Creativity is an essential tool for a positive societal impact. It’s deeply connected with transformative change. Their combination results in innovative thinking and meaningful impact, shaping initiatives that address societal challenges with new solutions.
Whenever there is a creative approach, there are unconventional solutions to longstanding issues. Whether it’s addressing environmental sustainability, economic inequality, or healthcare accessibility, a creative mindset allows the exploration of uncharted territories, while it also promotes disruptive innovations.
It’s common to think that creativity only relates to art – later in this post we will show that the societal impact of creativity doesn’t only apply to the artistic field. A proven fact is that artistic inspiration has driven change throughout history.
Art, creativity and its impact
Arts and creativity are said to, amongst other things: Strengthen communities; Improve educational attainment; Spur innovation; and Preserve traditions and cultural memory.
There are also practical applications of creativity and art. Art can be used as a means of activism – for example, Banksy’s street art has been used to highlight social injustices and to challenge political policies. Through creative advertising campaings, social change can also be achieved – or example, Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty inspires women to feel beautiful in their own skin, challenging societal norms of beauty and body image. Community-based interventions that use art and creativity also are able to push towards social change; from community gardens to public art installations, these interventions bring people together to work towards a common goal -for example, the Guerilla Girls use street theatre and public art to challenge gender inequalities in the art world.
The fields of creativity
However, as said, the power of creativity is not limited to artists alone. Anyone can use their creativity to inspire change. By cultivating creativity in ourselves and in others, we can drive positive change in our communities and beyond.
For successful social entrepreneurship, creativity is key. Creative activity, both industrial and otherwise, has both an economic and societal impact. The relationship between creativity and impact extends beyond the ideation phase of any initiative. It influences the entire lifecycle of a social venture – from strategic planning to execution. That way, problem-solving becomes a continuous process, using creativity for evolving challenges and refining solutions based on real-world feedback. In that sense, creativity also helps to empathize deeply with the communities and individuals involved in the social entrepreneurship initiative, guiding entrepreneurs to develop solutions that resonate with the needs and aspirations of those that they aim to serve.
Nonprofit organizations, on the other hand, use creativity to push towards change. From social media campaigns to creative fundraising events, these organizations use creativity to promote their causes and to build support for their work.
In public policy, creativity also has an impact. Creative solutions can be used to solve complex social issues and to challenge traditional approaches to policy. For example, countries around the world are experimenting with universal basic income as a means of reducing poverty and promoting access to essential resources.
How to measure the societal impact of creativity?
Creative actions have an impact that resonates in ways that may be difficult to measure. There is an over-rationalization and instrumentalisation of the benefits of creativity and the arts. Tools like the Social Return on Investment (SROI) can work to show the societal impact of creative initiatives.
