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interactive forces and few can be xed by a single intervention. Second, many of our institutions were conceived to tackle single clusters of issues such as health, child welfare, clean water provision etc. rather than complex multi-dimensional challenges. The reality of the current social global challenges is that they are re ections of systemic problems with multiple causal agents and they require comprehensive systemic responses rather than single intervention or project solutions.
The Rise of the Consumer Citizen
As discussed above despite the magnitude of
the social challenges facing the world one of
the triumphs of the last fifty years has been the growth of what Clark et al (2007) call the ‘Citizen Consumer’. As people become educated and wealthier they experience the ability to consume goods and services. They come to expect good service and reliable products and if they don’t get them they vote with their wallets and feet. This expectation of respectful and active service provision quickly extends into people’s expectation of how not for profit organizations should work as well. This situation is leading to what Sandel (2010) calls
‘The new politics of the common good’. Around the world views about the nature of citizenship
and the role of the state are being redefined. Old dictatorships, hegemonies and professional elites are being challenged and in some cases toppled. A mash-up of state, NGO, not for profit, community based and for profit organizations is emerging
to deliver both social goods and services and individually consumed goods and services. Citizens are demanding more engagement and involvement in the selection of policies and their implementation. Examples include the development of governing bodies of state institutions such as schools and hospitals that consist of a majority of users rather than professionals. Citizens being engaged in policy formulation roundtables and users being engaged in delivering services through such approaches as peer education, mentoring, and advocacy projects. More empowered citizens want to have the opportunity to contribute to creating solutions not just be passive recipients of expert driven solutions. Citizen power is one of the four key driving forces discussed in this paper that are creating the conditions in which social businesses, using social marketing, underpinned
by better understanding of how behaviors can be influenced will come to occupy a central position in
11 http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/ 12 http://www.cochrane.org
strategies designed to promote social good. These forces are depicted in Figure one.
Technological Revolutions and Management Science Consolidation
Management science and systems design consolidation
Technological revolution
Social Development
Citizen Consumer demand and contribution
Revolution in behavioural sciences
76 I October 2015
In parallel with the re-de nition of interactions between the state and individuals new technological and methodological revolutions are also well underway. Digital technology, always on line communities, mobile devices and social networks are all transforming not only the way people live their lives but also how we
do business and provide social interventions. Digital platforms are now a ubiquitous part of most business and social programs as is a digital strategy. Building business strategy and product development and testing all depend on the interconnectedness made possible by the internet and World Wide Web. The upside of these revolutions is obviously huge but it is not without its costs and dangers, Mayer-Schonberger & Cukier (2013).
In addition to the unfolding technological revolution in the elds of communication it is also now becoming easier to draw together vast data sets and evidence about the effectiveness of different forms of social program design and interventions though such international collaborations as the Campbell11 and Cochran12 collaborations. This revolution means that best practice in policy development; program planning and delivery are emerging through processes of meta reviews across many different academic elds. For example, the MRC (2010) guidance on developing and evaluating complex interventions sets out a number
of helpful questions that planners and researchers should address when seeking to set up such programs.