Solving The Future
“Innovation” often evokes visions of cutting-edge technologies, shiny ideas and brand-new methods.
But what if it could come from somewhere much simpler?
Dr Justine Carrion-Weiss, founder of The Blooming Platypus, believes that the best innovation can come from the heart.
Words by Dr Justine Carrion-Weiss
Photography by Christopher Owens
People often assume that innovation is about shiny ideas, new technologies, or disruptive methods. And it can be. But there is also so much more to it.
I have been working in the field of Responsible Innovation for the last decade, and there is one thing that I’ve come to realise. Many people and organisations still fail to mention - or even realise - that real, responsible innovation starts in a very special place, away from the limelight, somewhere much quieter and much warmer.
It starts in the heart of those who care. Specifically, those who care about, AND who care for. As I write these words, I realise how cheesy it sounds, and some may have already stopped reading (or are thinking about it) and branded me as ‘naive’. But hear me out. We’re talking about people who care about and for other people, living beings, or the planet. Whether it is from a personal or professional lens, at a local, regional, national or even a global level.
“If you go beyond the surface, beyond the polished narratives, the corporate language, the performative professionalism, you’ll find something else entirely. You’ll find a lot of people who care deeply.”
This type of ‘Care’ is about our interest and our values as individuals, but it is also about our and others’ place in the world, within existing systems, and how it drives our behaviours and actions. It is about an awareness of the impact we create and what we leave behind. Here, ‘Care’ is also about kindness. And I don’t mean surface-level niceness. Kindness isn’t always polite. It doesn’t keep things comfortable. It doesn’t accept the status quo. It’s about paying attention, listening properly, being honest, and sometimes saying the difficult thing because it matters.
We live in a world that often feels self-absorbed, fast-paced, and transactional. And it would be easy to believe the narrative that people don’t care anymore about what happens to it, or in it. But I don’t believe that. On the contrary. If you go beyond the surface, beyond the polished narratives, the corporate language, the performative professionalism, you’ll find something else entirely. You’ll find a lot of people who care deeply. People who care about their communities. People who care about doing meaningful work. People who care about fairness, sustainability, and inclusion.
In Responsible Innovation, ‘Care’ and ‘Justice’ are entwined. They aren’t abstract ideals. They are everyday responsibilities. The way we frame questions, choose who is invited into the room, and decide which insights “count” shapes who gets heard and who doesn’t. Working with care means paying attention to power, access, and inclusion. It means acknowledging that we all carry biases, often invisible to us, and that if we’re not actively questioning them, we end up reinforcing the same inequalities we claim to want to challenge. It also means recognising that lived experience is a form of expertise, and designing spaces where people feel safe enough to contribute honestly, creatively, and authentically is essential.
“Kindness isn’t always polite. It doesn’t keep things comfortable. It doesn’t accept the status quo. It’s about paying attention, listening properly, being honest, and sometimes saying the difficult thing because it matters.”
Some of the most meaningful shifts in my work have come from moments where I’ve been challenged, where my assumptions have been questioned, where I’ve had to listen harder than I expected, or wanted to. Welcoming difference isn’t always comfortable, but it’s where the real learning happens. Letting people in, truly in, and not just symbolically, changes the quality of the work. It shifts the dynamic from designing for to designing with. And that’s where innovation becomes not just effective, but ethical.
Without ‘Care’ and ‘Justice’ at the heart of our practice, innovation risks serving only the most privileged. With them, it becomes a tool for creating a fairer, more sustainable world.
But we’re only human, and error and biases are part and parcel of who we are. Luckily, innovation is built on iteration, reflection, trial and error, and growth. We collaborate. We prototype ideas. We test, fail, adapt, and try again. It asks us to stay humble, to remain curious, and to accept that we are ever evolving beings. And that applies to individuals just as much as it does to organisations and systems. And the beauty is, when we allow ourselves and others to be learners rather than experts with all the answers, it creates more openness, more compassion, and overall better outcomes.
“Some of the most meaningful shifts in my work have come from moments where I’ve been challenged, where my assumptions have been questioned, where I’ve had to listen harder than I expected, or wanted to.”
This is the kind of innovation I believe in and thrive to deliver with The Blooming Platypus. Not rapid for the sake of it, not disruptive to impress, not performative for tokenistic collaboration. It’s slower, messier and more demanding. But it’s also more human and more meaningful.
‘Care’ is not a weakness in this work. It is the strength. And it isn’t fluffy. It’s foundational. And ultimately, if we’re serious about creating change that actually benefits the people and the planet rather than reinforcing existing harmful systems, I believe this is the best way to do it.
So if there’s one thing I could encourage you to do, it’s to open your door a little wider. Be curious about people you don’t yet understand, in your life, or within your organisation. Listen to voices you’re not used to hearing. Ask people around you what or whom they care about and how they care for them. Create space for care in how you live. In how you work. Question your own assumptions. In the process, you might discover that innovation isn’t something you need to force. It’s something that emerges when people feel listened to, trusted, valued, and welcomed as they are. And it also emerges when people care.
“Without ‘Care’ and ‘Justice’ at the heart of our practice, innovation risks serving only the most privileged. With them, it becomes a tool for creating a fairer, more sustainable world.”
I’m very much aware that the current state of the world may make you feel like we are close to a societal and environmental collapse. That we’re doomed anyway. But if the future could be for the worse, why couldn’t it be for the better? I believe that together, with people who care, we can design a world that is fairer and more sustainable. And it might be nominative determinism. Or it might just be that I am a hopeless optimist. But it sure isn’t naivety and I’d like to believe that we can all contribute towards a brighter future, at our own level. That’s how we will solve the future.
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