Module 2 – Identifying Social Problems and Opportunities
IN THIS LESSON
Designing an effective solution starts with understanding the people who experience the problem. Assumptions — even well-intentioned ones — are no substitute for listening directly to communities and learning from their lived experiences.
In this lesson, you'll explore how human-centred and participatory approaches can help social entrepreneurs understand community needs before designing solutions. You'll consider different ways of learning from communities, including interviews, observation, participatory workshops, and collaboration with community-based organisations.
As you watch, consider:
How well do you currently understand the experiences and needs of the people you want to serve?
What assumptions about the problem might you need to test?
How could you engage directly with the community before deciding what solution to build?