Community building and innovation

Communication that generates community

The true meaning of the verb “to communicate”–and which is often forgotten today–is to share, to participate; in other words, to generate community. And it is precisely this original meaning of the word that inspires the paradigm of generative communication. Indeed, the paradigm considers social, economic and cultural activities, despite their various forms and objectives, communities of knowledge, experiences, and practices where people cooperate toward the creation of the common good.

This does not imply a sacrifice of individuality for the communal. Rather, individual action is the main driving force that propels the community’s project forward; individuals participate in defining the objectives, values ​​and reference standards. With their will, creativity and passion, individuals contribute to endless generation and regeneration of their own communities.

The generative paradigm for inter- and intra-community communication

Socio-economic and cultural realities are continuously transforming systems made up of constant interactions among communities, and therefore among individuals. Both activity and  condition at the same time, they are concretely physical and material as well as symbolic and abstract. 

Communication is the physical and symbolic energy that determines these economic, social, political and cultural webs and that defines collective and individual communicative identities. Various communities, in fact, constantly interact with each other, giving life to dynamics and relationships of varying nature.

Precisely for this reason, internal communication, organizational communication and external communication are strategically inseparable, representing convergent aspects of a single communication strategy. 

In this scenario, the generative paradigm promotes a communication model that, through community building logic, aims to include all stakeholders in the various phases of production and knowledge-building processes.

Rewriting relationships between communities and new technologies: the human touch at the center of innovation design

The tools, architecture and processes of automation systems and ICT contribute in an increasingly decisive way to generating communities by influencing the social, economic, cultural, and ethical objectives of both individuals and collective subjects. 

But what are the rules that guide the design and implementation of technologies? What needs do they respond to?

According to the generative approach in which Human Touch is central, the starting point always resides in inclusive co-design dynamics which, thanks to communication, are based on the real needs (whether perceived or not) of the community and of all the stakeholders involved.

The more powerful the communication, the stronger the community; the more solid the community, the greater the quality of the product. The greater the value of the product, the stronger the community becomes, thus enriching that community. This is how a generative process develops.

Innovation development: innovation, if such, is a system

Innovation can no longer be seen as an exceptional response to get out of a situation of serious crisis: it is a continuous and unavoidable process of growth and development of individual organizations and wider production and knowledge systems. There may be moments of strong acceleration or consolidation, but not of stagnation. Innovation must be recognized as a “normal” condition, able to give continuity to “normal” entrepreneurial, institutional, and more generally socio-economic and cultural activities. We have witnessed in recent years a significant change in the communication paradigm with regard to the concept of innovation with a transition from an increasingly ineffective linear model to a more interactive and inclusive system, supporting greater cooperation between the different carriers of interest in order to go beyond simple top-down unidirectional technology transfer. Fully sustaining this revolution, the generative paradigm holds a systemic idea of ​​innovation that leads to:

  • definition of communication strategies that encourage the participation and collaboration of all identified stakeholders;
  • contamination between the different realities called into question by redefining the very identity of every single social actor involved.

Beyond the consolidated communicative model

The communicative model proposed by the generative paradigm overturns the current hierarchical transmissive model of communication that is the principal cause of the economic-social crisis Italy is currently facing. From this perspective, the problem seems to be not a lack of resources but rather a cultural difficulty in recognizing resources, of which we have many.

 

Italian society–and not only ours–seems like an oil tanker in the middle of an ocean, dead in the water because it’s run out of fuel. And this image can apply to other societies and communities as well: there’s a real possibility that Italian solutions may act as a model of development throughout the globe.

 

Nearly inexhaustible resources await to develop and rebuild communities, resources that can help overcome the crises facing subjects in the world of economics, institutions, politics and culture. The CfGC recognizes where these resources lie in communication and has the expertise to bring them to the surface.