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Five Ways Social Entrepreneurs Use Technology To Increase Their Impact

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POST WRITTEN BY
Justin Rattner
This article is more than 9 years old.

“Technology for the sake of technology is a waste of precious resources. Social entrepreneurs need to understand the deep value that ICT can bring to social change when it is offered in context, with appropriate training, and with the intent of empowering the user. We hope this report inspires many others to take up this challenge in ways we haven’t even begun to imagine.” Justin Rattner, President, Intel Foundation.

Technology can empower social entrepreneurship initiatives by democratizing access to information, creating business value, and enabling new capabilities—although not every technology initiative succeeds.

So how can social entrepreneurs increase the success of their endeavors? A recent Social Innovation Mapping Report by the Intel Foundation and Ashoka examines the best practices of entrepreneurs who successfully use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to create social impact.

What the report found—and what Intel has validated through several of its programs—is that social entrepreneurs successfully using technology take some common approaches, even in very different environments.

Whether they are collaborating with young entrepreneurs in Africa or using crowdsourcing to discover missing persons in Thailand, there are five common success factors:

1. They move beyond digital literacy

Teaching someone about technology without hands-on experiences in real-life situations doesn’t guarantee long-term success. Inculcating increased self-sufficiency, employability and the opportunity to use technology to solve social challenges goes a long way towards creating digital citizenship.

The Intel Make it Wearable challenge, for example, encouraged entrepreneurs who had ideas to improve their world in a meaningful way to make those dreams real. With both a visionary track and a development track, they were incentivized to create a real-world model of their ideas.

Making things through technology can also have an impact on reducing the gender gap by getting girls and women more interested in ICT. A new Intel report, MakeHers: Engaging Girls and Women in Technology through Making, Creating and Inventing,indicates that girls and women involved with designing and creating things with electronic tools may build stronger interest and skills in computer science and engineering.

2. They incorporate deep stakeholder involvement

Technology solutions that are not grounded in behavioral change supported by the stakeholders are likely to fail. Successful models seek to identify and meet the needs of the stakeholders and patiently iterate until the solution is fully adapted.

Pesinet, a cost-effective medical system that dramatically reduces the number of African women and children who die from preventable diseases, demonstrates the benefit of stakeholder involvement. Founder Anne Roos-Weil partnered with community health workers to enable the collection of basic health data from home visits. Doctors use the data to determine which patients need further attention or diagnostic tests. And, by tracking the demands Pesinet placed on the primary health care centers, Roos-Well was able to convince the National Federation of Community Health Centers to agree to deploy her service.

3. They alter perceptions of the marginalized

Social entrepreneurs are altering perceptions of broader society and the way marginalized persons—who are not well represented in ICT—perceive their potential by demonstrating their ability to succeed.

By showing that certain autistic skills and capabilities are particularly suited to jobs in the IT field, Thorkil Sonne has proven how an often isolated population can thrive in the business world. The company he started, Specialisterne, has created software that assesses and employs high-functioning adults and uses their skills to outperform the market.

When they experienced first-hand what it was like when their schools didn’t have enough equipment for them to perform experiments, Lab4U developed technologies that turn smart phones into mobile labs with the phone’s existing sensors. This allows previously marginalized students to conduct experiments and demonstrate that they can successfully pursue science studies. And their crowd-learning Web platform enables the preparation, analysis and sharing of lab results. Through the Intel Global Challenge entrepreneurship competition, the start-up won the $10,000 grand prize to help them bring the idea to market.

4. They keep it decentralized

Creating community networks where knowledge is easily shared fosters a great ability to act and therefore succeed in local health, prosperity and education initiatives.

The Missing Persons Information Center against Human Trafficking in Thailand is a nationwide network of more than 40,000 volunteers who contribute in a variety of ways—from donating free advertising to providing transportation to retrieve individuals. Eaklak Loomchomkhae’s crowdsourcing solution has energized the involvement of local communities and facilitated the process of searching for missing persons by taking advantage of the strategic skills of emergency response volunteers, traffic radio stations, as well as police and government forces.

5. They communicate the results

Aggregating data reported by the citizen participants can be used to influence decision makers.

Alex Bernadotte’sBeyond 12’s High School Alumni Tracker collects collegiate and work force data that helps schools identify students most in need of help and to match them with virtual college coaches. My Coach and other Beyond 12 applications helps students remember key academic and financial aid deadlines, set goals, and balance social, academic and financial challenges.

Combine best practices to maximize success

The Social Innovation Mapping Report contains a number of additional case studies that emphasize how these five best practices foster success. In fact, some of the case studies are examples of multiple best practices. The report also examines common barriers faced by social entrepreneurs, as well as some common challenges that present opportunities for grant-making organizations and entrepreneurs. A recent virtual panel brought together practitioners from technology and social entrepreneurship to share their insights and explore possible strategies to address these challenges. We hope that the results of the report will inspire increased effective adoption of ICT that will increase the impact of social entrepreneurs.

Justin Rattner is the President of the Intel Foundation and VP and Senior Fellow of Intel Corporation.