Impact Insider #32: 10 Impact Trends You May Have Missed This Past Summer
Welcome to September and to the next version of Impact Insider.
We have a bold mission to help good people work smarter. This means crafting meaningful digital content that gives you all the insights but none of the jargon. It means saving you time by highlighting timely and relevant talking points. This next version of Impact Insider builds on previous features with enhanced analysis for your weekly, bite-sized learning experience.
To help you get back in gear and quickly catch up on what matters, we’ve curated a special collection of 10 stories that help you understand the shifts and news that will be most relevant this fall.
Let’s dive in.
5 shifts shaping social impact this fall
1. A new type of co-operative is gaining ground.
The benefits of digital platforms such as Uber and Airbnb are clear to consumers, but people are becoming increasingly aware of the downside — including distorted housing markets, monetization of personal data, and precarious labour standards.
Not to mention, the sharing economy has been co-opted by investors seeking massive returns. In response, the old co-operative approach blended with new tech is emerging as a promising alternative that benefits workers, communities, and consumers.
Why it matters: Platform businesses are not necessarily the financial success that their market valuations suggest, even if they have a dedicated community who use them. Now, however, networks of like-minded people and organizations are emerging to accelerate a first wave of digital co-operative enterprises.
Called platform co-operatives, these are emerging as the next big wave in community solutions and impact ventures. But when will our impact investing, social finance, and startup support ecosystems pay attention to this new approach?
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2. Explore the 4 Canadian Senate recommendations that will shape the charitable sector in the next decade.
In late June, the Canadian Senate released Catalyst for Change: A Roadmap to a Stronger Charitable Sector, a first-of-its-kind report for the charitable sector in Canada. It was packed with 42 recommendations in a range of areas, from modernizing the Income Tax Act to boosting volunteerism.
Why it matters: In order to keep up with an ever-changing world, Canada’s charitable and non-profit sector needs a refresh. Which recommendations matter the most? There are four areas we believe must be prioritized in order for this sector to stay responsive to the next decade of societal disruption.
We believe that these four areas are linchpins for how well the entire report can hold up in a rapidly changing world, and here’s one to get you going:
The report calls for a pilot project that would allow charities to make gifts to non-qualified donees. Here’s the thing: In 2019 alone, there have already been approximately nine million crowdfunding campaigns launched around the world, with this fundraising method growing at a rate of 35 percent year-over-year. In fact, there is a whole generation of Canadians whose formative gift-giving habits have been shaped by giving to non-qualified donees. They can’t tell (nor do they care) about the distinction. Now what?
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3. There are 5 competencies that impact-focused people need to work with artificial intelligence.
Our daily lives are algorithmically augmented and assisted in countless ways already, from our Netflix-viewing or Spotify-listening preferences to the predictive layout of our search results and news feeds. Since their introduction in 2014, over 100 million Alexa personal assistant devices have been sold.
It would be naïve, if not downright ignorant, to think that the social sector is not already profoundly impacted by these changes. But what competencies do those working in the social impact sector need to get serious about?
Why it matters: The social impact sector may withstand, at least in theory, the impacts of AI and automation because of its focus on caring at the frontline levels — but we cannot assume that the way we work now will remain remotely the same.
Already, we see the introduction of low-cost counselling services using online platforms, the disruption of open data for nonprofit and government funding models, and the democratization of information using technology to challenge traditional service access pathways.
Machine learning literacy, public protocols, and digital bias awareness are three of the five competencies that can help us overcome fear of AI, while at the same time gaining agency and voice in how AI is developed. How do you get started?
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4. The next big step in social finance is decolonization. Raven Capital leads the way.
Impact investing in Canada has grown by a massive 81 percent, with $14.75 billion now invested in purpose-driven solutions. But there’s one big problem with traditional social finance: its lack of Indigenous inclusion.
Why it matters: Committing to economic reconciliation and decolonization means building economies that work for Indigenous people where they’re at and which support Indigenous ways of knowing and being. It also means having the full economic participation of Indigenous people in the economy.
What’s key? Understanding that we have the basic drivers of economic growth wrong. And that Indigenous ownership and control is critical, of both the business and the capital. Following that, we need to focus on different impact measures and build Indigenous indicators of business success that matter to communities. This leads to vastly different local decisions and outcomes.
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5. Philanthropic giving is getting disrupted. One fast-growing fintech startup is changing the charitable donation game.
GoodBox is a fast-growing social impact startup that was founded in Manchester, UK and is aiming to land in North America by early 2020. GoodBox builds technology solutions that bring donors closer to their favourite causes, with the goal of streamlining giving for nonprofits and the causes they champion.
Why it matters: Charitable giving is dropping in many countries around the world. But technology may hold the key to bringing new donation solutions to the charitable sector, with an aim to bridge the digital divide and accelerate giving.
Charities are lagging behind other sectors by five years when it comes to digital technology. In the ‘80s or ‘90s that may have been manageable, but given the rate of change of technology today — coupled with the demise of cash, a staple of charities’ revenue generation — that lag is borderline catastrophic.
We all want to do good, so why do so many of us feel frustrated when we give? That’s the knot GoodBox is trying to untangle with technology. And they have a juicy story behind how they’re doing it.
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5 things that happened over the summer
1. Canada made an important stride towards a 2030 Agenda National Strategy
Why it matters: We’re just over a decade out from 2030 — but still a long way off from achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Canada released an interim document towards a 2030 national strategy, proposing 30 federal actions to push us forward. This is an important development — however, there wasn’t a clear indication on which goals Canada as a country should be focusing on in the next 10 years.
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2. Future Cities Canada announced the launch of the Civic Commons Catalyst
Why it matters: A robust public realm is essential in equitable cities. But, in some Canadian communities, we are seeing underutilization and underinvestment in our public spaces or “Civic Commons,” while in others, the growing privatization of place further reduces the amount of publicly accessible spaces. Future Cities Canada is working this fall to support people working in the Civic Commons through discussion, knowledge-sharing, and incubation.
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3. Women Deliver released a framework to help businesses build “future of work” that works for women
Why it matters: The fourth industrial revolution is already changing the way we work — and that rate of change is only set to accelerate. According to Women Deliver, businesses need to take advantage of this shift to ensure that women can not only participate in the future of work, but thrive in it. Important considerations for work in the world of social impact.
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4. Business Roundtable in the United States redefined the purpose of a corporation
Why it matters: The Business Roundtable — a group of the United States’ top corporate leaders — said that the purpose of a business is no longer just to seek profits for shareholders. While many remain skeptical about the follow-through, just saying it out loud is a major step forward. The question is — will the Business Council of Canada do the same?
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5. Government of Canada announced full membership of the permanent Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector (ACCS)
Why it matters: Formed in response to the recommendations of the Consultation Panel on the Political Activities of Charities and the Social Innovation and Social Finance Co-Creation Steering Group, the ACCS will provide advice to the federal government on important and emerging issues facing the charitable sector.
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3 facts that may surprise you
- Neuroscience and developmental psychology tell us that from 15 to 25, young people’s brains are wired for innovation.
- In 2018, 2,188 brand-new coworking spaces opened around the world. That’s about 6 per day.
- Since 1975, 26 modern treaties have been successfully negotiated, providing Indigenous ownership of more than 600,000 square kilometres of land. That’s almost the size of Manitoba.
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