Making Waves

Making Waves

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A Caribbean Social Innovation Guide

Grow Your Impact Step 7 What difference are you making, and how could it grow even more?

03 . The Caribbean Social Innovator’s Guide

Things to Consider Imagine that your initiative has been running for several months. People are benefiting from your work and you are beginning to think about the future. Before deciding what to do next, pause and reflect. Sometimes the greatest impact comes not from growing quickly, but from growing wisely.

Social innovation is a journey of learning and adapting. As your social innovation evolves, take time to reflect on what is working well, what could be improved and what difference your efforts are making. What has changed because of your work? What feedback have you received? What have you learned that you did not know when you started? Are there parts of your approach that could be improved before expanding further? How visible is your initiative? As people learn about your work, your visibility can help create momentum for your growth! Growth can mean many things. It does not always mean becoming bigger. Sometimes it means reaching more people, strengthening your approach, building new partnerships, reaching another community, influencing policy, or inspiring others to adapt your idea in their own communities for deeper and more lasting change.

• What feedback have I received from the people I hope to serve? • What would I do differently next time?

• What opportunities exist to share, adapt or expand my idea? • How am I promoting my work, showing my impact and growing my visibility • What does success look like for me, my community and the people I hope to serve?

This step helps you understand the difference you are making, learn from your experiences and decide what growth should look like for you. Remember to reflect on the journey and celebrate your progress! Social innovation is not about getting everything right the first time. It is about continually learning, adapting and creating greater impact over time.