What is Social Innovation and Why Does it Matter?
By Elizabeth Werbe, Associate Director of New Challenge
Solutions to the complex problems we face today — global warming, wide-scale poverty, limited access to health care — can no longer rest solely in the hands of an elite few. It is now conceivable that each person can help tackle these issues in order to create a world that works for us all. Since education is the means by which we thrive, individually and collectively, we need to teach students how to learn, engage, and create in an increasingly interconnected society. Colleges and universities are being asked to produce graduates who can think critically and take informed action while collaborating across differences and designing ethical systems.
Through my work in higher education and beyond, I have encountered many students who are motivated to address pressing social problems and eager to apply what they have learned in the classroom to issues that concern them in the community. I believe it is critical that we provide these students with a safe environment in which to take creative risks and support them in reflecting on what they learn. It is encouraging that institutions of higher education are embracing social innovation education as a means of engaging students in interdisciplinary learning and problem solving.
Social innovation education can prepare students for diverse roles as change makers: entrepreneurs, designers, and leaders of large organizations that develop innovative ways of transforming the way we produce social and economic value. At The New School, we define social innovation as new ways of addressing social problems that are more effective, efficient, and sustainable than existing solutions. Students collaborate with a variety of stakeholders to design new products, services, organizations, policies, technologies, and systems that improve lives. This pedagogical approach leverages our strengths in design, social sciences, media and technology, management, liberal arts, and performing arts with our long-standing commitment to sustainability, social justice, and experiential learning.
New Challenge is the centerpiece of an evolving and growing social innovation ecosystem at The New School. Created in 2012, this university-wide ideas competition supports students in taking their ideas from the classroom and implementing them in the real world. New Challenge offers support up to $10,000 to develop tangible projects, products, and organizations that meet unmet needs in local and global contexts. Winners are eligible for coaching from seasoned mentors who help them further develop their ideas. Examples of previous winners include the following:
Sweet Generation – a storefront bakery that increases access to arts education and creates opportunities for low-income youth through internships and funding for nonprofit organizations
Drive Change – a food truck social enterprise that reduces recidivism and increases job-readiness for formerly incarcerated youth by equipping them with employment and transferable leadership skills
blink blink – a social venture that addresses the gender gap in STEM by producing and disseminating creative circuit kits that engage girls in designing their own arts, crafts, and fashion projects