August #ideachat: “Ideas for Social Good”

More than likely you’ve seen or heard this line before. A well known aphorism attributed to Gandhi, “be the change” has been used in speeches by world leaders, has been found in the title of several books, and can be seen stickered to car bumpers all around the world. It is used as a mantra to inspire those seeking new and better ways of living in the world, and social change-makers working to transform it. So what does it mean? To me it is a signpost, a reminder that if I want to live in a more peaceful, equal, compassionate and environmentally sustainable world, then I need to live in a more peaceful way, treat everyone equally, act with compassion and change the way I do and consume things to lessen my footprint in the world. It means that I need to be mindul, take personal responsibility for my choices and actions, and play my part in realising a vision of better futures – not just for me and my family, but for the whole planet. It’s clear that the sole responsibility of addressing our most pressing social and environmental issues can no longer be left to government. It’s also unreasonable to expect the good folk that work and volunteer in the not-for-profit and community sectors should be able to come up with solutions by themselves either. In fact, if we are to solve these so called wicked problems then we need be addressing these issues systemically and working in new ways across sectors drawing from diverse disciplines for new approaches to cocreate innovative and effective solutions to transform our failing systems and institutions. As Einstein famously stated, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” And it might just be good business. So what do we need to be doing differently, and how do we need to be thinking differently if we’re to solve the grand challenges of our time? Where can we find ideas for social good and how might we best make them happen and have a positive impact? Join us for this month’s #ideachat where we’ll explore ideas for social good – and the idea of social good. We will discuss how we can support the development of a global ecosystem to share, develop and implement ideas to transform community, culture and systems, and ideas that can help us build better futures for all, together. Some food for thought and seeds for discussion…

• Generating and capturing ideas for social good – what works?
• The value and effectiveness of crowdsourcing ideas, and use of platforms like OpenIDEO
• The benefit of multi-disciplinary approaches, including: 1) design thinking and service design and 2) rapid prototyping and the lean startup
• The importance of cross-sector collaboration
• Open source solutions and open collaborative approaches
• Accelerating the development of ideas and projects through incubators and development programs
• Social Enterpreneurship – creating sustainable business models that have an impact
• Creating shared value – connecting business, societal value and opportunity

A little inspiration… Stanford Social Innovation Review – Informing and inspiring leaders of change Echoing Green – Unleashing your talent to solve the world’s biggest problems Unreasonable Institute – Giving high impact entrepreneurs wings Berkana Institute – Whatever the problem, community is the answer Wiser Earth Worldchanging GOOD – For people who give a damn The Story of Stuff Project PSFK – Your go-to source for new social good ideas and inspiration The Chronicle of Philanthropy (Social Good posts) – Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs and ideas Mashable (Social Good posts) Some great resources… IDEO Human Centered Design Toolkit Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving – Design thinking and social enterprise Change Agency – Supporting effective community action GOOD Maker – A tool to help you make good ideas happen Start Some Good (crowdfunding platform) – Connects social entrepreneurs with people who want help Plan Big (Australia) – A community of people with tools, skills & know-how turning big ideas into reality Do Gooder (Australia) – Create seriously good campaign websites Change.org – Campaign website Crowdrise – online fundraising Beth Kanter – Using social media to power change Potential questions to frame the discussion

1. What makes a good idea for social good?
2. What’s the best approach to developing ideas for social good to ensure they are appropriate, effective and executable?
3. How can we uncover the best ideas for social good? Brainstorming? Crowdsourcing? Competitions?
4. What are some of your favourite creative and innovative campaigns or projects for social good?
5. What organisations from nonprofit, corporate or government do you think are leading the way for great ideas for social good?
6. How can we help people and orgs challenged with limited resources and capability to implement these ideas for social good?