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WHY – SOCIAL IMPACT AT THE CORE OF
THE JOURNEY
The first section we present you is the one that
we placed at the centre of the Journey and that
differentiates it from other paths of more
traditional supporting actions.
The impact on society is what defines any
social innovation. “Increasing its impact to
better match the magnitude of the social need
or problem it seeks to address” (CASE, 2006) is
the end goal of social innovation incubation,
and therefore of the Journey. The value
creation models introduced by social
innovation are multifaceted, often not driven
primarily by the economic-monetary value of
the initiatives.
Keeping the focus on social impact means
assessing it in every step of the project by
adopting a co-design approach as well as tools
designed with a distinctive purpose on
maximizing it.
Each of the 4 areas of the SIJ is “influenced” by
the centre of the scheme:
Who – in raising awareness around social
needs and involving a wide community of
interest, in building relationship with strategic
partners, in increasing the capacity to take
action;
What - in defining the social value proposition
as well as in designing the solution in order to
foster
sustainable
qualities,
such
as
accessibility, participation and inclusion, a more
efficient use of assets and resources.
How (viability) – in investigating Its sustainability
and its social business model, exploring value
systems based on sharing, collaboration and
reciprocity as well as on traditional path of
value creation.
How (feasibility) – in designing a series of
prototypes that contributes to qualify and
distinguish the journey. Prototypes are here not
simple functional tests of potential innovation,
but an engaging event (or sequence of events)
which aims to increase engagement with the
project, while activating the stakeholder