SOCIAL SPECIAL How
Technology Can Help Solve Societal Problems
As Charles Dickens so astutely observed about life during the
French Revolution in “A Tale of Two Cities,” it was the best and worst of
times. One could say the same thing today. The Fourth Industrial Revolution of
technology networks and platforms could usher in an era of mass societal
disruption — as well as unprecedented social cooperation. Whether the latter
would prevail depends on the ability of nonprofit entities and the broader
social sector to boost their collective impact by adopting the new business
models that are disrupting the for-profit world. It would also depend on
whether they can embrace what we call ‘Social Change as a Platform’ or SCaaP.
During the turbulent 1960s, Bob Dylan wrote the following
powerful lyrics for “The Times They Are A-Changin’” that seems apropos for
today. “Come gather ’round people, wherever you roam, and admit that the
waters around you have grown. And accept it that soon, you’ll be drenched to
the bone. If your time to you is worth savin’, then you better start swimmin’
or you’ll sink like a stone. For the times they are a-changin’.” At
the time, anti-war protests ruled the day. A generational collide over the
future of America was afoot. And all the images of a nation coming apart at its
seams were emblazoned across a new communications medium — TV — that was coming
of age.
And so is it today. The Fourth Industrial Revolution — what
Klaus Schwab (founder of the World Economic Forum) defines as the fusion of
technologies blurring the lines among the physical, digital and biological
spheres — is upon us. Meanwhile, nationalism is colliding with globalism,
machine learning and artificial intelligence advancing geometrically, and
global warming is on a direct path to changing the very nature of our planet.
Despite these many challenges, this revolution, like the many that have
preceded it, also comes with a great promise of opportunity.
To be sure, there are reasons for great optimism. In just the
past 30 years, the global poverty rate halved with many of the poorest people
in the world becoming significantly less poor. These gains mirror dramatic
improvements in health and education including advances in life expectancy,
child mortality, health care provision, among other important areas. Moreover,
most of these gains predate the effective integration of digital technologies
into the cause. In short, it is reasonable to argue that the potential for
social ‘changemakers’ armed with today’s digital platforms in partnership with
large and growing virtual networks can dramatically improve the human
condition.
Self-organization Powered by Technology
Civil society — the network of institutions that define us as
actors in the civil sphere independent of governments — is supposed to serve as
the leader in promoting pluralism and social benefit. As Klaus Schwab notes
that “a renewed focus on the essential contribution of civil society to a
resilient global system alongside government and business has emerged.”
Unfortunately, nonprofit groups, academic institutions and philanthropic organizations
engaged in social change are struggling to adapt to the new global,
technological and virtual landscape.
Legacy modes of operation, governance and leadership
competencies rooted in the age of physical realities continue to dominate the
space. Further, organizations still operate in internal and external silos —
far from crossing industry lines, which are blurring. And their ability to lead
in a world that is changing at an exponential rate seems hampered by their
mental models and therefore their business models of creating and sustaining
value as well.
If civil society is not to get drenched and sink like a stone,
it must start swimming in a new direction. This new direction starts with
social organizations fundamentally rethinking the core assumptions driving
their attitudes, behaviors and beliefs about creating long-term sustainable
value for their constituencies in an exponentially networked world. Rather than
using an organization-centric model, the nonprofit sector and related
organizations need to adopt a mental model based on scaling relationships in a
whole new way using today’s technologies — the SCaaP model.
KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON HIGH SCHOOL
Embracing social change as a platform is more than a theory of
change, it is a theory of being — one that places a virtual network or
individuals seeking social change at the center of everything and leverages
today’s digital platforms (such as social media, mobile, big data and machine
learning) to facilitate stakeholders (contributors and consumers) to connect,
collaborate, and interact with each other to exchange value among each other to
effectuate exponential social change and impact.
SCaaP builds on the government as a platform movement (Gov 2.0)
launched by technologist Tim O’Reilly and many others. Just as Gov 2.0 was not
about a new kind of government but rather, as O’Reilly notes, “government
stripped down to its core, rediscovered and reimagined as if for the first
time,” so it is with social change as a platform. Civil society is the primary
location for collective action and SCaaP helps to rebuild the kind of
participatory community celebrated by 19th century
French historian Alexis de Tocqueville when he observed that Americans’
propensity for civic association is central to making our democratic experiment
work. “Americans of all ages, all stations in life, and all types of
disposition,” he noted, “are forever forming associations.”
But SCaaP represents a fundamental shift in how civil society
operates. It is grounded in exploiting new digital technologies, but extends
well beyond them to focus on how organizations think about advancing their core
mission — do they go at it alone or do they collaborate as part of a network?
SCaaP requires thinking and operating, in all things, as a network. It requires
updating the core DNA that runs through social change organizations to put
relationships in service of a cause at the center, not the institution. When
implemented correctly, SCaaP will impact everything — from the way an
organization allocates resources to how value is captured and measured to
helping individuals achieve their full potential.
Digital Platforms Empower Social Change at
Scale
To be sure, early adopters are already using technology to
effectuate change at a pace and scale not previously available in the physical
and digitally disconnected world. The marginal cost of delivery remains too
high. But with today’s technologies, with support from the board and management
to make it happen, social change at scale is possible. Here are some organizations
that are on the way to implementing SCaaP.
·
DonorsChoose.org: Every one of their 1.5 million donors can
create engagement paths for each potential recipient of a classroom project,
matching their specific giving preferences and history — something previously
available only to large donors. It is the only nonprofit to be named to Fast
Company’s list of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the world.
·
Health Leads: It is a healthcare organization that connects
low-income patients with the basic resources they need to be healthy, as part
of their regular doctor’s visits. As Forbes noted, “Community
health workers, case managers and/or student volunteers screen patients for
unmet needs and help them access any of the 50 basic resource needs relevant
for their circumstances, such as food assistance, childcare vouchers,
enrollment in a GED program — even negotiating with the utilities company to
get their heat turned back on.”
·
College for America: Southern New Hampshire University went from
a small, relatively unremarkable New England institution to one of the biggest
nonprofit online educators in the country. According to Campus
Technology magazine, “SNHU has succeeded in the online space by
leveraging technology and providing well-constructed courses and Amazon-like
customer service to mostly older students at a cost they can afford.”
·
Salesforce.org’s Power of Us Hub: Among the most successful
online communities built on Salesforce technology, the Power of Us Hub
facilitates peer-to-peer collaboration around the effective use of technology
for more than 30,000 social change organizations. More than 98% of the
questions asked get answered by the community, a real shared benefit model in
action.
Just as Apple chose a platform approach when launching their App
Store, these organizations are enabling their partners and contributors to
share and co-create in the value chain they co-inhabit. Each has moved beyond
allowing supporters to donate and promote, toward sharing real value through
stakeholders’ talents and assets.
Tomorrow’s SCaaP
We are at the dawn of the SCaaP era. The future of social change
as a platform is a world of connected platforms working to solve society’s most
pressing challenges more effectively as fast as possible. These platforms will supersede
and encompass existing social change organizations. Those organizations that
embrace social change as a platform will lead the way in helping to usher in
this new era of connected social change platforms.
The core assets needed today to advance social change — ideas,
individuals and institutions — continue to be the primary ingredients. What is
changing and will continue to change, however, is the way these assets are
assembled to deliver maximum social impact. Organizations can achieve SCAAP to
the extent that those with a shared cause can gradually maximize shared
capability (platforms) and minimize organization products. This represents a
radical shift in approach.
Every organization relies on its information, capabilities and
assets to be effective, but their networks are largely untapped or
underutilized. Creating more value and scaling social impact requires the
organizations’ leaders to leverage their networks, tapping into new sources of
value, both tangible and intangible.
Value in the social impact supply chain will continue to come
from new sources, for those who allow that to happen. Existing stakeholders in
social change organizations will add value in new ways and new stakeholders
will interact in new ways with the community’s resources and assets via the
platform. SCaaP will increasingly bring all those actors and sectors together.
Philanthropic institutions supporting similar causes will be
working together out in the open, ensuring all their resources and those
supported through their grant-making are at the disposal of the community
working to advance social change — not any one individual or institution. These
efforts will be focused on maximizing the way value is derived and how the
agency is built, shared and advanced throughout the network.
Key SCaaP Advantages to Nonprofits
Social change organizations that leverage their stakeholder’s
networks as well as their tangible (programs and services) and intangible
(expertise and relationships) assets will gain these and other advantages from
embracing the SCaaP business model.
·
Decreases costs: Stakeholders willing to share their opinions,
skills, relationships and even real assets for shared value to the cause, at a
very low or near-zero cost, stretch an
organization’s very scarce resources. Moreover, reinventing the wheel each time
social change products and services are created lead to duplication and waste.
·
Deepens community engagement: Enabling meaningful ways for stakeholders
to add value increases engagement and deepens understanding and strengthens
these relationships. SCaaP enables anyone with a good idea to build innovative
services that connect citizens to the cause of their choice, allowing citizens
to more directly participate.
·
Increases organizational flexibility and decreases risk:
Operating as a network increases an organization’s adaptability and speed. Work
is more distributed and lends itself to self-organizing, which makes it highly
responsive to changing needs. Allowing common functions to be implemented as
shared utilities across social change organizations instead of replicating them
in each silo also reduces risk.
·
Enhances transparency and accountability: SCaaP fundamentally
shifts the power dynamic within the social change community. Grant makers work
with community stakeholders as peers, helping them achieve full potential as
individuals and their organizations.
·
Expands impact: Ultimately, scaling relationships lets an
organization secure more value, which helps maximize social impact. As
co-creating partners who have a vested interest in advancing a cause,
stakeholders’ incentive to add value is clear. The platform’s success is their
success.
To succeed, a clear and understandable pathway to adopting SCaaP
is necessary for this large, untapped market.
Seven Steps to Embracing SCaaP Today
Social change as a platform is first and foremost a business
strategy, a theory of change that needs to be integrated into every
organization’s five-year strategic plan. That effort begins by identifying how
and where an organization can accelerate the transition to a network-model
across the entire organization. Specifically, organizations must assess their
business model and inventory network assets, and start to reallocate resources
and capital to networks as well as develop network key performance indicators
(KPIs).
·
Choose the right platform. Platforms that embrace intelligence,
speed, productivity, mobility, and connectivity empower social change
organizations to take advantage of the most significant transformations taking
place in enterprise software.
·
Select the relationships to scale. Identify all the key
stakeholders for advancing your mission and indicate which relationships are
the most important to scale. Be sure to include existing and potential
relationships, including other partners and organizations that can add value.
·
Connect programs and services. Plot the organization’s various
offerings — programs and services offers to various stakeholders — and map how
each contributes value to advance the relationships with different
stakeholders.
·
Convert the data into intelligence. A unified view of
relationships and programs creates troves of data. Convert the data into useful,
real-time intelligence integrated into the organization’s processes in
real-time.
·
Drive one-to-one engagement. Real-time intelligence lets
organizations engage more effectively with all.
·
Track what matters. It’s not just financial performance that matters,
but also engagement, sentiment and co-creation. Create KPI’s for each of these
items and add them to daily performance reviews.
·
Keep platforms, networks and intelligence at the center.
Products and services are helpful, but in the final reckoning, it is the
breadth and depth of the network that will create the scale of social change
desired.
The biggest hurdle to SCaaP is changing the mental models and
core competencies of the leadership team and board of directors. However,
nonprofit organizations and academic institutions are better positioned to
embrace SCaaP because they are more accustomed to imagining their community as
active participants, instead of passive recipients. But it is critical that
leaders significantly change how they embrace today’s technologies.
With SCaaP, the nonprofit world will have the potential to enact
social change on a scale previously unimagined. It is time to take up the
mantle because doing so can unlock the future potential of every human being.
People are worth it.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/technology-can-help-solve-societal-problems/?utm_source=kw_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-04-27
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