However, for an organisation that was espousing the necessity to better account for the human elements and actors who constitute the wicked problems in the problem solving process, we realised we had in one part failed to practice what we preached. We had arrived at the above conclusions without engaging with the private sector social change actors who we hoped to empower – failing to first uncover what it is they really need in order to become a more powerful force in the social change process.
If these private sector actors are to become more empowered agents in addressing the wicked problems, then they need to be directly involved in the process that establishes the way forward. Accordingly, the first task WPI is taking on is conducting a research project, where we’re engaging with and listening to social enterprises involved in addressing forced migration and refugee crises. Here, WPI is looking to dig deeper into areas like how these entities view the problem, what approaches and models they’ve deemed appropriate to address the problem, and what resources are available/lacking vis-à-vis moving towards addressing the challenge. This process will see us test our assumptions outlined above, and may result in us having to overturn them!
Upon concluding this project, we’ll then be in a better position to refine, and define, WPI’s approach in order to enable the networked, collaborative approach to better meet the challenge.
Engaging in the iterative listening process of this project is representative of the fact that WPI doesn’t believe it has the answers to the problems we’ll be addressing alongside the private sector social change community. But what WPI will have is the ability to listen to those involved in the problem, collaboratively diagnose the issue, and respond accordingly.
Ultimately, WPI aims to develop the capacity to focus on co-creating collaborative ecosystems of actors engaged in various wicked problems. However, while we embark on developing this capacity, WPI will start by focussing all our efforts on one wicked problem: forced migration and refugee crises.