Research and mapping
Problems need to be recognised. Too often they are hidden, or marginalised. Or there is a belief that nothing can be done about them. Much research is about bringing problems to light. Much politics is about getting problems a hearing.
Many innovations are triggered by new data and research. In recent years, there has been a rise in the use of mapping techniques to reveal hidden needs and unused assets. The Latin origin of the word evidence is to make clear and visible, and visibility generates ideas.
Mapping needs
Mapping needs to estimate the existence, nature and distribution of the actual and potential need for goods and services, specifically where the need is a social...
Read moreIdentifying differential needs and capacities
Identifying differential needs and capacities through market research, consumer categories and geo-demographic segmentation techniques. Segmentation is becoming increasingly important to social innovation in fields such as...
Read moreMapping physical assets
Within the social economy, especially amongst artists, entrepreneurs and community groups, there is a long tradition of taking advantage of empty, abandoned or derelict buildings and...
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Mapping flows
Mapping flows of people, goods and messages often uncovers unseen patterns and possibilities. Some of the influential planning movements in Scandinavia in the 1950s and 1960s...
Read moreCommunities researching themselves
Communities researching themselves to identify their own needs and solutions to those needs. This includes participatory methods such as those used in Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)....
Read moreEthnographic research techniques
Ethnography is a holistic approach to research developed by anthropologists in order to understand people within their social and cultural contexts. The underlying theoretical basis of...
Read moreLiterature surveys and reviews
Literature surveys and reviews to bring together research evidence and identify promising new approaches, including models that can be borrowed from other fields. An outstanding recent...
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