Both the US and the UK are experimenting with new ways of solving social problems that don't rely only on government, as described in this fascinating Economist article. Social innovation or social entrepreneurship is a new model for enabling residents, private and non-profit sectors to take the lead on issues that have long troubled societies and governments. For instance, projects have had success "reducing rates of reoffending by former prisoners or by helping children from the rougher parts of American cities to graduate from college".
Government defines measurable goals, and companies, organizations and residents are given freedom to experiment with the delivery of the service or program. The concept is meant to be considerably less government hands-on than public-private partnerships, but they are similar. In some models, the social entrepreneur (whether that be a private sector company or non-profit) is not paid unless the project meets its goals. Not all projects will be successful, but that's expected. Competition in solving problems would help identify successful approaches and weed out failed models. Projects that meet measurable criteria can build on their success with an expanded scope and budget. They also become models for other innovators. While the potential scope and benefits are huge, it's possible to start small. The UK government is encouraging departments to reallocate portions of their budgets as small as 1% to social innovation projects.
Government defines measurable goals, and companies, organizations and residents are given freedom to experiment with the delivery of the service or program. The concept is meant to be considerably less government hands-on than public-private partnerships, but they are similar. In some models, the social entrepreneur (whether that be a private sector company or non-profit) is not paid unless the project meets its goals. Not all projects will be successful, but that's expected. Competition in solving problems would help identify successful approaches and weed out failed models. Projects that meet measurable criteria can build on their success with an expanded scope and budget. They also become models for other innovators. While the potential scope and benefits are huge, it's possible to start small. The UK government is encouraging departments to reallocate portions of their budgets as small as 1% to social innovation projects.
Social innovation is appealing partly because it has a broad base of support from across the political spectrum. On one hand, some citizens want to create a more perfect democracy through an engaged public and responsive government. Open government and open data types see making data and information accessible as a cornerstone for social innovation and entrepreneurial reuse. Data becomes the raw material required for the public to analyze and build on as they develop new approaches. Social innovation is also attractive to small government types who want to find innovative, lower cost private sector solutions to entrenched problems.
By starting small, encouraging experimentation, and measuring success against concrete targets, social innovation may help build better governments and societies.
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