10 questions for public innovators

Are you a public innovator?

Here are ten questions that were posed over the past weekend at a gathering of VSEF members. The questions spurred a rich discussion.

Hope you enjoy them too. Ofcourse, deep appreciation to Redeeming Hope.

• 1. How can I position my organization so that it not only provides worthy services or programs, but is catalytic and creates systemic change in the community?


• 2. How can I genuinely engage other people to see why I’m pursing the path that I am in my work – and when do I decide to keep moving forward despite their resistance?


• 3. How do I move my organization or group to focus on the tough, underlying questions at hand rather than to reach for the easy answers? And how do I avoid watering down our mission?


• 4. How do I keep our efforts aligned with the reality of our capacity, so that we have a chance to achieve results, and avoid doing things that sound good but ultimately won’t make a real difference?


• 5. How can I place my work in a larger conceptual framework – so that it’s possible for me and others to see the bigger picture of what we’re trying to do and why?


• 6. How can I sustain people’s engagement over time, especially when things get tough or move too slowly?


• 7. How do I take effective action when oftentimes there is limited capacity for action within our community?


• 8. How fast can I expect progress to come, and what should I do when everyone around me expects change seemingly overnight?


• 9. How can I engage my funders and supporters who don’t want to take the time to truly understand what we’re trying to do?


• 10. How can I keep myself going as I pursue my path?

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Tags for information about: for:vsef, Social Economy, Nonprofit, Innovation

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