Season 2 Episode 1: Transcending our own solutions
Jan 28, 2021
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Sascha Haselmayer, a seasoned social entrepreneur, and Olga Shirobokova discuss the evolution of social entrepreneurs working with governments. They highlight the importance of co-creation and mutual support between stakeholders. Topics include innovative navigation systems for the visually impaired, public procurement's role in social solutions, and the impact of engaging with government for systemic change.
Shifting from individual solutions to systemic co-creation with governments.
Leveraging public procurement for scaling impactful solutions and fostering societal improvements.
Deep dives
Sasha's Inspiration from Boris: Transforming Public Services
Sasha's journey began when he met Boris, a visually impaired resident of Stockholm who greatly benefitted from a navigation technology developed by the city. The technology empowered Boris to move freely, find employment, and lead an independent life. Despite the significant impact in Stockholm, the solution faced challenges in scaling globally, revealing the need to overcome barriers for widespread adoption.
Harnessing Public Procurement: The Key to Systemic Change
Through experimentation, Sasha discovered the critical role of public procurement systems in determining the outcomes of government services. By leveraging public procurement as a mechanism to solicit innovative solutions, Sasha found a way to introduce impactful changes within governmental operations. Nudging the procurement system proved essential in detecting and scaling effective solutions like Boris's navigation technology.
Building Empathy and Tangible Impact through Strategic Approach
Citymart's strategic shift involved engaging cities in reshaping public services procurement processes, leading to tangible societal improvements. By fostering relationships with stakeholders beyond traditional procurement departments and positioning themselves as catalysts for impactful change, Sasha's team achieved significant policy impacts and trained numerous professionals worldwide. Additionally, by providing communities with a platform to articulate their needs, Citymart facilitated authentic engagement, paving the way for sustainable systemic transformations.
The second season of the Ashoka Systems Change podcast explores how social entrepreneurs can effectively work with governments to improve systems together.
In Episode 1 you will hear a conversation between Sascha Haselmayer, a seasoned social entrepreneur and an Ashoka Fellow who has worked with 135 municipal governments across the world to improve the provision of public services, and Olga Shirobokova, co-lead of the Systems Unit at Ashoka Globalizer.
Sascha shares how his approach to addressing a social problem has evolved over time - from being fixated on his own solution to seeing his solution as a seed or a stepping stone in a bigger story, where there is more space for co-creation and mutual support between multiple stakeholders, including government.
If you are interested to learn more about how social entrepreneurs can effectively work with government and what are the examples, we encourage you to have a lookt at our new free online course on this topic at https://academy.vc4a.com/courses/trabajo-con-el-gobierno/ (Spanish version) and www.ashoka.org/working-with-government (English version). The online course and the second season of the Ashoka Systems Change podcast were developed thanks to the support and in partnership with PES Latam.
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