Is social innovation a privileged pursuit?

Unthinking and unexpecting, I shared a question with my network last week. It is a question that I have been aware of but unable to articulate until recently when I have been surrounded by and learnt from the most inspiring social changemakers. The post resulted in a windfall of detailed and thoughtful comments that have helped me and inspired me to reshare in this form.

This article does not look to answer a question but simply explore the themes that arose in those perceptive ideas that were shared. I note that I have paraphrased, combined and even directly quoted from multiple authors to pull together a coherent piece.

The question

To be able to work on global social problems, one must be in a situation where they don’t need to think about where their next meal is going to come from - it comes from a place of privilege.

Much of the work that social activists or youth advocates do is voluntary, unpaid, and needs huge amounts of social capital to enter. What do you think of the contradiction between those with the lived experience of the problem versus those who witness but do not face that problem but are in a position to help solve it?

On the distinction between charity and solidarity

Charity and volunteering work often comes from a place of privilege and can, even inadvertently, hold up oppressive systems and institutions. This, of course, depends on the context but what if instead of viewing this form of work as “help” or “assistance”, why not view it as “community” and “solidarity”.

On the exhibition of bias in means and approach

Consider the following real example. A decade ago, when researching the question, “Why do girls in parts of rural Africa so often drop out of school in their teens?”, Professor Linda Scott received the wisdom that girls are just too materialistic; that the problem lay with girls themselves. Scott conducted her own research and discovered it was not so. In Ghana, she tested and validated the theory that girls drop out of school when their periods start due to a lack of sanitary pads. Past findings and recommendations often done by male researchers had never been able to identify this due to an inherent lack of knowledge.

This is one of a multitude of case studies that exemplifies the danger that issues addressed by people who do not face them can and often will lead to heavy bias developing in the means and ends of the approach.

A balance must be struck and so leadership should remain with those who face the issue, rather than being supplanted by outsiders who may be oblivious to their inherent biases and can reintroduce and reproduce the systems of oppression.

On enabling the 'survivors'

My initial question was leading and correctly pointed out by one of the commenters. There doesn’t necessarily have to be a contradiction between those with the lived experience of the problem and those in a position to solve it.

The key is the timeline. While it is indeed difficult for someone in the thick of an issue to make a wide-reaching change, the best innovators are those who have experienced the issue, digested it and are in a position of relative privilege or security to allow them to make a wider difference.

As such, the ‘witnesses’ must find and enable these ‘survivors’ and not act in their place. To enable is to amplify their lived-through messages; to provide them with resources, access and platforms. It is also to humbly recognise that their place of privilege doesn’t make them the best front person, but make them essential to facilitate the spreading of ideas and actions.

A genuine partnership between those with privilege and those with experience of the issues is where the answer lies. The challenge is that ‘those who can’ must lay down entirely any view that they are better or above ‘those who know’.

On the transition from ‘problem-solvers’ to ‘problem-owners’

We must make the case for “problem-owners” to be actively included as “problem-solvers.” Innovation is only inclusive when it is “by, for, and of” problem-owners. Social capital - and the cultural and financial capital afforded by those social ties - is a driver of, and an impediment to, participating in innovation.

On the necessity of self-awareness

If one is involved in a project addressing a problem they may not be directly facing, it is critical to practice self-awareness. This self-awareness must then translate into efforts to empower, co-create and build together with those facing the challenge. When working with communities, it is important to invest time and build relationships because it is a two-way learning process. It is co-creation and facilitation that enables one group to be the advocates for others.

Parting thoughts

The comments echoed one another. We must enable and empower. We must co-create and facilitate. We must recognise our biases and privilege.

For me, we must continue to remind ourselves of the hard questions. One does not go into social innovation or adhere to a social mission without something burning deep inside. As we tap into this desire to eradicate a social challenge, we must also leave the design constraints we set up in the solution and return, humbly, to those who face it.

I am grateful to have been able to be inundated by perspectives and advice, and I hope this read leaves you reflective, as it has me.

Additional Reading

1. Mutual Aid by Dean Spade
2. The Double X Economy by Linda Scott
3. Inclusive Innovation (coming May/June 2022) by Robyn Klingler-Vidra, Alex Glennie & Courtney Savie Lawrence.

Credits: Jessica Nitiema, Nikita Khandwala, Rowland Wells, Albane Lester, Robyn Klingler-Vidra, PhD, Ziyaan Virji, Natasha Winnard, Charlie Rogers.