SYSTEMS THINKING FOR SOCIAL
CHANGE
DEEP Summer
Engineering
Academy
INTENTIONS
EXPECTATIONS
REALITIES
NON-PROFIT PROFIT
SOCIAL INNOVATION
Social innovation refers to the creation, development, adoption, and
integration of new concepts and practices that put people and the
planet first. Social innovations resolve existing social, cultural,
economic, and environmental challenges.
Even more simply, a social innovation is an idea
that works for the public good.
Social innovations come from individuals, groups or organizations, and
can take place in the for-profit, non-profit and public sectors.
Increasingly, they are happening in the spaces between these
three sectors as perspectives collide to spark new ways of
thinking.
- Centre for Social Innovation
NON-PROFIT PROFITTRADITIONAL
NON-PROFIT PROFIT
WIDE-SCALE DISRUPTIVE SYSTEMS CHANGE
OFFSET EXPENSES THROUGH SALE OF GOODS/SERVICES
theSedge.org at Acumen
NON-PROFIT PROFIT
WIDE-SCALE DISRUPTIVE SYSTEMS CHANGE
OFFSET EXPENSES THROUGH SALE OF GOODS/SERVICES
theSedge.org at Acumen
COMPLEX &
HIGHLY
INTERCONNECTED
Social innovation
creates wide-scale,
lasting systems change
for the benefit of society.
COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING DIRECTOR
OPERATION GROUNDSWELL
JUSTINE ABIGAIL YU
justine@operationgroundswell.com
@OGbackpackers OperationGroundswell

Systems Thinking for Social Change

Editor's Notes

  • #2 Personal Introduction Non-profit industry From human rights reporting to experiential education, from press freedom advocacy to women’s rights and LGBTI activism. Developing and implementing communications strategies to raise awareness and better educate the general public on these hard issues Currently Marketing & Communications Director for Operation Groundswell
  • #3 Operation Groundswell Introduction Non-profit organization that facilitates educational backpacking and volunteer programs around the world We travel to 7 different regions of the world uncovering various social justice issues from different perspectives, listening to different people from community leaders to government officials, NGOs, businesses, etc. To get a holistic perspective on issues
  • #4 OG + Systems Thinking Similar to what you’ve been doing in this class, we want to address/uncover the root causes of some of the world’s most pressing problems. Intentions of going abroad, expectation of changes, and the reality. Our goal is to give young adults new lenses by which to see the world and their role in it. To act as catalysts in systems thinking for social change
  • #5 ACTIVITY Name some of your favorite/most recognized non-profits/charities, business/brands
  • #6 Course description not business innovation but SOCIAL innovation What does that mean? Brainstorm.
  • #9 Social business = for profit company with a social mission at the heart of its operations. A for profit or non-profit organization that has a social mission AND sells goods or services to offset part or all of its expenses Top Right : solar company Bottom Right: Ten Thousand Villages – sustainable economic opportunities could be created for artisans in developing countries by selling their products in North America Top Left: Ladies Learning Code – providing workshops and classes for women and girls to learn how to code – close gender gap Bottom Left: Reforest Patagonia – reforesting degraded ecosystems in Patagonia through the sale of trees
  • #10 Not an either/or continuum any more So much complexity Businesses partnering with non-profits partnering with government, etc. Hybrids and partnerships
  • #12 Ubuntu Blox Haiti Communitaire partner Dual purpose – to clean up the streets and build up the city of Port-Au-Prince Training 24 women in Cite Soleil, the most dangerous and impoverished area in the entire Western Hemisphere, on how to use this technology from waste collection strategies, using the compression machine, and building the structures Can withstand 7.0-8.0 magnitude earthquakes
  • #13 Femme International OG Alumni Women’s empowerment remains a top priority in international development, yet little is done to address one of the most significant causes of gender disparity – menstruation One of the key barriers to girls’ school attendance and educational attainment. Pads and tampons are expensive. In Kenya alone it is approx.. 50 KSH, half the average daily wage of most unskilled workers Girls will use rags, newspapers to manage their periods – leading to infection and disease East Africa – Kenya & Tanzania Feminine Health Management Program – education & distribution
  • #15 IMPACT Bring it back to OG and our role in exposing participants to different issues and exercising that critical thinking/systems thinking muscle. Homework for CSI – asking questions!