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Social innovation: What is it?

Cross-posted on Vijana FM | January 28, 2011

A lot of new terms have come our way in the last 15 years, and "social innovation" is a big one.

Social innovation is described by the Said Business School as "new ideas that meet unmet needs". It consists of fresh solutions to problems within the following areas (also from the Said Business School report), which are problems virtually experienced globally:
  • Rising life expectancy
  • Growing diversity of countries and cities
  • Stark inequalities
  • Rising incidence of long-term medical conditions
  • Behavioural problems of affluence
  • Difficult transitions to adulthood
  • Measuring happiness
"In each of these fields many of the dominant existing models simply do not work well enough. Often they are too inflexible and unimaginative. They may be fitted to past problems or bound by powerful interests. They may be provided by agencies that have become complacent or outdated. The result is unnecessary human suffering, and unrealised potential."

Of course, all of this innovation needs to be measured in order to grow or replicate. As the report suggests, it is important to distinguish "what is being scaled up, and how it is scaled up". Thus, understanding the value of the innovation is central to measuring it. We have written several posts on instances of how value can be measured, especially in the this field of social innovation.

Value in social innovation, after all, is derived from the sustenance of people. Hence, multi-national corporations like Microsoft, Grameen Bank, and more recently, Dell, strive to find ways to encourage a continuous process of social innovation; that is, finding value in unmet needs.

Dell's latest gig, the Dell Social Innovation Competition, is one of many opportunities that can help social innovators get their work started.
The University of Texas at Austin and Dell are looking for university students around the world with innovative ideas to solve a social or environmental problem. We’re giving away more than $100,000 in cash prizes to at least five winning teams who will be flown to Austin, Texas for an expense-paid Finalist Week-End that culminates in a final pitch and awards ceremony.

To learn more about the competition, check out this video.



This is one of many competitions globally that aims to increase social innovation in the world, especially by young people. Be sure to check out the Vijana FM resource bank for a growing list of links to such competitions and grant awards.

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