From the ANTvibes Blog
New ideas and trains of thought are the engines that power social innovations past, present, and future. Recently, a new generation of social entrepreneurs has emerged and is imparting business-like models to social innovation programs and non-profit organizations. As collaboration between different cultures becomes more common, the capacity to problem solve is also on the rise.
Working as a team to solve problems is crucial as the number of potential tools, technologies, and methods available to create solutions soar. Different individuals specialize in different areas of knowledge, so naturally having a more diverse group of collaborators should lead to more complete and thought-out solutions.
But collaboration does not simply entail the formation of new solutions and ideas; a major downfall of innovation has been the potential to take an idea and spread it to a larger platform. General acceptance of innovative practices can be slow to catch on with governments, businesses, and the public. By collaborating with different individuals and organizations, there is greater potential for change and action to occur. Collaboration is needed to focus funding, resources, and awareness to the correct channels so innovative ideas can be shared and implemented on larger scales.
Moreover, standard organizational practices also require innovation. The non-profit sector is plagued by slow response time, which many social entrepreneurs strive to change by bridging the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Innovative thinkers who are able to navigate through bureaucratic organizational waters are needed. A major goal is to streamline social innovation programs into practice and at the same time revise dated communication and administrative procedures.
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