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  • Social Innovation Creates Prosperous Societies

    June 12, 2013 Editor 0

    By Kevin Chika Urama & Ernest Nti Acheampong

    SUPPLEMENT TO SSIR FUNDED BY THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION

    Rarely has the need for new ways of
    thinking been more glaring. From
    the sluggish economic growth and
    financial instability of the last several
    years to the perennial issues
    of political upheaval, resource crises, hunger,
    poverty, and disease, people have come
    to realize that the old ways of doing things
    no longer work. Whether one lives in the developed
    or the developing world, the fates of
    Asians, Africans, Europeans, and everyone
    on the planet are inextricably linked.

    We are in desperate need of a fundamental
    transformation of social, economic, and
    cultural arrangements. The old paradigm
    of government aid is simply inadequate to
    the challenge. What we need instead are
    creative and innovative solutions for fostering
    sustainable growth, securing jobs, and
    increasing competitive abilities.

    All over the world during the past decade,
    there has been a phenomenal surge
    of interest in social innovation as a way to
    achieve sustainable economic growth. In
    the United States, President Barack Obama
    launched the Social Innovation Fund,
    which makes grants to intermediaries that
    then seek out and fund promising programs.
    In South Korea, Seoul Mayor Park
    Won-Soon is integrating social innovation
    approaches into city government [see
    “Forging Ahead with Cross-Sector Innovations”]. In Europe, the European
    Commission issued recommendations for
    fostering social innovations and expanding
    them across the continent. In the United
    Kingdom, initiatives such as Big Society are
    designed to find and scale up the best social
    innovations. And in Japan, social innovation
    is rapidly taking root in the rebuilding
    efforts following the 2011 tsunami and
    nuclear disaster, which left immeasurable
    destruction on the country’s physical, cultural,
    and socio-political landscape.

    Social innovation is helping to solve
    some of the world’s most pressing problems
    with new solutions such as fair trade,
    distance learning, mobile money transfer,
    restorative justice, and zero-carbon housing.
    In the process of creating solutions, it
    is also profoundly changing beliefs, basic
    practices, resources, and social power structures.
    Social innovation provides a unique
    opportunity to step back from a narrow way
    of thinking about social enterprises, business
    engagement, and philanthropy and to
    recognize instead the interconnectedness
    of various factors and stakeholders.

    In Africa, we have made considerable
    advances in social and economic growth over
    the past 10 years. Between 2005 and 2008
    Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose
    at a 5.5 percent annual rate. It slowed to 2.4
    percent in 2009, mainly because of the global
    economic recession. But unlike most other
    regions, Africa has made a rather rapid recovery
    since the downturn. Average GDP is
    expected to grow at a nearly 6 percent rate in
    2012. Amazingly, Africa is now regarded as the second-fastest-growing continent, after
    Asia. This acceleration in Africa’s economic
    growth reflects fundamental improvements
    in macroeconomic policies, an improving
    business environment, and growing political
    stability in many African countries.1 Equally
    important, but less recognized, reasons for
    the African success story are an increased focus
    on science, technology, and innovations
    to drive economic growth, and an increased
    focus on social innovations and social engineering
    to improve human well-being.

    Organizational, technological, and social
    innovations are becoming the norm
    among African youths and women, driving
    social change and economic development
    from the grassroots. With the rising African
    economies, we are witnessing increasing
    demand for other important transitions:
    from research and development (R&D) to
    research for development (R4D); and from
    technology transfers to the development of
    endogenous scientific and technical skills
    and knowledge that drives social change,
    especially in the area of information and
    communication technologies. Social innovations
    are adding an extra dimension to
    help sustain the African miracle, providing
    the social capital needed for economic and
    social growth.

    What Makes a Truly Prosperous Society?

    Prosperity can be defined as a successful,
    flourishing, or thriving condition, especially
    in financial respects. How, then, does one define a prosperous society? And how does
    one measure whether a society is prosperous?
    If we are talking about economic prosperity,
    we can readily invoke the classical
    macro-economic measure of GDP.

    Measuring a prosperous society as a
    whole, however, is more complex. To describe
    a society as truly prosperous, we
    must see several other elements besides
    robust GDP growth, such as peace and happiness,
    economic and financial well-being,
    and individual freedoms and liberties. In
    other words, a prosperous society consists
    of economic prosperity and social prosperity
    combined.

    An exemplar of a prosperous society is
    the United States in the two decades following
    World War II. During this time the
    country enjoyed strong economic growth
    coupled with several significant new industries,
    including electronics, aviation, plastics,
    and frozen foods. The United States
    grew by embracing technology and taking
    advantage of the confidence bestowed by
    free market capitalism and democracy.
    Because of all the new wealth that was created
    and because of the social structures and
    political policies that existed (for example,
    strong unions and high income taxes), the
    prosperity was shared among all segments of society. More middle-class jobs meant
    increased wages and more people who
    could afford housing and leisure, fueling
    the demand for consumer goods. Socially,
    the United States became an extremely materialistic
    society. The period also marked a
    population boom and the burgeoning of the
    civil rights movement, which would later
    have enormous repercussions on the US
    political and economic system.

    Societies that enjoy economic affluence aren’t truly prosperous if that affluence benefits only a privileged few, rather than
    being spread throughout society. That’s because
    social and economic prosperity are
    intricately linked and highly dependent on
    each other. Social prosperity requires conditions
    like good health, well-being, access to lifelong learning, social inclusion, safety,
    security, and citizenship. Economic prosperity
    requires conditions like workforce
    development, job creation, fiscal responsibility,
    a green economy, infrastructure development,
    and energy access. Effective coordination
    and collaboration between the two will
    result in a lasting social fabric that supports
    sustainable prosperity and self-reliance.

    Social Innovation and Economic Growth

    Economists estimate that between 50 and
    80 percent of economic growth comes from
    innovation and new knowledge.2 In East
    Africa, for instance, the development of
    M-PESA (a mobile money payment system
    born out of social innovation) has become
    an avenue for 9 million people to gain access
    to secured financial exchange services.
    This African success story has completely
    revolutionized the regional business terrain,
    at the same time empowering local
    people by providing an easy-to-use and
    readily available banking service that hitherto
    was impossible to access because of
    a poor banking infrastructure and a strict
    regulatory framework.

    Social innovation has become even
    more important for sustainable economic
    growth in recent times. This is partly because
    some of the barriers to lasting and
    sustainable economic growth (such as climate
    change, youth unemployment, aging
    populations, and increased social conflicts)
    can be overcome only with the help of social
    innovation, and partly because of rising demands
    for alternative models of economic
    growth that enhance rather than damage
    human relationships and well-being.

    Phrases such as inclusive green growth,
    a green economy,
    and decoupling economic
    growth from social and environmental impacts

    have become regular parlance in
    mainstream economics and global institutions
    such as the World Bank and United
    Nations agencies,3 as emerging paradigms
    to push the sustainable development agenda Getting these paradigms more widely
    adopted requires new public policy that addresses
    social needs along with economic
    needs. Society can no longer use GDP alone
    as the barometer of progress.

    Africa, and in many ways the entire global
    community, is transitioning to a phase
    where innovation will no longer be shaped
    by industries but will rather be informed by
    markets and society’s demand for products,
    systems, and services focused on knowledge
    and learning. Against this backdrop, businesses
    are looking to social entrepreneurs
    and social enterprises that pursue financial
    sustainability and social principle for guidance
    and new techniques.

    One interesting social enterprise that
    exhibits these characteristics is Ungana-Afrika, an NGO helping to catalyze the incubation
    of scalable enterprises that leverage
    pioneering technologies for the benefit of
    emerging markets and under-served communities.
    This social enterprise operates
    on the premise that innovative technologies
    are not by themselves sufficient to
    transform the development landscape in
    Africa. They need to be sustained by innovative
    business models that are rooted in the
    social context of disadvantaged but vibrant
    communities.

    Social innovations and enterprises such
    as Ungana-Afrika are playing pivotal roles in
    economic growth by opening up new markets
    that require social solutions, by expanding
    institutions that orchestrate and are focused
    on adapting social innovations, and by compelling
    the emergence of new innovations.
    Another example, which grew out of the
    need to reduce waste and diminish landfills,
    is Freecycle Network, based in the United
    States.4 Freecycle matches people who have
    things they want to get rid of with people who
    can use them. It now has 5 million members
    in 85 communities worldwide. Or consider
    AfroVumbua, in Kenya, which helps innovators
    in Africa connect with global investors
    looking for technological opportunities in
    Africa. There is also Open University, based
    in the United Kingdom, and other models of
    distance learning that have made education
    much more widely available.

    Other examples of social innovation can
    be found in fields as diverse as integrating
    marginalized populations into the formal
    economy and involving citizens in public
    decision-making. The KiberaNet wireless
    information and communication network brings education, empowerment, and opportunities
    to more than 2 million slum
    dwellers in Kibera, Kenya, using fiber optic
    cable and solar power. DadaabNet does the
    same for refugee camps. This is a model for
    empowering informal settlements (slums)
    and refugees to take control of their lives
    and to nurture sustainable development.

    The rise of social entrepreneurs and social
    enterprises is not only contributing to
    the mobilization of people in the innovation
    process but also providing the impetus for
    economic growth and social equality.

    Integrating Social Innovation with Science, Technology, and Innovation

    Governments can improve the climate for
    innovation and foster the growth of science,
    technology, and innovation in many
    simple ways. In Finland, for example, the
    government’s main advisory body on science,
    innovation, and research (SITRA)
    has recommended that innovativeness
    should be made a criterion for competitive
    bidding in public procurement. They also
    recommended that a portion of funding for
    government departments should be clearly
    designated for innovation and development
    activities, which are widely interpreted to
    include innovation in services.

    Social innovation has the rich yet unexploited
    potential to foster science, technology,
    and innovation development in Africa.
    Most of the current social innovation initiatives
    in Africa have been established at
    the grassroots level, with minimal capacity
    for influencing decisions at higher levels.
    For instance, in the agricultural sector, we
    have seen innovative applications such as
    M-Shamba and Farmerline, created at the
    grassroots to provide salient information
    for farmers on agricultural best practices
    and minimization of climate change effects.

    We need greater recognition by African
    governments and institutions of the fundamental
    role of social innovation in science and
    technology on Africa’s development agenda.
    Fortunately, we are beginning to see the integration of social innovation into the research
    activities of institutions such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South
    Africa. It has initiated a low-income housing
    research project commissioned by the
    Department of Science and Technology to
    provide good-quality, affordable housing for
    low-income South Africans. Some academic
    institutions, such as the University of Cape Town, have created centers for social innovation
    and entrepreneurship to promote and
    embolden social and environmental change
    agents. The faculties of the University of Botswana, the University of Nairobi, and
    Cape Peninsula University of Technology
    have made efforts to connect to global networks
    of social innovators, resulting in the
    establishment of social innovation labs.

    Conclusion

    Many of the most important social challenges
    facing the world require radical innovation
    that cuts across organizational,
    sectoral, and disciplinary boundaries. These
    challenges require innovative ways of applying
    new technology along with new forms
    of organization, new network processes
    to build human and social capital, and new
    grassroots-based solutions. The good news
    is that social innovation is a remarkably creative
    field. It is growing in popularity and is
    having a global impact. Unfortunately, it is
    still a nascent field, only beginning to take
    shape and move beyond anecdotes.

    Although it is gratifying to note that social
    innovation has attracted a great deal of
    interest worldwide, five areas require attention
    if we are to unleash even more innovations
    for social and economic prosperity:

    •  Social innovation needs to be explicitly taken into account when we are formulating science, technology, and innovation policy. To ensure that innovation benefits the entire society, these policies must establish democratic platforms where diverse actors can participate.
    • To ensure the successful implementation of social innovation activities in different countries, we need proper coordination and integration of these activities in national and regional socio-economic planning.
    • Education and research in science, technology, and innovation must go beyond focusing on elite science and begin to support science that is focused more directly on meeting diverse social needs.
    • Social innovation can be successful only if there is sufficient capacity to scale up the innovation. Rejuvenating the social base through a heavy investment in capacity building, and creating a platform conducive to interaction and collaboration, are prerequisites for social innovators to prosper.
    • Public-private partnerships play an important role in supporting social innovations. Strengthening these global partnerships and platforms can be effective for understanding and fostering social innovation worldwide.

    Emerging economies in Africa are encouraging
    investment in large industrial
    enterprises, but it’s equally important to invest
    in the smaller social enterprises that are
    becoming an integral part of the economy,
    mimicking the true African society—a focus
    on communities, people, and social structures
    as measures of prosperity. By encouraging
    social innovation, policymakers strive
    to pursue a triple triumph: a triumph for society
    and individuals by providing services that
    are of high quality, beneficial, and affordable
    to users and that add value to their daily lives;
    a triumph for governments by making the
    provision of those services more sustainable
    in the long term; and a triumph for industry
    by creating new business opportunities and
    new entrepreneurship.

    Go to Source

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