This term, Wicked Problems, has been thrown around a few times in our studio over the last couple weeks. But what exactly is it?
“A wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognise. The use of term “wicked” here has come to denote resistance to resolution, rather than evil.”
Every student’s good friend, Wikipedia, put it into those simples terms.
This resistance may develop from Government policy, societal stigmas or inflexible systems. From my research, it may be impossible or at least, extremely difficult to permanently solve a wicked problem, but they can definitely be tamed or masked. I’ve discovered that in order to tackles these types of problems, usually related to economic, political or environmental issues, it’s important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
As the Australian Public Service Commission states, “there are no quick fixes and simple solutions” and finding a solution often requires “broader, more collaborative and innovative approaches.”
So how does this all fit in with Lentara, and what’s it got to do with our work? The way I see it, Lentara aims to minimise social inequality and provide assistance to asylum seekers and struggling community members. What is the wicked problem here? Social inequality/injustice is definitely one, as while governments may attempt to create equal economic and living equality standards, there will always be people living below the poverty line. To tangent, another wonderful organisation, Live Below the Line has fundraised over $20,000 to help poverty by promoting people to eat on $2 a day, for a week. This is one of the examples of creative methods to tackle an immense, ‘Wicked’ problem. But as the cliche goes, every cent counts. Similarly with any NFP, including Lentara, while the challenge faced may seem untameable, breaking it down and tackling one issue at a time, is more realistic, easier to grasp and will go a long way. Lentara provides care and support to individuals and families in need, but obviously cannot get to every person or family that’s struggling. Therefore Lentara, or we as collaborators with Lentara, focuses on doing a lot of smaller acts that add up to implement greater impact. I think that my team’s role, whose task is to understand, communicate and promote the Lentara Identity, need to accumulate information from the little and and little stories, then pieced together to solve the identity puzzle.
