic, effective, simple and just amazing.

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This is why I am starting to love this world because with great ideas, entrepreneurs reach to make a social change or have a real impact.

Therefore, the ingredients of social innovation that Maria Zapata, Ashoka, gave us should be the way to do business:

Social Innovation has two halves of the equation completely interdependent : A replicable new idea for changing the pattern by which society deals with an important area of human need on a national level. And an innovator to make it happens.

• In addition to being different, an idea must be authentic to the entrepreneur’s experience

• It must be “pattern-changing” – Redefining issues, changing beliefs, setting goals, and applying new resources to recast a deep social pattern

• The idea itself has to be replicable, meaning that it has to lend itself to spread, repetition, adaptation, and eventually a life of its own after the founding entrepreneur has introduced it, proven its value.

Social entrepreneurship is for me a fresh air because it gives examples of win-win situation for all the stakeholders of the project with a real impact. I share the idea that the fundamental components are innovation and motivation:

• Innovation not only related to the materiel or tangible or technologic, but related to a simple as innovative idea.

• Motivation is the basis; the first motivation is not to get profit but to resolve a problem that you care. Insights and empathy are the characteristics of the social entrepreneurs and in my opinion we need more of them in our society if we want to see real changes.

However, I think it is important to make the difference between social innovation and social business (again it was very inspiring this difference in which Maria Zapata insists). Social innovation or entrepreneurship is the innovative aspect of what you use to resolve a problem and how to implement and spread it. Social business is necessary because the aim is doing business in an alternative way.

Finally,  in this new world there are so many innovative tools or oranisation like Crow funding platform to support your initiative as an entrepreneur or citizen. Everybody with insights and true motivation could start a project.

So it is time to think out of the box and act!

Source: 2011 Innovation Learning Network Seattle, http://www.flickr.com/photos/taedc/sets/72157626521414401/with/5686750281/

Comments Off on Social innovation: an innovative solution for a social problem / 25 May 2013 por Stephanie Barrial
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