December 2009 Archives
From a Flickr pool on Middle Eastern graphic design, a promo for a Riyadh charity fashion show.
As the above article notes, do-gooders are finally becoming more aware of the fundamental value of design in their work. For Design Week, Think Public offered to undertake a pro bono design project based on proposals from housing association residents.
Also worth checking out: ongoing work on the potential role of design in improving healthcare.
I'm still immersed in some other work, but in the meantime anyone who feels the lack of a critical perspective on social enterprise should read this poignant post from The Social Business, which reflects on the disjunction between the movement's rah-rah boosterism and real-world failures.
The signage from the shop, (which cost a small fortune) hacked down and thrown to the floor by the organic retailer that we'd invited in to take over our lease. (I'm not suggesting they shouldn't have done that - it was just a brutal image for 10am on a Sunday morning). . . .
It's a story I've told in parts before - but we basically couldn't make it pay - and eventually we went into administration. From £250k a year sales of fair trade goods to nothing. It's why I am how I am. I'm a great enthusiast for finding entrepreneurial ways to change society. But I can't stand some of the nonsense that surrounds the social enterprise movement - the hype, the spin, the cosy consensus that appears to exist amongst many with influence in the sector.
It's why my to do-list for the blog this week involves reading the Coalition's new research about the state of the social enterprise sector, and finding out more about the failure of Secure, a social enterprise which was set up to deliver prison health services and which has now gone bust. I don't deliberately seek to find fault, to be cynical, or to point the finger. But if we are to really change society, we need to celebrate successes, but also learn from things when they go wrong, and challenge some of the exuberance.
