Our accelerator methodology is grounded in thorough applied research and through the ongoing collaboration with leading Ashoka Fellows, it is constantly being upgraded with new learnings and insights:
Attempting to understand approaches that create exponential change and leverage technology strategically, we studied 14 cutting-edge initiatives led by Ashoka Fellows around the world.
After thorough research of their models and in-depth interviews with these Fellows, ASPIRe distilled learnings and patterns, building on top of the work by Societal Thinking, that are summarized in nine key design principles for exponential change.
These design principles and case studies are integrated in the ASPIRe accelerator framework.
A Changemaking Network comprises interdependent communities, united by a shared vision and a set of values, which has harnessed changemaking network effects to outpace and outsmart systemic social problems. It creates the operating system that allows for everyone in society to participate openly and actively.
In the first network effects playbook for social entrepreneurs, written by Ashoka Board Member, Sushmita Ghosh in collaboration with the ASPIRe team, we present five core principles and detailed strategies for harnessing changemaking network effects. These insights are distilled from extensive interviews with Ashoka Fellows who have mustered the art and science of creating networks for change at scale.
We are committed to creating pathways, collaborations and knowledge needed for the citizen sector to increase its ability to leverage technology for social impact.
We are not prescriptive about the kind of technology that organizations should use, but we believe that leveraging Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) is possibly the most sustainable pathway for the citizen sector
FOSS (Free and & Open-Source Software) enables access to libre, low-cost, and sustainable solutions and promotes transparency and collaboration. Modern “low code” and “no code” FOSS technologies require little technical capacity to maintain and customize to meet the specific needs of different organizations, which can be achieved at a fraction of the resources needed to build new technology from scratch.
