{"id":246,"date":"2013-10-15T16:30:20","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T15:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/?p=246"},"modified":"2013-10-15T18:46:05","modified_gmt":"2013-10-15T17:46:05","slug":"we-need-solutions-or-do-we","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/2013\/10\/15\/we-need-solutions-or-do-we\/","title":{"rendered":"We need solutions! Or do we…?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"639365_63688651\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been reading a lot recently about the need for new ideas and solutions to problems in social services – it is a fact that we can\u2019t get away from.<\/p>\n

However, the challenges we are facing in social services are those which require an understanding of a multitude of aspects of people\u2019s lives and society as a whole. Our social systems and structures are increasingly complex which often means that it is difficult to define the \u2018problem\u2019 or the \u2018issue\u2019 at hand – so how possible, then, is it to come up with a solution?<\/p>\n

I am reminded of this when writing a document in collaboration with the I&I team. A colleague commented on what was written by saying \u201cwe shouldn\u2019t write \u2018solutions\u2019 – it implies that there is one \u2018answer – a \u2018holy grail\u2019 to be found<\/em>\u201d. It got me to thinking – are we, in social services, sitting waiting on someone else to come up with the answers?<\/p>\n

In reality, the context we work in requires the capability to continually address issues by developing and redeveloping practices which keep the person (and their outcomes) at the centre. This is a process led view which inevitably poses a way of thinking which is flexible and which iteratively addresses problems that naturally \u2018live\u2019 and \u2018change\u2019 continuously [1]. It becomes less about recognising fixed solutions and more about creating spaces in which responses can be explored that will lead to better outcomes.<\/p>\n

If we take this proposition to its conclusion, if we really are saying that there is no \u2018answer\u2019 or \u2018right way\u2019 then we have to think about whether or not \u2018scale\u2019 of our ideas or innovations is achievable. Scaling up can be described as, \u201cthe practice of introducing proven interventions into new settings with the goal of producing similarly positive side effects in larger, more diverse populations\u201d [2].\u00a0 Perhaps it makes more sense, in our complex context, to then work on \u2018scaling\u2019 our processes and approaches to innovation?<\/p>\n

For instance, there may be elements of a response like process, tools, leadership style etc. that are needed to help embed new ideas. However thought needs to be put into this ‘re-potting’ of one idea in one context to another, what will work in that environment and what may not?\u00a0 It\u2019s my emerging view that \u2018context is king\u2019 and I have the suspicion that perhaps in the context of social services, it is locally tailored responses that reflect and draw upon the assets of the local community that will be the future. We can borrow ideas from other places, but nearly always the component developments will need to be specifically located in the local area.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019m happy to be wrong. Are there good examples of social innovations that maintain their substance across contexts? What makes these innovations the same or different from place to place?<\/p>\n

[1] Christiansen J and Bunt L (2012) Innovation in Policy: allowing for creativity, social complexity and uncertainty in public governance. Nesta: mindlab<\/p>\n

[2] McDonald S K, Keesler, V A, Kauffman NJ and Schneider B (2006) Scaling up exemplary interventions, Educational Researcher, 35.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been reading a lot recently about the need for new ideas and solutions to problems in social services – it is a fact that we can\u2019t get away from. However, the challenges we are facing in social services are those which require an understanding of a multitude of aspects of people\u2019s lives and society … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “We need solutions! Or do we…?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[100,1],"tags":[9756,9755],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/innovate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}