The opportunities in an Economic Downturn for Designers

I keep hearing of people being laid off – Designers are losing their jobs in the current downturn. So what do they do. I have a few ideas for things you can do as you wait for the economy to turn around:
1. Go back to uni and do a Masters degree. So you get to [...]

Design School Vision

I finally started writing – the tool kit for a new School of Design. A tool kit because a vision is so self aggarandising. Tool kit is so much more participative. For now the tool kit has three parts – a way to do a take on design.

1. The Agenda – which in this case [...]

KICKING GOALS – CHANGING LIVES: Discussions about homelessness, poverty, social entrepreneurship and making a change

Series Venue:  BMW Edge at Federation Square, Melbourne
Series Moderator:  Ms Tracee Hutchison, a writer, broadcaster, reporter for
ABC TV’s 7.30 Report and Saturday Age Opinion columnist.
FREE ENTRY
CONVERSATION ONE
Wednesday 3 December – Kicking Goals – Changing Lives
A discussion with young people about street soccer, crime, homelessness,
poverty, achievement against the odds and how young people can make a
difference [...]

Obama White House Wishlist: ‘Office of Social Entrepreneurship’

Social Entrepreneurship – Change.org: Obama White House Wishlist: ‘Office of Social Entrepreneurship’
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported yesterday that influential progressive think tanks New Democracy Fund and the Center for American Progress are advocating for the creation of a White House Office for Social Entrepreneurship.
While Obama had advocated for a Social Entrepreneurship Agency on the campaign [...]

Enabled by Design now a ‘dot org’ social start up

enabled by design
As of today, we are officially a ‘dot org’ social start up!
Marking an important new chapter in the Enabled by Design story, today sees the launch of the Innovation Exchange’s Next Practice programme. EbD and 13 other third sector innovation projects have been chosen to work with the Innovation Exchange and develop our [...]

Social Entrepreneurship Defined

Social Entrepreneurship Defined | Social Velocity
Because social innovation is such a new field, terms are still being defined. At times terms are used interchangeably when in reality they have very different meanings. Academics and thought leaders are still hammering out final definitions, but in the interim a common language is beginning to emerge. In an [...]

Hawkens new book

Blessed Unrest
Blessed Unrest is exciting, compelling, and very important. It describes the growing unrest that I encounter around the world, the frustration and courage of those who dare to challenge the power of the political corporate world. Paul Hawken states eloquently all that I believe so passionately to be true – that there is inherent [...]

Campus Recycling Project

A Project to recycle waste on campus.

Social Innovation Examples

I am keen to make and publicise a list of ’social Innovation’ case studies located in Melbourne Australia.
These may be projects/ companies/ ventures/ initiatives/ and other such collectives formed for social good – with or without a profit motive.
Can you give me examples to add to my list? I have a list here which I [...]

Youth and Causes

So doing good shouldn’t feel like a chore – and so the alldaybuffet is a network in the US – a network of youth who want to do good. Like the melbourne green drinks of o2 australia – alldaybuffet too has a drinks programme. Or as they say it – ” Why? Because you’re [...]

Waste

The Waste project is on Hold! And will be activated in November as a business model for community orientated waste/ recycling services.
The project has developed a model and run a pilot recycling program. The effort now is to convert the model and pilot into a business model for dissemination.

‘Garbage from Naples is being carted north [...]

Disruptive Social Innovation

India’s Mega-Disruptive Social Innovation? A Tiny Car
Posted by Navi Radjou on June 4, 2008 8:43 AM
I recently caught up with senior execs from various business units at the Tata Group, India’s leading conglomerate. They were all rightfully proud of the $2,500 Nano, the world’s cheapest car. We discussed how, before it has even [...]

Base of the Samosa

I have finally begun reading Prahalad – and have been deeply and persistently irritated. First it was the blase account of the post colonial history of India. Then it is the valorising of Hindustan Lever and putting all into the framework of a ’social’ economic construct – and of course the pyramid. There is no [...]

CK Prahalad, Furtune at the Bottom of the Pyramid

What is Social Innovation?

Many definitions:

Social innovation is a concept that involves the use of new technology, or the new use of existing technology to achieve a social purpose. It includes the application of examples of good social practice so that these can have an impact on more people. From here.
Social Innovation happens through new solutions to social needs. [...]

Strategic Story Telling and Social Innovation

What do stories have to do with social enterprise?
At its core, social entrepreneurship is about introducing a new story of social innovation – and convincing others to believe in your market-based solution. Too often, the status quo stands in the way of behavior change and idea adoption.
Most social entrepreneurs must ask others to reframe [...]

Waste and SI

My foray into waste began in 1998 as a classroom exercise for my students where we were looking at types of problems and ways to approach them . The first exercise to design a better garbage bin became an exercise to portray the whole system. Two months later I agreed to do a pilot project, [...]