The drama of Australia’s government sending the army and police into aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory raises serious questions about how we find better ways to solve social problems.
Family violence and sexual abuse have been around for centuries. Despite all our medical and policing know how and technology, we still seem unable to fix problems that mess up the lives of the incoming generation, and probably pass on to their children.
WorkVentures, the nonprofit social and economic development organisation I established in 1979, has been working with urban Indigenous communities for over 25 years, and more recently with rural communities. We have learned that social problems are complex and take time to fix, even with the best expertise, local community support and lots of resources.
Australia has led the world in reducing the harmful affects of AIDS and smoking. These problems too have involved complex and emotive issues concerning social behaviour.
This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the referendum granting citizenship rights to Indigenous Australians and the bicentenary of the British and US laws which abolished slavery. It seems fitting that we also work on ways to create social change or social innovation more effectively.
Inventing a new product or finding a medical breakthrough has well established research and development processes, but creating social change or innovation has been largely a ‘hit and miss’ affair. We often seem to be working to relieve the symptoms rather than fixing the underlying problem. Sometimes good ideas are not considered due to opposition by powerful interests or for political reasons. Little thorough research is available on what works in the social arena to enable factual comparison of alternative solutions.
The UK based Young Foundation, is currently leading a global strategy to find better processes for social innovation and to enable effective international collaboration to create solutions for social and environmental problems. It is creating an international Social Innovation Exchange, involving partners from the UK, China, the US, and Europe.
A group of Australians from the business, community, academic and government sectors are working to establish an Australian Social Innovation Exchange (ASIX) to participate in the international project and enable better cross-sector collaboration among groups here seeking solutions for our national social challenges.
Drug abuse, violence, poverty, environmental destruction and mental illness, are just a few of the often interconnected, problems our communities face today. With resources available from our abundant wealth, goodwill and skill, we must find better ways to reduce the waste of lives and of national resources, to build a more sustainable society.
Some Useful Web Resources –
The Young Foundation www.youngfoundation.org.uk has a useful report - Social Innovation – what it is, why it matters and how it can be accelerated.
Innovation Rules! A roadmap to creativity and innovation for not-for-profit organisations www.nfpSynergy.net/freereports
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