Lecture 02

Welcome friends to the lecture on Why is Social Innovation Necessary? So, when we talk about social innovation addressing complex social problems you see here. How are the problems addressed? First you try to understand the root cause for the problem. Next what you do is you try to co-create solutions with stakeholders. You cannot remove the stakeholders while developing solutions. For example, if I say that I know the solution listen to me which will no way sustain when you look at social innovation. There are various stakeholders for social innovation may be there can be an innovator, there can be government, there can be some NGOs who are participating, there there can be the the customer customer or the people who are involved all of them have to be in the same page. So, that you can co-creating solutions with various stakeholders are important. The third one is leveraging technology. You have to use technology you cannot do the the traditional way we have to use technology, but without sacrificing the traditional way of output. The traditional way of doing a process can be different it can be energy inefficient it will not be sustainable, but when we involve technology we are looking forward for solutions which is there. Then fourth one is creating cross sector partnership funding agencies they all come on single board to work towards a social innovation for a better cause for a society. Then whatever you do you try to always test and adapt the solution such that you can try to improvise the solution. So, how are the problems being addressed? It will be addressed first by understanding then by co-creating solutions with various stakeholders leveraging technology say for example, digital is one big boom. Then next one is creating cross sector partnership and the last one is going to be testing and adapting solutions. We at IIT Kanpur are very closely working with two segments one is with pottery segment the other one is with leather segment. In leather segment there are lot of women folks who are at home who had lot of social limitations they could not move out of the house. Now, what we have started doing is we have started giving them raw material and educating them what are all the latest leather processes and also trying to tell them what is the output we want. We train them so that their livelihood can be enhanced they start sitting at home and develop the products we try to have a network in collecting those products from them and then trying to package it and sell it across the globe. While doing so many a times these women folks come up with very interesting ideas and interesting products. So, we also give them a space for co-creating solutions. Then we always do leveraging of technology in two things one we try to take the produced out from them and then what do they do is we enter it digitally and then we ask the person who has digitally entered to put his thumb and also the women folk who has developed it to put her thumb so that we tally that what was produced and what is taken is the same. And then immediately there is a transfer of money which happens from our account to her account instantaneously saying that here is that you have you have earned for today and this is what you have done. So, all these things are done within few seconds or few minutes so that is what leveraging technology. If I say that I am going to pay you every month once then she might slowly lose her interest because what she wants is to sustain her livelihood. Then co-creating cross sectional partnership we cannot do everything. So, what we do is in turn we try to teach a startup company to do the job such that they are getting connected and next is the startup company puts the connect between the products what is produced here with rest of the world creating cross sector partnerships. And finally, testing and adopting it takes different approaches to solve a problem. There are n number of ways n number of ways to solve to solve a social problem n number of ways what works today will not work tomorrow. What works tomorrow will not work day after tomorrow. It is contemporary, it has to be mass customized such that you can see success. It is recognizes that many social problems are systemic and interconnected. Systemic means suppose if there is a error with respect to time or something ok. So, it is the error keeps creeping over period of time. So, now what is happening is you have found out that the initial first may be 10 months, 1 year, 2 years there will be an offset and then only starts the error. So, now what you do is you try to offset them and then try to give them training at regular intervals such that the products are even the first product which is produced is the best product. Systemic error means it is easy to solve you quickly go intervene and bring towards the solution. Interconnected means you are supposed to solve the same problem by multiple approaches and start doing it from multiple ways in enhancing the requirements of everything and then start solving it. Interconnection of a social problem means suppose if there are if there are several problems or several ways these are all different stakeholders and all these stakeholders are part of the team ok, all of them are interconnected. Now if you try to solve one subset problem it is not going to take you to the solution. So, it is better what you do is you try to solve all the interconnect problem such that you try to go towards the solution. There are two types of problems one is systemic problem the other one is interconnected problem. Interconnected problem means for example, education to school going children or education below the age of 10 is very important which can later solve the problems like reducing to become criminals, enhancing then the skills what is required, becoming more and more professional, understanding and appreciate their responsibilities to society. All these things are different different different problems all these things are interconnected provided if the education is given proper. So, that is called an interconnect with rest of the thing which all requiring creative solutions that consider the interplay between different factors. So, this is very important social innovation address complex social problems. You have to first understand the problem and no problem is like a simple math equation that you can go solve and come back. It is involved it has lot of dedication in in developing it. For example, the the waste paper bag pickers in Mumbai community they have been there for long and they every day carry a load of somewhere close to 25 kgs to 40 kgs on their backs. For a period of time they all started getting spinal cord injury or spinal cord issues and later after 20 years of time they lost the strength and they were no way able to have even locomotive mobility. People thought what they do is they try to carry heavy loads on their back. So, people were trying to optimize, but the major problem was every time when they see a waste they bow down and pick the waste and drop it in the bag. So, the major cause for their backache problem was every time bowing and picking. So, the solution to the problem is to develop a stick which has a which has a steel poker at its end they just stand poke take it and then drop it in their bag that was the solution. So, why am I trying to tell you is people try to develop solutions which are piecemeal. You are supposed to go to the root cause identify and then start developing solutions. When we try to start developing solutions you cannot say I watching at the the man doing it or the women doing it will come and develop the solution. You should ask them also what are the problems they face that is what is coke creating solutions along with the stakeholders. So, the understanding of the root cause is very very important it plays a major role in developing the solution or how to address the problem. So, understanding the root causes the social innovators often start by understanding the root causes of a social problem such as poverty, inequality and environment degradation. These are very important these are some, but these are very important. So, we have to look at the poverty. Why is a boy or a girl at the age of 15 involved in all lot of illegal activities? Because he was under the umbrella of poverty. Why is he under the umbrella of poverty? Because he did not have proper education in his life. Why did he not have proper education in life? Again an intermix the family was suffering from poverty. Why were they suffering from poverty? They did not have a proper house or a proper friend circle or a proper family ambience for that. So, now you see how many different interconnects are there, but all these interconnects can be solved by giving a primary education for the boy or a girl and teaching them what is their social responsibility rather than saying do's and don'ts. Teach them everybody their social responsibility, then they start lining themselves to what is their social responsibility such that the country as such achieves your goal. So, moment that is done then the poverty is gone. The inequality the gender inequality is very big which has been there in the past. Today the gap is getting bridged a lot. So, gender inequality or in the social economical inequality, then the environmental degradation more and more and more forests are getting deforest. So, now construction is going in a big way. So, what is happening oxygen and rain are not able to come. So, we have to find out what are the root causes. So, this is what is very important for a social innovator. So, how does he do? It is by understanding the root cause they can develop innovative solutions that address the underlying issues rather than just symptoms. You are supposed to underline the root cause root cause rather than looking at the symptoms. The social innovation today has failed enormously because we always look at symptoms and not look at root cause. If you want to start a entrepreneurship scheme or if you want to become a social innovator first try to spend enough time in understanding the root cause or try to do as empathy study for a duration of may be 6 months or 8 months or 1 year. Stay with the community of people, be part of the community of people, undergo the drudgery whatever they undergo, then only you will understand what you speak as a solution will that be sustainable or viable. People who are there studying social sciences they spend 6 months time in with a cluster of people or with agriculturist, with horticulturist and understand all their problems and then come with innovative solutions. If you do not do that I assure you that you will fail miserably. Understanding root cause is very very important that is why I am giving more and more emphasis do not go by symptoms go by root cause. Next is how do you co-create, co-create solutions with stakeholders. Social innovators often work collaboratively with stakeholders it can be government body, it can be NGO, it can be a professional body, it can be with an individual lot of possibilities are there. Tata gives lot of money in the in the under the domain of social innovation, then Reliance also gives it same way Pepsi, Coke they give it lot of lot of energy industries they also give social innovation, they also give lot of money towards promoting social innovations. So here the social innovation innovators often work collaboratively a single individual cannot develop a solution and if at all he develops it is not sustainable. He has to have various stakeholders in his umbrella with stakeholders including those affected by the social problem to co-create solution. You yourself cannot create a solution you have to co-create solution along with the with the people who are affected by social problems keep them this is called as co-innovation keep them in the loop then they give more and more insights more and more insights. So the point what I want to make is this participatory approach can help help in ensuring the solutions are relevant effective and have and have buy in buy in from all stakeholders buy in from all stakeholders. So this is very very important you have to co-create you have to keep them all of them in the loop and develop a solution which is relevant it has to be contemporary you cannot think of a futuristic solution you cannot think of a solution which is at the back end. See people think that rural people or tribal people are not tech savvy but it was very surprising when we started moving with them for six months study we saw many of them are tech savvy. The cluster people for example pottery cluster, textile cluster, tailoring cluster, the leather cluster we thought that they might not be tech savvy but interestingly they are all tech savvy they develop products take photo of the products post it in their whatever social media and then they get themselves connected. In fact there are people who are now conducting classes for national institutes as part of workshop modules in in exchanging their domain knowledge. So here if you see all these people are innovators so you have to work with them develop solutions which are relevant effective and can have buy in from all stakeholders. The next one is going to be testing and adopting solutions. The social innovators often use a prototype see making a prototype is very good for physical products of course digital you cannot and what we are trying to develop today with under the banner of social innovation we are predominantly trying to develop products which are physical and which can fetch them a huge value addition to reduce their their drudgery or livelihood. So the social innovators often use a prototype or testing phase to test their solutions before scaling it up. So they develop solutions and these solutions are not like one they try to develop maybe prototypes can be almost generally what we suggest is prototypes have to made at least 10 times so that you go towards a sustainable solution otherwise you will try to make a solution which nobody will pick from the market and you and you will feel defeated your emotions get defeated then you feel as though you are lost. But if you develop 5 or 10 different types means I am talking about versions of prototype then you will be very successful in developing the final and whatever you develop you should try to do it keeping scalability in mind and all the prototypes have to be developed before scaling this is the biggest mistake many of us do we try to make a prototype we try to show it to a set of customers and then immediately we say ok let us scale it up it is a huge investment. So now you make prototypes get opinion from different segments of people you can divide the market into upper class, middle class, lower class in terms of finances you can divide them and then you can try to make different versions of products for each of this segment and then you try to see whether you are able to sustain. Maybe in the lower segment you will undergo a loss but in the higher segment you will always sell few but make a innings out of it. So before trying to make a scalable solution try to have multiple prototypes. So this allow the innovator to refine and adopt solutions based on feedback and results ok. So including the name plays a very important role the name what you give for the product that also plays a important role that is also a thing which you will have to try and adopt and develop a solution and then give your name to the product. So the innovators will try to refine when I said multiple versions 10 time multiple versions. So if they make they are every time improving the solution to meet out to the customer needs. For example Nanocar is a social innovation, Mitticool is a social innovation ok and there are other things which are also there. So as and when the course goes we will see some of these case studies in detail. So look at it so it and again Nanocar was time and tested and then only it was released. Mitticool was also done the same. You have so many platforms today soil testing, soil testers there which can help in agriculture there are several online platforms which will try to tell the farmer what is the crop they should use, how are they supposed to protect because nowadays they have a dynamic sensor monitoring which keeps telling every 3 hours what is going to be the seasonal change, how is he or she going to protect, how are you going to protect the agricultural yield from the birds, from the animals that is also there. So many technologies are getting developed, but you should develop a solution you should test it and then only take it to mass production. The next one is leveraging technology. Social innovation often involves the use of technology to address social problems in a new way. So that is why I said for any problem you will have n number of solutions, n solutions are possible. It is not like mathematics so you will try to have only a one unique solution. It is not academics where in which you have one solution. In social innovation problems you will have n solutions, n different solutions. All these solutions has to be mass customized to meet out to the requirement of customers. The social innovation often involves the use of technology to address social problems in new way. For example in this part of the country oral gum cancer is one of the major disease spread because of the past practice or cultural practice people have. Now the biggest challenge is how do I monitor or how do I assess the teeth. So if I do not assess the teeth and I will not be able to give you medication and the current assessment of the teeth is very very tedious job for a dentist and because of that the dentist do not show interest in assessing the teeth and it spends lot of time for assessing. So the customer also do not go to the dentist in getting the teeth assessed. So now what is a bridge gap making the doctor efficient, making the customer to come towards the doctor is a technology. So that is what is social innovation often involves the use of technology to address social problems in new ways. For example digital platforms can be used to connect communities, share information and promote civic engagement. So this is promote civic engagement is something wherein which it involves people for the betterment of the society. So every stakeholder in the society gets their part in terms of finance so that everybody feels happy and they keep sustaining in developing social innovative solutions. The last one is going to be creating cross sector partnership. The social innovation often requires collaboration across sectors such as government, business and civic society. This is what I have explained. For example at the at Kanpur city we are trying to develop innovative solutions, social innovative solutions such that the crime rate can go low. So here we are trying to educate the people in developing various products both in terms of food industry as well as in terms of craft industry. We go meet them, we educate people in developing products. These products can be craft based products or food based products, food items which has an international market. For example the avla industry which is gooseberry which has a this has multiple vitamins inside it are now converted into a juice form, dry form or a sweet form. It has an export market. We work with them very closely, teach them technologies of solar drying in both in craftsmen and try to engage them and improve them. So we work with cross sectors, we work with government, we work with businessmen, we also work with civic society in developing solutions. By working together the stakeholders can leverage their resources, expertise and the network to create more effective solutions. Networking is very important in innovation. Networking is directly proportion to innovation. More and more networking you will have more and more innovation. More and more networking gives you to develop effective and sustainable solutions. When we try to compare different types of innovation and social innovation we have placed a table here. Social innovation is unique in its focus on creating positive social impact and fostering social changes. This is very important. So overall if you see social innovation, social innovation overall while there may be some overlap between social innovation and other types, social innovation is unique creating focus in creating positive social impact and fostering social changes. The social innovation is often driven by the sense of social purpose and a desire to create a more equitable and sustainable society. This is very important. When we look at various innovations and we compare it with social innovation you see economic innovation which is more of commercial motivation. Banks come up with several schemes right and the several businesses come with EMI, banks come with EMI, products come with EMI. So it all has a commercial motivation, but whereas in the social innovation the motivation is social value and transformation of society. How do I transform a group of people who are undergoing some drudgery today into a better citizen that is social innovation. Next is radical innovation, more interest to improve the living condition of excluded population, no interest to improve the lively condition of excluded population. Radical innovation does not think of below the triangle people, below the triangle at the bottom of the pyramid the people they do not consider, but they look for others. So radical innovation here intentionality in social change is part of social innovation. Next is disruptive innovation, it always looks for low cost products and vision of beneficiaries such as market segment is part of disruptive innovation. Here view of the marginalized population as development actors. The last one is social programs, they are nothing but preservation of social structure. Vision based on empowerment and change of the social structure is part of social innovation. Very important table which compares economic innovation, radical innovation, disruptive innovation, social programs with social innovation. This is a wonderful table which compares everything. This gives you a more understanding about social innovation and the rest of all other innovations. Moving further, social innovation encourages collaboration. You will have public, you will have private, informal and you will have non-profit or third segment non-profit or third sector involved in developing social innovative solutions. The collaboration can happen amongst public or public private or it can have public private and informal, it can have public private informal and third sector or non-profit sector. It can happen among all these things. The social innovation can bring together diverse stakeholders, diverse stakeholders public, private, informal and third sector. The collaboration can help to leverage resources, this is very important, between partners and create collective impact. These two are very important. Why is collaboration? These two keywords, one is collective impact and leverage resources. So, when we talk about when we talk about sources of social innovation, when we talk about public, it gives you space for linking efforts, it helps in innovation co-financing, it helps in creation of norms, regulation and laws. So, these are some of the things which fall under public. You can see private, it is their corporate social responsibility, social responsibility, social purpose driven business model and then they have social enterprise which is more of cooperative. You have so many cooperatives societies which are there in our country. For example, at IIT Kanpur, we are trying to establish a cooperative wherein which all the all the employees which who are involved in mess, they can be part of the society in developing the solutions to the problem. For example, you can have people who are helped in cleaning, who are helped in maintaining facilities, people who are involved in security. So, all of them what they do is they all contribute x amount monthly for a cooperative and this cooperative runs some basic facility at IIT Kanpur wherein which they make a profit again it is shared among them. So, it is social enterprise which is on a cooperative basis. When we talk about informal, it talks about collective actions, social movement and volunteering are part of informal. These are the sources and the last one which is non-profit third sector which is articulation of efforts, models of intervention and accompaniment and last is hybrid structures like economic and social values are part of it. These are the different sources which falls under the four vertical of public, private, informal and third sector. Let us see little more details in the non-profit sectors or the third sector. Here the treating various problems and addressing the neglected demands state and the market is first thing what they try to collect information through this non-profit and third sector. Its inclusion occurred through the generation of space for articulation with other sectors. This is important which is done by this segment. The production of intervention models aimed to create multiple forms of value such as economic and institutional is part of non-profit sector which is a source of social innovation. Production of intervention models aimed to create multiple forms of value such as economic and institutional. When we talk about state, organization of the state that through programs, norms, laws, and other mechanisms seek to promote social change is public. For example, programs providing finances in developing toilets in rural places is a program which tries to avoid open deficacy. So, it is a through a program a change is being brought out. Then wearing helmet will try to reduce the accidents. So, because of that the amount of money spent by the government is reduced. You educate and insist that they should wear a helmet while traveling. Today what they have done is the government has done they have introduced digi photos of a person when he is violating and immediately the fine or the token is sent as against his registered vehicle. So, this is a law. So, understanding the law in bringing social innovation. So, their participation has focused on the allocation of spaces for linking the efforts of different organizations and sectors. The co-financing of this type of innovation, then creation of norms, regulation, laws that promote this innovation and legitimating movement. and legitimating movement and social action support by groups of organized social society. Private these organization began to develop a model of attention to social problems for from their areas of social responsibility consolidating the business model with social purpose. In this sector social enterprises emerged which have built social business models that address a social problem and generate income necessary to maintain and scale up their operation. Here we have private partners which play a very important role. For example, big corporate companies they try to teach they try to teach some of the basic operations in developing the final product. So, this is operation 1, operation 2, operation 3 all these things are getting assembled in the company and then the product is made. Now the the come the corporate world works with the community of developing doing the operation 1 in their own at their own place, operation 2 in in the place where the human is available 3 and then they try to assemble and then try to sell it. Even the assembly is removed the final product is given the corporate world gets the product and then they put their seal and then they try to sell the product in the market. So, here the corporate world is trying to integrate the people such that their income is generated which has built social business models that address a social problem and generate the income necessary to maintain and scale up their operation. The activities carried by individuals, families, communities that are not captured by private, public and non-profit segments falls under informal. My family gives every year some money for the betterment of school education. My community tries to give better tries to plant every year 10,000 trees which all have medicinal values such that the people who are there can maintain these plants and then have a livelihood. Individual can give Melinda Gates foundation the individual the individual gives a huge money in developing social innovation across the globe by, but these activities work to meet social needs including non-monetarized activities undertaken by civic, religious and social group. Here there is no output they only collect data they work with the people they try to integrate the people that is what they do in informal. So, if you want to foster social innovation, so social innovative fostering and entrepreneurship it creates opportunities for entrepreneur to develop and implement innovative solutions to social problems innovative solutions to social problems leads to fostering of enterprise. Here are a few ways of social innovation that can foster entrepreneurship identifying unmet social needs unmet social needs. Encouraging experimentation and risk taking attitude. So, that means to say every year you try to give a loan or try to try to promote 100 startups in the area of social entrepreneurship may be out of which 10 percent only come successful do not worry, but if you do not take the risk and if you do not do experimentation the social innovation segment will die and the betterment for the society cannot happen. Providing access to resources and networks when giving money alone for innovation is not the problem hand holding them for the betterment is also very very important. There is a segment of social architect the innovator should understand the social architect and then they will try to have access to multiple resources and networking. They also try to have fostering collaboration. Collaboration mean see collaboration means I and you are equal I have a knowledge you have a knowledge let us transfer or let us share, so that we bring in a synergetic solution and you should also try to have a way in measuring the impact what you do. I spend 100 dollars this year for this community people has it improvised something are they all happy? Happy is something which is a relative factor. So, you have to come up with some other some other points or some other evaluating parameters you have to evaluate and then you will do. So, these are certain ways of a social innovation can be foster can foster entrepreneurship. So, the social innovation improving lives of people social innovation is improvising lives in a variety of way by creating new and innovative solutions. There can be improving access to education in giving digital access digital access or giving data digital data for the betterment digital data or trying to give them a storage space storage space digitally to have all their details, then improvising access to education enhancing their health care. If you invest lot of money in the early age of a person in having a better health care then later days you do not have to pump in huge money. So, then reducing poverty then promoting environmental sustainability encouraging people to stop deforesting and strengthening social cohesion. These are all few examples wherein which social innovation is improvising lives in a variety of ways that is why today social innovation social entrepreneurship is very very important. To conclude this lecture social innovation has several attributes that have increased its relevance regarding the processes of development and social transformation. So, it has several attributes that can increase its increase its relevance process of development social transformation this is very very important. So, social transformation in a sustainable way is nothing, but social innovation. Currently there is a consensus of the on the importance of promoting the creation of social in a way innovation worldwide especially in the developing countries. This need lies in the capacity of social innovation to produce long term social change and to transform social system. For example, today across the globe the world leaders have started pushing more and more research towards social innovation. They wanted to have more and more social innovation through technology they want research to happen more and more in developing sustainable solutions for the society. This is where the governments are focusing world leaders visionary leaders are emphasizing this is why this topic is becoming more and more relevant for today. The reference book which I have used is social innovation and social entrepreneurship fundamentals which concepts and tools by Lewis I have used chapter 1 the book got published in 2019. So, here I would like to give you a small assignment which you do not have to submit it to me, but the assignment will try to help you understand the need for social innovation. So, try to talk to your home made about her burning problems she faces every day back at home. So, this is the first thing and then ask her or him how many people in their society face a similar problem try to talk about this try to do this assignment try to spend some time spend 30 minutes with her not in one day, but at least 3 sessions and then try to table what is the problem she face and what do you think can be a technological solution to those problems do not discuss the solution to the problem only discuss what is the burning issue she is facing every day such that she is getting more fatigue or there is lot of drudgery in her family. Thank you very much for attending this lecture I am sure in this course you will have many more small things which we will see in detail which can give you a more clarity about social innovation and entrepreneurship. Thank you.