Exploring a Social Impact technology platform?

People and organisations often approach to cognise how well technology can be a prodigious enabler for social good. This is not limited to social giving or social innovation. The key stakeholders in this space often desire for more - to participate in social development, measure social impact, volunteering, building solutions for a critical societal problem and how the money is been utilised across small to large programs. Today, many of the organisations use siloed technology platforms with no community engagements and with no technology integrations - dividing all the social good they do. It is critical to have a technology platform which works with the existing circumstances and able to scale on future necessities. 

The platform business model has appealed substantial responsiveness across the world. Nevertheless, the platforms which addresses social impact or the common social good lacked the dynamic complexity of non-commercial services that pursue to maximize social value. Social value refers to the beneficial outcomes to the broad community to alleviate social problems. I believe that technological innovation is not a panacea to social ailments, but rather a neutral tool that can propagate positive or negative outcomes depending on the circumstances in which technology is developed. When applied critically to certain social problems, technology can help to facilitate meaningful, positive social change.

On the other hand, social innovation refers to innovative activities and services that are motivated by the goal of meeting a social need; thus, social innovations provide solutions to societal problems. The social innovation process involves identifying an unmet need, generating an idea of how to meet that need, testing the idea in practice, scaling up, and, as the reality changes, adapting the idea. 

I believe that technology does not have intrinsic value; its value lies in its application, which social, political, and economic power structures dictate. When deciding which technology ventures should be funded, there is rarely a conversation about the ethics, ethos, social consequences, and benefits of new technology start-ups. As a result, the vast majority of technology ventures that are given the opportunity to develop are ones that have not been critically vetted in terms of their social impact. Again, technology is a neutral tool, but the economic structure, which predominantly values bottom-line results, determines how these technologies are applied and used in society.

Many technology start-ups and companies often utilize the belief that technology is inherently good - if every technology was good then we should not discuss about nuclear warheads and disarmaments, that too transpires because of technology but not for social good. Major technology companies and start-ups, regularly invoke phrases like “changing the world,” “making an impact,” or “disrupting a space”. While it is true that such companies might be changing the way we connect and interact, it is disingenuous for them to market themselves as an undoubtedly positive force for good. 

Despite the existence of this social impact tech space, students, employees, and communities seldom hear about ways to get involved in social impact technology. Partly responsible is the observation that large tech companies, dominate the conversation around career planning, while smaller tech social impact organizations cannot afford such a presence on any large educational campus. During their studies, students find it challenging to learn and apply what they learn in engineering or social science classes and related social problems. It’s even harder to identify the right resources and mentors to embark upon technology social good projects.

At SYNE, we build a model inspired by understanding the complexities of platforms that supports key problems in the value chain. Our model identifies important variables and maps key strategic feedback loops that constitute the core structure of the platform for the common good. The SYNE platform is not limited to one side of the equation, it enables working with non-profits and companies involved in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activities - also addresses the need for SDG based impact reporting for each players. 

We created SYNE as a Unified Platform for Social Impact to address the tribulations in the communities we live. As a social enterprise, we have focused on four main goals in the technology space: building a social impact community, increasing the level of social consciousness in the culture, providing people and organisations with a platform to connect to resources, and developing pathways to social engagement through industry and non-profit relations. Our Social Ventures program offers communities a chance to build their own social impact projects over six months or more and, we are building teams with projects in the fields of healthcare, education and financial inclusion. Our belief is that technology itself is a neutral tool. For this tool to become a force for positive social impact, we need to construct avenues where everyone can critically engage with the benefits of various technologies and have a platform like SYNE to promote the application of technology in ways that benefit society.

Technology, in the hands of a dedicated, critically-thinking, and socially oriented team, has the potential to create immense positive change. At SYNE, we want to make sure that this potential is actualized. Unlike other commercial platforms, SYNE is a social enterprise that seeks a viable business model to maximize social impact. Collectively we can change this World.