The Social Labs Revolution : A New Approach to Solving Our Most Complex Challenges

Current Responses To Our Most Pressing Societal Challenges--from Poverty To Ethnic Conflict To Climate Change--are Not Working. These Problems Are Incredibly Dynamic And Complex, Involving An Ever-shifting Array Of Factors, Actors, And Circumstances. They Demand A Highly Fluid And Adaptive Approach, Yet We Address Them By Devising Fixed, Long-term Plans. Social Labs, Says Zaid Hassan, Are A Dramatically More Effective Response. Social Labs Bring Together A Diverse A Group Of Stakeholders--not To Create Yet Another Five-year Plan But To Develop A Portfolio Of Prototype Solutions, Test Those Solutions In The Real World, Use The Data To Further Refine Them, And Test Them Again. Hassan Builds On A Decade Of Experience--as Well As Drawing From Cutting-edge Research In Complexity Science, Networking Theory, And Sociology--to Explain The Core Principles And Daily Functioning Of Social Labs, Using Examples Of Pioneering Labs From Around The World. He Offers A New Generation Of Problem Solvers An Effective, Practical, And Exciting New Vision And Guide. --publisher Description. The Perfect Storm Of Complexity -- The Strategic Vacuum -- The Sustainable Food Lab: From Farm To Fork -- The Bhavishya Lab: The Silent Emergency -- The New Ecologies Of Capital -- The Rise Of The Agilistas -- Steps Toward A Theory Of Systemic Action -- Starting A Social Lab: Seven How-tos. Zaid Hassan. A Reos Publication Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This is the first book on social laboratories, a new methodology for addressing complex societal challenges. The book includes case examples of how this new methodology has proven successful over the past decade in bringing people together in many nations to make breakthroughs in solving such problems as poverty, ethnic conflict, and environmental issues.