The Process of Community Innovation

Big challenges require not only big solutions, but more effective and equitable approaches. Pollen has reached out to three organizations that role-model innovation in how they address advancement of a community need in their work. 

These organizations understand a key element to reaching innovation: it’s not the solution or idea that is innovative, it’s the process of inclusivity, collaboration, and resourcefulness throughout all stages of problem-solving that transcends a solution into breakthrough change.

Innovation is not linear, but operates on a continuum

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African Immigration Services, the Brookings Supports Breastfeeding coalition, and the Plains Art Museum have each identified projects that address a need and are emboding a community-centric, problem-solving process to create new solutions. All three projects received Community Innovation grants from the Bush Foundation and are examples of certain stages within the community innovation process.

Step 1: Increase Collective Awareness
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Step 2: Generate Ideas
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Step 3: Test and Implement Solutions
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Step 1: Increase Collective Awareness

African Immigrant Services has institutionalized a culture of community innovation and inclusion in how they better understand and take action with issues directly impacting their communities. Abdullah Kiatamba, executive director of AIS, believes the key is access to information and then mobilizing for action. 

Below you will find a storygraphic that outlines AIS' work and how they plan to use community education and engagement to change the roles of African immigrants and other underrepresented groups in the northwest suburbs of Hennepin County from observers to active leaders.

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The AIS African FOTL Project seeks to shift the roles of people of color, especially African immigrants, from the sidelines to the heart of community-driven problem-solving, co-creating  new realities on issues aligned with their interests and passion. Community members will participate in cohorts or community circles that match their areas of  interest (education, community-police relations, information gaps, economic opportunity, etc.).  Each cohort, focused on a particular interest, will first engage in a process of agenda-setting. These cohorts will identify a list of problems for which community-driven solutions should  be applied. They will then prioritize those issues, set timelines, and then activate existing  community resources and assets to solve them. The project will also identify, prepare, and  match a cohort of leaders with leadership positions in public institutions, where their roles will help advance racial equity (closing a host of disparities, including access and opportunities).

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Step 2: Generate Ideas

Through a cross-sector collaboration, institutions across Brookings, South Dakota have organized to discuss ideas and solutions around a community problem: better support for breastfeeding mothers.

Here’s how the Brookings Supports Breastfeeding project utilizes collaboration and engagement to generate ideas ultimately leading to breakthrough solutions around this important issue.

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Step 3: Test and Implement Solutions

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