The In-Between: Spaces for Social Innovation
Posted by julina in Emotions, Innovation, Space. 2/16/2010, 8:48 AM
Earlier this week a few of us attended a lecture titled “Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability” given by Ezio Manzini, a Professor of Design at the Politecnico di Milano. We were intrigued with this notion of social innovation—in part because we are working on a project for a top consumer goods company’s R&D center, but also because we often argue that fathom is itself an experiment in social innovation (in our fluid roles, open work environment, and unusual degree of creative latitude, among other areas).
So what is social innovation, you ask? Manzini describes it as capitalizing on the world’s most abundant resource—people—in order to create an environment centered on energy, intelligence, and positive action. Ideally, this environment would not only enable positive decision-making but also the freedom to choose and invent more sustainable ways of living. As Manzini put it:
Social innovation cannot be planned, but it can be made more probable by creating favorable environments and empowering creative people.
So the question becomes: How can we create these favorable environments and empower these creative people? And then: How can these environments and empowerments be sustained over time?
Perhaps one answer lies in Manzini’s discussion of public space. He defines public space as the space “in between work and home,” where creativity might be argued to realize its highest potential. Initiatives for renewal of the “in-between” space might include…
- neighborhood festivals
- urban vitalizations
- maintenance and caretaking
- community gardens
…or anything else that might serve to empower—and hopefully sustain—the community over time.
If we follow this line of thinking, then we might say that creative organizations such as our client’s R&D center ought to cultivate “in-between space”; that is, space suited to collaboration and informal brainstorming.
But if we think larger than this one project—perhaps toward ourselves as a company or toward the general industry of research and design—then we might ask: How do we create this in-between space for ourselves? What qualities of the time between home and work empower us as creative people?
These questions are especially relevant for fathom as we grow in people and in space. We are currently posed with the same issue raised in Manzini’s lecture (on a smaller scale, of course): How do we design for our own social innovation and sustainability? How can fathom capitalize on its most abundant resource—again, its people—to create a favorable environment for creativity?
If we look to the in-between space for inspiration, then we must find out exactly what it is about this space that allows our creativity to flourish. If it’s the challenge of navigating Pittsburgh streets then perhaps our environment should pose complex problems with satisfying solutions. If we get our best ideas while practicing yoga, then maybe our environment could stretch our minds in calm but strength-building ways. Or, if an afternoon walk revitalizes our thinking caps, then perhaps our environment should allow for a connection to the outdoors.
These ideas only begin to skim the surface of the in-between space and its potential richness for creative empowerment. As fathom continues planning for growth, not only will we be learning about our own in-between but also about how to discover the in-betweens of our clients, business partners, and colleagues—a process that can only enrich who we are as designers and researchers. Perhaps this, in turn, will increase our potential for social innovation, which, in its own turn, would surely enhance our sustainability as a company.