Ever thought deeply about a social justice issue or our state of the environment and found yourself wondering, “how would someone even begin to solve this problem?”

If so, you’re not alone. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest, and escalating concerns around climate change, social innovation was taking hold of the hearts and minds of people around the world. We started caring more about the environment, the people around us, and it showed一even in our purchasing behavior. By 2019, 70% of consumers wanted to know what the brands they support are doing to address social and environmental issues, and 70% were willing to pay a 35% premium to guarantee brands were using sustainable practices.

Social innovation has exploded so much over recent years that big-name business schools like Stanford and Harvard have dedicated entire learning tracks to it, teaching the next generation how to solve some of the world’s most complicated, important problems. But what exactly is social innovation? How does it work? And why should we continue to care about and promote it? This piece will define social innovation in theory, highlight a few examples, and explain how social innovation can shape our future.

What is social innovation?

Social innovation is an ideation and development process solely focused on solving problems in the environmental and social sectors. Innovations might be services, products, or models that address unmet needs. Social innovators need a deep understanding of the challenges they are trying to address and the systems that may or may not support their solution to make a true impact. As a result, social innovators often come from diverse backgrounds that give them the ability to persuade government entities, businesses, and nonprofits to take action.

What’s the difference between social innovation and social entrepreneurship?

Many people use these terms interchangeably, but there’s a difference between social innovation and social entrepreneurship. Social innovation is about an idea that creates change and performs better than existing solutions. This idea then needs to be evangelized and embraced by the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. For instance, a cell phone isn’t a social innovation product in and of itself. However, it can be used to store a digital wallet for farm workers that helps them find work, gets them access to food and resources, and contains the documents they need to access services. Getting nonprofits that currently serve farm workers onboard with this idea, incorporating it into a piece of farm worker legislation, and involving private or public companies in making the digital wallet is critical to adoption.

Social entrepreneurship, on the other hand, is more about mindset. Social entrepreneurs are passionate about what’s happening in their communities, and they want to spur change within them. However, those organizations may not be social enterprises, and social entrepreneurs’ ideas may not be particularly socially innovative. And, ultimately, the most crucial and complex problems cannot be resolved without involving public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Examples of social innovation

Sometimes we take social innovation for granted since it’s truly all around us. Take teaching, for instance. Charter schools are publicly funded but aren’t held to the same rules and regulations as traditional public schools. Without these constraints, teachers and administrators can take a more unique, out-of-the-box approach to teaching and increase learning opportunities for pupils identified as academically low achieving.

While much work remains to be done in the food labeling space, another well-known social innovation is the fair trade movement. Labeling chocolate, sugar, and coffee as “fair trade” certifies that the products have been harvested by farmers earning a living wage and that the emissions from manufacturing plants, buildings, or other practices meet certain environmental standards. While these products can be slightly more expensive than alternatives, consumers are willing to pay more for ethically, sustainably-sourced goods.

In a somewhat similar approach, some US states and several countries have instituted a carbon tax. The government sets a price businesses and consumers must pay for each ton of greenhouse gas they emit. These programs aim to motivate people to reduce their emissions by either leveraging new technologies or using less harmful fuel.

Outside of these more familiar models lies an entire slew of technology-enabled social innovation examples. For example, the internet, smartphones, Bluetooth, and even blockchain are new ways to expand resources and information. This is especially true for historically underserved populations such as farm workers.

Nonprofits like the UFW Foundation and technology consulting firms like Entidad are working together to develop simple, yet powerful smartphone applications to help farm workers learn about their rights, store documents, and connect them to emergency relief programs. At the same time, government officials are working to pass the Farm Worker Modernization Act to complement these efforts, providing farm workers a path to legal status while ensuring fair wages and working conditions — a win for all parties involved.

Why does social innovation matter for our future?

Reading those select few examples of social innovation at work underscores its enormous significance in our lives. But what about moving forward? Well, some would argue social innovation will be even more of a priority in the future, given that the world’s societal and environmental challenges continue to spiral. Yet, even right now, there’s a massive gap between the scope and scale of the problems we face and the solutions we offer.

Our life expectancy is rising without the economic or healthcare infrastructure to support it. At the same time, climate change is worsening, as shown by rising temperatures, increased prevalence of natural disasters, and prolonged droughts. On top of that, many people lack the digital literacy to learn how they can get help in times of need, offer their ideas or perspectives, and speak out about these growing issues. There are also language, education, and communication obstacles to remedying these increasingly complicated problems.

Social innovation inherently breaks down barriers by garnering public, governmental, and nonprofit support and encouraging exchanging ideas. And with modern technology, the rise of social media, and the integration of private capital and philanthropic support, social innovation has the power to tackle the colossal hurdles in our future.

Social innovation in practice

Social innovation is critical to our current and future safety, but it’s certainly not a walk in the park. In fact, social innovation is particularly difficult, given that social and environmental issues are often longstanding and systemic. To create a socially innovative product or service, you need to understand the problem you’re solving inside and out, fundraise, market your idea, and be ready to face opposition in the public and private sectors. But with the right mix of people, ideas, and mission, social innovation can change the world.

The work that Entidad and the UFW Foundation are doing is a prime example of this “right mix.” Together, they have developed digital products that take input directly from farm workers. With the right technology, the right advocates, and the right mindset, We are transforming the farm worker experience. Learn more about their work and how you can contribute to social innovation by visiting the Entidad website.

‍