Transition Players rehearse Bicycle Revolution

Transition Players rehearse Bicycle Revolution at Small Pond Arts Centre.

Social Innovation has been around for a number of years, but not nearly for as long as technological innovation, which makes more headlines. SI looks at new ways of addressing the needs of society. Since those needs constantly change, it is always in demand.

Climate, population and energy issues are prompting people to act. Many believe that technology will provide most or all of the answers that we need, whether by providing equipment to reduce fossil energy use (such as hybrid cars), or to generate energy (such as solar panels and wind generators). Whether or not we place most of our bets on those potential solutions, we have to agree that it comes back to large numbers of people making choices that make this a greener planet.

Positive change can be accelerated by crises, large or small. For example, growing congestion on urban commuter routes has negative impacts on everything from air quality to the portion of our tax bills which forces everyone, including non-drivers, to pay for road maintenance. Presenting these facts to everyone, and encouraging them to consider transportation options, is a task often taken up these days by social innovators.

Encouraging people to change behaviour patterns begins by alerting them to the problems that they are contributing to, willingly or not. How to command attention in order to get the message across is where innovative thinking really comes into play. Once you have that, it can be relatively simple to provide new perspectives by framing the right questions and indicating not too complicated steps in the right direction. Artists can be seen as the very first social innovators since the task of making their message heard is something they have always faced.

The Transition Movement works effectively through the pillar of sustainability that is culture. Transition Initiatives function as intermediaries for connecting people, ideas and resources. Through collaboration and experimentation, networking and brainstorming, sharing and sparking, spreading the word on conscious change presents itself as a creative challenge.