The resolutions won't be televised

Digital technologies have revolutionized the way we create and collaborate, opening up new avenues for social change that were previously unimaginable.

To achieve significant efficiencies, it's not about doing more with less, but about adopting fresh, innovative approaches and measuring what truly matters.

If we look at where the web is most successful at driving social change, it’s where it mobilises untapped resources—people’s energy and innovation—for mutual benefit. This is what we could call the gift economy.

So what’s this all about? When you receive gifts for Christmas this year, you don’t pay them the amount they were worth. At the same time, if you stop giving gifts to friends, they may be less inclined to give you a present.

Our relationship with our citizens is different. It would be like offering a gift to a random person in the street; they wouldn’t necessarily return the favour.

Establishing meaningful relationships with individuals is crucial in harnessing their intrinsic motivation. These relationships shape behaviour and drive motivation.

That’s why developing approaches that help us better understand these trends can help us find the innovators we want to work with.

Why not use techniques like service design or social network analysis? These could enable you to find people innovating to meet your customers' needs, and they may even be working in your office.

1. Listen and make sense of stories

You might be able to find out who’s been involved in an innovative project before, and that’s saved time and money, but how do you develop a creative idea?

Many of us feel put on the spot when someone asks you for an innovative idea. Often, it’s informal conversations that spark ideas. It’s what’s called the “water cooler” effect”.

Yet we don’t congregate around the water cooler to bounce off ideas; we go there to catch up and share stories about what’s been happening in the office — trying to get our heads around something or solve a complex problem.

Digital technologies are enabling that in various ways, not just in the office but also in our local communities with social reporting. People want to share their stories of what’s going on where they work or live.

So we’ve got stories and data on what’s happening in our local areas — but how do we make sense of it all? It’s not just about evidence or consultation carried out last year; it’s about what data and conversations people published to the web last night.

Why not use tools that can help you visualise or analyse this information to pick up new trends and share your expertise with the public so they can make better decisions on areas that affect them? With these tools, a picture quite literally is worth a thousand words.

2. Get people together to make stuff that matters

So, now that we’ve listened to people and made sense of their networks and stories, we can start building relationships and mobilising their resources, energy, creativity, and goodwill.

Digital technologies not only make it easier to mobilise resources, but they also empower individuals, businesses, and other groups to create innovative models to meet new demands. From 3D printing for educational purposes to repurposing old technology, these technologies offer a world of possibilities, inspiring hope for a better future.

Cohort-based processes from the Civic Foundry are incubating these models to Code for America. Both of these haven’t just created new models that wouldn’t have been possible before; they’ve exploited the power of the web to develop approaches that offer a form of public service.

What’s truly remarkable is that these innovative models were not created by councils or businesses alone. They were the result of collaborative efforts between public services, housing associations, social enterprises, and optimistic individuals. This collaborative spirit is what makes these innovations truly valuable and inclusive.

We can create an environment that nurtures innovators' capacity to develop and scale these models.

Who does not unite people to develop prototype services that meet specific challenges…not only in a day but over time in physical spaces, to create a community of people who build a civic “esprit de corps”?

3. Join up the dots to involve everyone

We may have mobilised innovators to help us tackle problems, but innovators' strength is often at the edge of what we do, not at the centre. So, how do we scale up innovations so that the wider public can benefit, especially those not online?

Why not reach out to local innovators who can use the web to help people help each other offline? This way, the opportunities that digital technologies bring meet those that community engagement brings.

4. Transform services by transforming ourselves

The following quote encapsulates the transformative power of digital technologies. 'Transformation isn’t just about changing services; it’s about changing ourselves. It’s a new way of thinking and a new mindset.' This transformative potential is what should excite and inspire us about the future.

The challenge for all of us is to harness all those people in public services and the community who are intrinsically motivated to improve things — to make stuff that matters.