What does social innovation mean to you?
The great Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses,” giving future generations one of the best lessons in innovation from just 14 words. Henry Ford, an iconic role model in industrialism, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy, truly represented what innovation means to the world of tomorrow. Customers and peers can easily describe a problem they are having– in this case, wanting to get somewhere faster– but almost never have the best solution. However, how does this mentality work when there is no specific “customer” to target. This is how social innovation differs from its more profitable counterpart.
Social innovation to me less so focuses on changing the common practices of life to improve efficiencies, but rather aims to find solutions to existing problems within common social needs– like education, welfare, and working conditions. Some examples of social innovation that I believe have best helped improve the wellbeing of the common person are online learning (especially during the pandemic), economic fair trade, and the one I most resonate with charter schools. I am a product of a charter school, having attended one through grades 9-12, and for me the experiences I gained at that school will stay with me for a lifetime. The impact my highschool had for me has allowed me to become excited for what effects the future of social innovation will have in the communities around me.
In addition to what I already knew on the subject prior to this program, I was able to grow my understanding of social innovation during my initial week and a half of my Duke Engage Experience in Detroit. Through my work at Tech Town Detroit, I have learned that social innovation and entrepreneurship does not always have to impact people directly, but instead nurture other businesses and companies looking to improve personal wellbeing.
However, what social innovation means most to me is unity. Social innovation allows for communities of people to come together to change certain practices for the better. In today’s world it is difficult to get any group of people to agree on anything, but certain solutions to some of the social problems described in a previous paragraph allow for groups to find commonalities among one another.
Overall, I am interested to see how my definition of social innovation changes over my remaining seven weeks on this program, and what I can do to help improve Detroit at large.
The great Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses,” giving future generations one of the best lessons in innovation from just 14 words. Henry Ford, an iconic role model in industrialism, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy, truly represented what innovation means to the world of tomorrow. Customers and peers can easily describe a problem they are having– in this case, wanting to get somewhere faster– but almost never have the best solution. However, how does this mentality work when there is no specific “customer” to target. This is how social innovation differs from its more profitable counterpart.
Social innovation to me less so focuses on changing the common practices of life to improve efficiencies, but rather aims to find solutions to existing problems within common social needs– like education, welfare, and working conditions. Some examples of social innovation that I believe have best helped improve the wellbeing of the common person are online learning (especially during the pandemic), economic fair trade, and the one I most resonate with charter schools. I am a product of a charter school, having attended one through grades 9-12, and for me the experiences I gained at that school will stay with me for a lifetime. The impact my highschool had for me has allowed me to become excited for what effects the future of social innovation will have in the communities around me.
In addition to what I already knew on the subject prior to this program, I was able to grow my understanding of social innovation during my initial week and a half of my Duke Engage Experience in Detroit. Through my work at Tech Town Detroit, I have learned that social innovation and entrepreneurship does not always have to impact people directly, but instead nurture other businesses and companies looking to improve personal wellbeing.
However, what social innovation means most to me is unity. Social innovation allows for communities of people to come together to change certain practices for the better. In today’s world it is difficult to get any group of people to agree on anything, but certain solutions to some of the social problems described in a previous paragraph allow for groups to find commonalities among one another.
Overall, I am interested to see how my definition of social innovation changes over my remaining seven weeks on this program, and what I can do to help improve Detroit at large.
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