How can you get regulators excited about social innovation and corporate partnerships?

1 Understand their perspective

Regulators are not your enemies, but they have a different role and responsibility than you. They have to balance the interests and needs of various stakeholders, such as consumers, investors, competitors, and the public. They also have to ensure compliance with laws, standards, and policies that are often complex and evolving. Therefore, you need to understand their perspective and address their concerns and expectations. Show them how your social innovation and corporate partnership aligns with their goals and values, such as enhancing social welfare, promoting fair competition, or protecting the environment.

3 Engage them early and often

Another key strategy to get regulators excited about your social innovation and corporate partnership is to engage them early and often in your process. Don't wait until you have a finished product or service to present to them, but involve them from the ideation, design, testing, and scaling stages. Seek their feedback, input, and advice, and show them that you value their opinions and expertise. Build trust and rapport with them, and establish a collaborative and constructive relationship. By engaging them early and often, you can avoid surprises, misunderstandings, or conflicts later on, and also gain their support and endorsement.

4 Learn from others

You are not alone in your journey of social innovation and corporate partnership. There are many other organizations and initiatives that have gone through similar experiences and challenges, and have learned valuable lessons and best practices. You can learn from them and use their examples and stories to inspire and persuade regulators. Look for relevant and successful cases that have similar goals, contexts, or models as yours, and show how they have overcome regulatory hurdles and achieved positive impact. You can also leverage their networks, connections, or partnerships to gain access and credibility with regulators.

5 Innovate within the rules

Finally, you can get regulators excited about your social innovation and corporate partnership by innovating within the rules. This means that you respect and comply with the existing regulations and standards that apply to your sector, industry, or market, and that you do not violate or circumvent them. However, this does not mean that you have to limit your creativity or ambition. You can still find ways to innovate within the rules, such as by adapting, modifying, or combining existing solutions, or by creating new solutions that are compatible or complementary with the rules. You can also advocate for changes or improvements in the rules, if you have a strong case and evidence to support it.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?