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Essay / Exploring social innovation models and their impact in Nigeria
The concept of social innovation has slowly infiltrated Nigeria and emerged as an ideal model for the development of the nation, particularly through the use of technology. So far, massive efforts have been made to innovate for good. Some of them took off, some of them didn't. This article examines the social innovation models of social innovators who have achieved a winning sphere in Nigeria. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay Diving into the essence of this article, it is important to explain the term “social innovation” as it is is used throughout. According to the Oxford article on social innovation; What it is, why it matters and how it should be accelerated by Geoff Mulgan, “Social innovation is an innovative activity and service driven by the goal of meeting a social need and which are mainly developed and disseminated by organizations whose main objective is social. ". The applications of social innovations are diverse, from strengthening systems, mobilizing communities to perfecting methods and techniques. Ellis (2010) states that the concept of innovation dates back to 3200 BC and continues to develop and adapt for a sustainable future. The meaning of social innovation is no different in Nigeria, however, the myriad of social problems including poverty, inequality and injustice, with no solutions in sight, can chart a unique trajectory. The average citizen constantly improvises in the face of insurmountable social challenges. In any case, we do not realize or recognize the extent to which these elements constitute the building blocks of social innovation in our context. Landscape of social innovation and impact in Nigeria. Like most African countries, the ministry that manages all innovations, especially those involving technology, is Nigeria's Ministry of Science and Technology. They are directly responsible for facilitating the development and deployment of scientific and technological apparatus to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development of the country. According to the 2012 Science, Technology and Innovation Policy signed by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the overall objective is to “build strong science, technology and innovation capability and capacity, necessary to develop a modern economy. Even though the policies exist, the ecosystem is not evolving as much as it could be. But it’s definitely progress. The social innovation market in Nigeria is currently filled with international development agencies, startup founders, software developers and research institutes. The presence of the government is a little unclear. And the most relevant social innovations today are those that address the problem of corruption – accountability in government, waste disposal/recycling, agriculture and education. However, the most trendy of these innovations concerns agriculture. It was because of the last recession that the country experienced, that the government and other stakeholders launched a major agricultural campaign for the Nigerian youth. This has led to a massive wave of innovative ways for people to farm their land in order to solve the problem of hunger and poverty. To authenticate this statement, a review of the frequency of financing by the government to encourage agricultural innovations - according to a report by Godwin Emefele – former governor of the central bank of Nigeria which has been publishedin the leaders' journal. He said: “The Nigerian Risk Sharing Scheme for Agricultural Loans (NISRAL) is designed to enhance agricultural lending by reducing sector risks through credit risk guarantee, among others, in order to increase production and processing throughout the value chain. N75 billion was provided by the CBN. Additionally, the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) Fund, administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria, provides up to 75 percent guarantee for all loans extended by commercial banks for agricultural production and processing. ". So far, the main motivation of most social innovators in Nigeria is, firstly, the need to solve a social problem and, secondly, the need to make money. So we have more social entrepreneurs than nonprofit innovations. Regarding the monetary valuation of the money invested so far in social innovations in Nigeria, no study has done a value for money analysis on social innovation, but every year, 0.15%. of foreign development aid is devoted to social innovations in Africa. » There are several categories into which innovations can be grouped. They are primarily categorized based on platform type, civic/government technology, and innovation size. The case study was selected based on government/technology focus and scale of impact of their innovation. On the issue of social impact assessment, this is an evolving debate in the social/business innovation sector. Everyone wants to do it, but no one really gets it – at least not in a meaningful, practical way that delivers an outcome that simultaneously satisfies organizations, beneficiaries, funders, and other key stakeholders. (Pathak,2013) A close look at social innovations in Nigeria. In line with Nigeria's transformation agenda and Vision 20:2020, it is virtually impossible for Nigeria to become a top 20 economy by 2020 without consolidating science, technology and innovation. (NSI Draft, 2013) To do this, we first look at what is available today in terms of social innovations by examining some important innovations using the framework of their size, scope of impact as specified , their financial growth and their type of financing. Case study 1 – budget. The budget-making process at the highest level of government in Nigeria is marred by inadequacies and lack of accuracy. It is often filled with figures and deliberate obscurity. This would stimulate corruption in different sectors. There have also been cases of missing budgets, such as in 2016. This has been reported by various news outlets such as the BBC. In situations like this, it is clear that accountability within the Nigerian Parliament was necessary and this gave rise to Case Study Number 1 – Budget. Founded in 2011, BudgIT is a civic organization that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement and institutional improvement to facilitate societal change. A pioneer in the field of social advocacy combined with technology, BudgIT uses a range of technological tools to simplify budgeting and public spending for citizens, with the main aim of raising the level of transparency and accountability in government . They are in constant partnership with civil society, public institutions and the media, mainly in the areas of tax analyses, civic technologies and data representation.BudgIT's methodology deploys refined data mining skills to represent data creatively and enable citizens to use the insights obtained to demand improved service delivery. BudgiT is a startup incubated by social innovation technology hub CChub in Lagos. They were strategically placed enough to obtain funding from foreign aid foundations. These helped jumpstart their initial process and strengthen their resolve to do good work. Although the budget states that they have reached over 75,000 Nigerians both offline and online, in a country of over 180 million people, this number is quite negligent in the grand scheme of things. This is mainly because using technology to present the budget is still too far-fetched for Nigerians moving to rural areas. Furthermore, there are over 200 languages in this country and although English is the official language spoken in Nigeria, many people are still not able to speak this language. All of these could be restrictions they face, which limits their scope and invariably impacts their scale. However, we cannot deny that BugdIT's goal of improving accountability at all levels of government is a necessary social innovation in a country like Nigeria. A nation in which corruption is deeply rooted in its fabric and from which all its social problems originate. Case study 2- connected development (code) Connected development is a social innovation that was implemented to create a movement of accountability within the nation. Although quite similar to BudgIT, in terms of the main configuration goal, their method is quite different. Founded in 2012, Connected Development [CODE] is a non-governmental organization [NGO] with a mission to empower marginalized communities in Africa. They strengthen local communities by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debate and building the capacity of citizens on how to hold their government accountable through a created program called “Follow the Money”. CODE provides marginalized and vulnerable communities with resources to independently amplify their voices. and integrity while providing communities with information that leads to social and economic progress. To improve the effectiveness of democratic governance and accountability, CODE creates platforms [mobile and web technologies] that close the feedback loop between citizens and government. With expertise and global reach, they focus on community outreach, influencing policy, practice and knowledge mobilization. CODE is committed to participatory capacity building, community building, monitoring and evaluation that create effective and sustainable programs, even in the most challenging environments. The more practical approach taken by CODE to ensure accountability is highly commendable. This is because they can boast of reaching a larger number of people and the communities in which they help are more aware of their work and can feel its direct effect. Although CODE has not been incubated as such, they have learned from Job so far. By constantly participating in the work and being in contact with the population, they were mainly involved in mobilizing the base to guarantee a more transparent government. Yet CODE's impact in 2017 was 523,000 people in 31 rural communities in Plateau, Kebbi, Benue, Kwara, Adamawa, Kaduna, Delta, IMO, Edo, Abia,.