I found this tip on social innovation to be widely applicable:
Deliver value; what are the benefits for people using the end product, does it improve a persons life?
I think that my passion can lead me to follow many paths towards social innovation, but this principle applies to all of them. When you produce something, whether a program that people participate in or a new mechanical invention, if it doesn't improve on something, then it won't make a difference. This reflects many issues that we, as innovators, should keep in mind. First, that the needs we try to fulfill must be properly identified by talking to people, listening to them and learning about their lives. Until you grasp another person's experience, you cannot work with them to affect positive change. Improvement is subjective and you must find out what it means to others before you can work with them to achieve it.
Second, delivering value in any form is only effective if it is also empowering. If they people you work with aren't involved in the process and given opportunities to contribute to the end product in meaningful ways, then the end value will be inherently less. Experience itself is a valuable product and the end product is more valuable if it is worked for, not bestowed upon someone.
Lastly, I think that delivering value should not be an end point, but a stop on the way to more solutions. Every project should be built/designed with the intention of improving it further. Short-term improvement is very important, but long-term progress is a process and if we do everything with an eye towards increasing its impact later, we put a larger solution into motion. Creative solutions are dynamic, as values and needs change, our products and initiatives must be able to change with them.
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