SIX Blog

SIX has just finished hosting a fascinating discussion on innovation and ageing between a newly formed virtual community. Our purpose? To come up with creative ways to address the opportunities and challenges posed by ageing populations around the world. Members of this inspired new movement came from Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, Brussels, Paris, Lisbon and London and spanned the worlds of business, government and the third sector. The discussion was in preparation for one of SIX’s new strands of work, and Spring School event in Paris. Engaging all sectors is one of the key themes that we as a group feel is integral for grasping the opportunities ageing societies brings, particularly without killing creativity.

Wellbeing, enabling older people to make continued contribution to society, finding ways for all members of communities can form new models of care, the need to move away from treating older people as objects and involving them in the design of services were just some of the opportunities that were discussed during the last hour.
This energetic session exceeded SIX’s expectations and is just the beginning of something we think is very exciting! There is more to come...

In aid of International Women's Day - here are 10 technological innovations that empower women all over the world.

Today, the website of a new and exciting organisation has gone live - check out Dialogue Cafe! Over the next few years, SIX members will be able to talk with each other via TelePresence, but more regularly and in a much less formal setting.

Dialogue Café brings people together in conversation. It connects people from all walks of life to learn, share and collaborate. Dialogue Café supports activities across four main themes: civic participation, cross-cultural dialogue, arts and culture, and social innovation!!

Dialogue Café is a global network of people and organisations from the public, private and not for profit sectors, as well as individual citizens, who come together, via video conference, to share information and ideas, learn about new projects and collaborate on new ways of tackling social and environmental problems.

The first two Cafes will be launched this summer, in Rio and Lisbon. In the next few years, Dialogue Cafes will be all over the world. SIX will be working closely with the Dialogue Cafe team, enabling SIX members to meet more regularly with each other, and make new connections, no matter where they are in the world.

Check out the Dialogue Cafe website and sign up for updates. For more information, email Julie at info(AT)dialoguecafe.org

For more information on past TelePresence conversations, see the SIX TelePresence series

Dialogue Cafe also features as a case study in the new Social Innovator site - you can have a look here

SIX is very excited to be the new custodians of socialinnovator.info - the culmination of two years of hard work scanning and mapping the methods us social innovators use in our every day work.

The Social innovator series is the result of a two year collaboration between the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and the Young Foundation which aimed to map the many methods being used around the world, across all sectors and fields, to design, develop and grow social innovation.  It draws on inputs from hundreds of organisations around the world to document the many methods currently being used.

This material is intended to support all those involved in developing practical solutions to social challenges;  policy‐makers who can help to create the right conditions; foundations and philanthropists who can fund and support; social organisations trying to meet needs more effectively; and of course entrepreneurs and innovators themselves.

Social Innovator brings this work to life – with case studies and reviews as well as analyses of particular methods and tools.  With SIX as its new hosts, the work is officially going global and SIX invites you to help us further develop this work.

SIX invites you all to visit socialinnovator.info - browse, contribute and make it work for you!

I look forward to hearing what you think!

After five years working in Westminster - first at the Treasury, then the short-lived DIUS and finally the Department for Communities and Local Government, I've packed it in and moved north. Since January I've been working at Greater Manchester's Commission for the New Economy; an organisation 'owned' by the ten councils that make up the city region and charged with delivering its economic development.

And just two thoughts on the hot political topic of the day – bullying in Downing St – first, working in that environment necessarily involves you being ‘up close and personal’ almost all of the time. You get to see all aspects and extremes of behaviour and temperament (including your own). Andrew Rawnsley got at least one thing right – those closest and most trusted get to see the extremes – mainly because they are there most of the time. That includes the shouting, the tantrums and the tough conversations at any time of day or night.
My second thought is that working in these environments must be a bit like sharing a dressing room with Alex Ferguson or Mick McCarthy. Its bloody hard, but a privilege and the vast majority of people know that. But what happens in the dressing room should stay in the dressing room. That’s true for journalists hearing stories and charity heads taking confidential calls. Andrew Rawnsley and Christine Pratt are both offside in that respect.

But back to Manchester. It’s an interesting time to be in city government (when isn't it?). The forthcoming general election, the prospect of major changes in the way that local councils work and the challenges of rebuilding an economy and a labour market after the recession. But the most interesting stuff isn't just Whitehall seen from a different perspective, it's witnessing what actually happens in the city and what makes it tick on a day to day basis.

During my new working weeks I've been commuting into Manchester either on Virgin or from the outskirts of the city - and the sheer level of business 'traffic' in and out of the city is striking. Travelling by car I drive through 'footballer alley' a country lane in Prestbury where the houses are worth millions and ever shifting temporary traffic lights locate the construction of the newest swimming pool, panic room or triple garage. And once on the M56, the lanes are filled with traffic - BMWs, Mercs and MPVs, new cars, old cars, white vans and so on (I drive a crappy old Ford Ka with a Wolves sticker in the window...). The trains too are packed - with consultants, engineers, managers, lawyers and even the odd MP in first class (though they tend to hop off at Macclesfield). You know what they do because they spend half the journey on the phone. This is a busy city - and there's activity, wealth and enterprise all over the place.

Arriving in Manchester there are the familiar sights and smells of modern British cities - trams, coffee bars, cranes, students, new offices, shops and apartment blocks. Some are boarded up or vacant but most aren't. There are the odd drunks – some permanently so, others just casualties of the night before - and beggars and big issue sellers - but most people are on their way to work - with cappuccino or bacon butty in hand.

All in all, this is a city that is getting on with it. It does its business in its own way - and plenty of it. In that spirit, it’s very hard to tell what impact the trials and tribulations of Westminster have on the daily grind up here – but I suspect that more people will be talking about Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney or Richard Branson than the current or future incumbents of No 10.

I've not seen any posters of David Cameron asking for change nor any of Gordon Brown or Nick Clegg just yet. But I’m sure it won’t be long until we see all three of them getting off the Virgin Pendolino at Piccadilly or arriving in a big car. The question for all of them might be whether they really understand what makes people and businesses in this city tick...

Social Development Centre SUS has just entered the SIX network and think it's great to see what's going on in social innovation around the world!

Social Development Centre SUS is a Danish independent non-profit and non-governmental organisation that solves issues in relation to socially vulnerable people – nationally and internationally. Our aim is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life for marginalised people.

Some of our projects and methods are:
* KUBI - an evaluation model, measuring and developing Quality through User Influence
* Micro-loans for the Socially Disadvantaged
* Courses in User Journalism
* Implementation of IT and communication technology for people with disabilities
* Network Group Conference
* User Participation Index - an IT based tool for measuring and developing User Influence.

Find more information about the projects and methods under 'Case Studies'!

The Australian Centre for Social Innovation, or TACSI, is now up and running! They have an exciting programme of events planned for 2010: the Bold Ideas, Better Lives Challenge will search out the mosty exciting new ideas tackling social challenges form climate change to unemployment, to discrimination to healthcare and everywhere in between, all the way across Australia; the Deisgn Thinking for Social Services Project will work with local government to explore new ways of thinking about service provision; Tacsi will also be looking at the feasibility of training social entrepreneurs in Australia, building a network of like minded people across the country and running events. A busy year!

TACSI will of course be working closely with both SIX and our partners ASIX. The whole SIX community would like to wish Tacsi every success in their exciting and ambitous adventure for 2010.

Check out their newly launched website here!

Do you, or rather your organization, pass the pub test, the radio test, and the grandmother test?

Organizations that pass these three tests can often secure the resources they need to scale – the people, the respect, and most of all, the money. Organizations that fail one or more test usually have problems.

[A fuller version of this article was published by Third Sector Magazine in Australia this month http://thirdsectormagazine.com.au/news/the_pub_test_the_radio_test_and_the_grandmother_test/009079/]

Pub test

First, take the pub test. Someone from your organization is in the pub with one of their friends. The friend asks what your organization does. Can your colleague in the pub explain the mission of your organization in a sentence or two, with pride? Does the friend, piqued by curiosity, ask more questions, or go glassy-eyed, reach for their drink, and change the subject?

Missions are meant to motivate. If your colleague can articulate your mission with pride, they are probably motivated, and will inspire others, perhaps to join or volunteer for your organization. And they might even be able to ask for money.

Radio test

Next, take the radio test. Imagine that you are driving somewhere in ten years. The news comes on the radio, and says “And now some good news. A report just out today says that over the past ten years something has improved. One organization that has worked hard for this is your organization.” You hear the report and smile to yourself. Your team and you are recognized for a decade of hard work and achievement. What was that something?

Goals drive decisions. They focus organizations on the most valuable actions out of the range that could fall under the inspiring mission. If the something for your organization is clear and simple, it will help your colleagues in the front line make decisions day to day, and it will make it easier to secure resources. Volunteers know what counts, and that their time has made a difference. Funders may even find you, if they share your goals.

If your goal can fit into a simple radio report, then it’s going to be useful for insiders and outsiders alike. If your goals are too complicated to be explained in a sentence or two, then they won’t drive decisions on the front-line or among funders.

Organizations without clear goals, even if they have an inspiring mission, can scatter their energy in all directions without actually making progress in any direction.

Grandmother test

Finally, take the grandmother test. Imagine you are walking down the street on a windy day and you see your grandmother. You’re delighted to see each other. She asks your news, and you tell her about your organization – the mission and goal. She’s impressed and curious to know more. She asks how your organization will meet this inspiring mission and achieve its ambitious goal. Can you explain the strategy simply and clearly to an intelligent, interested, but uninformed, listener? Remember, it is a windy day. If it’s not clear, grandma will ask you to speak up. If you are too windy, she will get cold while you ramble.

Strategies tell organizations how to get from where they are to where they want to be. They tell us what not to do. If we cannot explain strategies clearly, we probably do not have clear strategies. If our strategies are not clear, our organizations may not understand them, let along execute them. We’re not likely to achieve our goals or mission.

Testing, testing, testing

How would your organization fare with the three tests?

If you are not sure, try the pub test with a mate, say the radio news out loud next time you drive, or tell your grandmother about your strategy. If you don’t like what they say, you can get some advice on how to improve your mission, goal and strategy. Start with your mate in the pub, and think about inviting granny along, too!

Cheers!

PS: If you would like to read the fuller version of this article with some examples, please go to the Third Sector Magazine web site http://thirdsectormagazine.com.au/news/the_pub_test_the_radio_test_and_t...

In two new videos, Tom Croft, author of "Up From Wall Street: A Responsible Investment Alternative," discusses his work and how responsible investment of savings assets, pensions, insurance funds and other trusts can generate positive social, economic, and environmental benefits -- and financial returns.

The conversation took place during the October book launch of "Up From Wall Street." In the first video, Tom discusses the need for the Obama Administration to move toward responsible investment models. In the second, Tom is joined by Leo Gerard, president of United Steelworkers.

Click here to learn more about Tom's book. To order the book, visit Amazon.com.

Social innovation is about tackling existing problems by partnering with new ways of communicating, of thinking, of interacting- it is about changing the way in which people are better able to empower themselves. One such social innovation is Maslaha, which means 'for the common good'. 

Maslaha is a new web-based organisation that aims to create a better understanding of Islam amongst Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It is a new platform that enables Muslims to receive information about daily life in the UK, but also informs non-Muslims of the issues that might arise out of day-to-day life for Muslims. The website has been set up to shed light into some of the many issues that affect Muslims in modern western societies, in particular in the United Kingdom.

The new website will be launched at the end of January, but in the meantime, please check out www.maslaha.org 

Maslaha has also created www.caringforyourheart.org which is a new website geared towards Muslims who are affected by heart disease. It has been created in partnership with Birmingham Primary Care Trust (PCT), and Health Launchpad at the Young Foundation. The wesbite gives more detailed information to Muslims about how to better take care of the most important organ in the human body.

Maslaha has also worked with the Borough of Tower Hamlets in London, United Kingdom to tackle the increasingly high number of Muslims in Tower Hamlets who have diabetes. Please visit www.diabetesintowerhamlets.org

In the new year, we will partner with the British Council to create a virtual exhibition as part of their flagship 'Our Shared Europe' project exploring Islam's relationship with Europe over the past 1,000 years. 

Please check out the websites and spread the word!

This is a message to all aspiring social innovators, environmental entrepreneurs and youth change-makers!
Applications for Sprout Winter e-course are still open, and we want you to check it out!

Sprout offers a new, innovative and fun way to learn project management. Our 8-week e-course guides you through the necessary steps of creating a successful, sustainable project that can affect meaningful change in your communtiy.
Here at Sprout we recognize that every initiative to change the world starts out as an idea; that every idea needs the proper tools and support for it to grow into something great.

Why not see where your idea can take you?
Sprout Ideas, Grow Projects, Cultivate Leadership

Apply to become a Sprout participant or e-mentor by clicking here, or visiting the website

Help us spread the word! Invite your friends and your peers - anyone and everyone who you think would be interested in learning project management for social change - to visit our homepage, sign up for our newsletter, or to apply to the program.

Applications close January 3, 2010

On being invited to Vienna to attend the CSI's event "The most needed social innovations of the 21st century", I thought it best to use the opportunity to take a look at what's happening in social innovation in Europe as we prepare to formally launch The Australian Centre for Social Innovation in 2010.

I've spent the last two weeks based out of the Young Foundation in London, visiting a range of organisations working in the fields of social innovation, social entrepreneurship, public sector innovation and design. I also visited the teams at Mind-Lab in Copenhagen, KennisLand in Amsterdam and the Centre for Social Innovation in Vienna.

All of the organisations I have met have shared valuable insights from their experiences. A common theme has been the importance of just getting on with it while making time to review, revise and iterate as you go along. I have also been interested to see and hear about the growing importance of design thinking and practice in addressing unmet social needs and in changing the relationship between citizens and services. This included a fascinating SIX tele-presence session on this topic!

I have greatly appreciated the goodwill of everyone I met on my travels and look forward to returning the favour should anyone wish to come and see us in action in 2010! For those of you I didn't meet on my travels, I hope to do so at the next SIX Sumer School.

You can follow our progress at www.tacsi.org.au and I will start posting here on SIX what we're up to Down Under!

Brenton

You can now find out through the new Open Knowledge Foundation prototype project 'Where Does My Money Go?' Amilestone in the UK's transparency monement ( Tom Watson MP), this is well worth exploring!!

Is there anything similar in your country? Let us knwo about it...

At the opening of the first World Innovation Summit in Education (WISE) in Dohar, Qatar, developed from an idea of Her Royal Highness Sheikha Mozah two years ago, one thousand invitees drawn from every continent, were told at the opening session, 'The future of education is about to turn a page'. It certainly felt that way over the three days that followed.
The three themes for the conference were pluralism, sustainability and innovation. Experiences, ideas and evidence of what works and what fails to work in learning were exchanged - along with e-mail addresses and links - by entrepreneurs, industrialists, business people, academics, educationalists, NGOs, politicians and community activists from the United States, Africa, Europe, the Gulf States and the UK. They endeavoured, for a short time at least, to put into action President Barak Obama's belief that 'innovation and education will be the currency of the 21st century'.
Remarkably, in spite of the differences in culture, faith, resources, wealth and understanding of what innovation might mean in practice, a common consensus emerged. Namely that incremental change isn't enough to fix the scale of the challenges that are already here - hunger, health epidemics, climate change, an ageing population in the west and a young and largely illiterate population in the Arab world. Plus education systems that even in the wealthier countries too often fail many of their children - and the hurdle that is global illiteracy. Seventy-nine million boys and girls are without education around the world. 800 million adults have no literacy skills - and a number live in the UK. Given the need for urgency, slow reform isn't the answer: much more radical, immediate and disruptive action is required.
In the Arab world, for instance, 40% of the population are under fifteen. One hundred million new jobs need to be created over the next ten years to create buoyant economies. High quality, imaginative and appropriate education is vital to ‘upgrade the human mind’ and deal with what Her Highness called, ‘the scourge of ignorance, isolation and fragility.’
Among the many examples of what a radically different approach can achieve was seen in a presentation given by Dr Sugata Mitra http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra.html from Newcastle University. He is the originator of a concept, Hole in the Wall, also known as Self Organising Learning Environments (SOLE) that led to the film, Slumdog Millionaire (a teenager raised on the streets with an encyclopaedic store of knowledge – although Dr Mitra said he would have preferred if the film had more appropriately been called Slumdog Nobel Laureate!). Ten years ago, Dr Mitra began placing computers in holes in the wall in poor urban and rural areas of India to test a methodology called, Minimally Invasive Education.
Over the first three months, illiterate street children – without the intervention of adults - taught themselves how to use the internet, how to speak English, how to read and write, and enjoy a range of subjects including algebra and art. In one case, Hindi children understood advanced concepts like human anatomy (speaking English with a Southern US accent copying the voice on the software). Another Hole in the Wall experiment, in 2007, gave English biotechnology software to Tamil speaking children. Two months later, the children told Dr Mitra they had learned nothing except, as one 12 year old explained, ‘about DNA replication and the fact that you can get diseases when the replication of DNA undergoes a small defect….but other than that we understood nothing.’
Now, hundreds of computers are in holes in the walls in Africa, India, Cambodia and Goa with the help of funding from the World Bank. Dr Mitra also has a scheme in which 200 grandmothers in Newcastle read fairy stories using a webcam to poor children in India, 5000 miles away, enthusing the children to learn more as they do so. Dr Mitra points out that there are insufficient teachers, schools and funds, given the other priorities of global powers, to bring education to the billion children over the next ten years who have a need for an education – and whose economies would benefit as a result.
Between 200-300 children can share a single village computer – at a cost of two cents per child a day; $20 per child over three years. ‘Ten million SOLES over 10 years would cost $180 billion dollars, ‘Dr Mitra says, ‘It can be done. It’s a question of attitude not technology.’
Other presentations included a project run by Ashoka Arab World (http://www.ashoka-arab.org/ashoka/) that supports teams of five young people selected from schools in deprived areas. Ashoka helps the team to develop and implement social enterprises from concept to venture – improving skills, confidence and aspirations as it does so. And, from the UK, came Stephen Heppell (www.Heppell.net) – who is engaged in a range of enterprises, including putting innovative schools in empty shops; Mum TV to give pregnant teenagers more knowledge about the development of babies and crafting education for what he called ‘the post-Google generation’ who technologically have traveled much further than the teaching profession often understands. ‘Email?’ Heppell quoted one teenager. “That’s what my dad does.” Heppell is also developing Portland Academy in the UK - the first academy to provide education from 0–21 years of age. The new mantra for teachers working with pupils, wherever they might be, Heppell argued, should be ‘ask don’t tell’. ‘We are at the death of education and the dawn of learning,’ he said. ‘. It is an extraordinary time.’
Six awards were given for particularly striking projects, many long established. These included Escuela Nueva in Columbia http://www.wise-qatar.org/en/laureats/Escuela+Nueva; the Self Sufficient School in Paraguay encouraging entrepreneurship among the poor http://www.wise-qatar.org/en/laureats/Self-Sufficient-School and distance learning in the Amazon http://www.wise-qatar.org/en/laureats/Distance+Learning+in+the+Amazon+Fo...
WISE, now to be held annually, is part of a modernisation drive in Qatar – a country with a local population of under 400,000. According to the IMF, Qatar has the highest per capita income in the world, based on the assets of gas and oil. But the country, led by Sheikh Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is also determined to develop a knowledge economy. Hence the establishment of Education City http://www.qf.org.qa/output/Page17.asp, the home of branch campuses of six international universities as well as a number of other institutions.
In 2002, the Supreme Education Council (SEC) was established to role out, ‘Education for a New Era’. SEC conducts research, evaluations and promotes innovation in education. The overhaul of Qatar’s education was driven by concerns not unknown in the UK - that the existing system was too centralised, slow to change and was out of synch with the requirements of a 21st century global world. Dr Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, chair of WISE and the Qatar Foundation’s Viice-President of Education, said at the conclusion of the conference, the identification of ten strategic priorities, signalled, ‘a convergence among global educational leaders on the key issues that will affect and shape education in the 21st century’. These priorities include access to quality education; global citizenship, innovating new ways to learn; protecting educators and pursuing sustainable development.
What was also reassuring at WISE is the emphasis on action rather than rhetoric over the next twelve months – an army of innovators and would be innovators across the world, encouraged and supported to push forward the frontiers of learning; encourage the exchange of knowledge; develop methods and metrics. And reinforce each others’ belief that such efforts can and will make a difference on a global stage.

For me, one of the big questions at SIX was: How do we engage the government?

Randomly put, at Innovation Exchange, we often ask ourselves: How do we get those who talk to listen and those who listen to talk?

In the UK, we have a really dynamic third sector (not-for-profits, social enterprises and charities). Innovation Exchange provides brokerage support to third sector innovation. John Craig, the Director of Innovation Exchange, argues that the third sector is teeming with great ideas but too few of them change the world. Why? Because innovators, commissioners and social investors often lack each other's phone numbers and the capacity and incentive to collaborate. As a result, great innovations get a start but struggle for the connections and resources to sustain and scale. At Innovation Exchange, we are working hard to tackle this problem.

One of our strands of work are Festival of Ideas events (http://innovation-exchange.org/blog/festivals-of-ideas/). We hold a one day event in partnership with a public sector organisation bringing together public service commmissioners, social investors and the third sector innovators around a compelling social challenge. There was a great deal of interest in this work at Lisbon and since then we've held three Festival of Ideas events in different parts of England. We thought it might be a good idea to share the work we've done so far (and don't forget to check out our learning paper which has a great section on Festival of Ideas http://innovation-exchange.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/first-lea... )

Better Mental Health: A Festival of Ideas - http://bit.ly/8Qk11j
Adult Social Care: Personalisation and Provideris - A Festival of Ideas - http://bit.ly/5llQwu
Innovation for Personalisation: A Festival of I deas - http://bit.ly/7Aqvle

The event is a rich learning experience for all participants. For innovators, it's a chance to talk about their work, understand the concerns of commissioners and other stakeholders and think about how these could be resolved. For commissioners, it's an opportunity to flag up their concerns, provide tips and advice and even think about how they can help innovators to take their work forward. For social investors, it's an opportunity to learn about what is happening and what they could do to strengthen the work. Check out the links above and let us know what you think.

We would be really interested in hearing about the work of other organisations trying to engage government organisations in innovative work. What are you doing? How are you doing it? And what lessons have you learned so far? Let us know at http://innovation-exchange.org/

I would say we haven't found the answer to the above question - yet. But we're certainly working on it.

Can Helsingborg City plan and build for social innovation? This question was discussed at an “open space” seminar in late November 2009 in Helsinborg., a city with 120,000 inhabitants located in the Swedish Skane region. A new railway tunnel under the south-western parts of the city will free a huge area, formally part of the docks and harbour, for construction of a completely new part of the city named H+, to be completed in 2035. The planning process so far has been guided by words like “open source”, “open platforms”, “free spaces”, “experiment”, “diversity” and “mosaic”. One of the aims, in a socio-economically segregated city, is to build a attractive meeting place for the whole city, but also to experiment with new types of “multifunctional” buildings, tying together both public and private services in new ways, built on participation and user engagement.
Roughly one hundred persons from various parts of the city had convened at the old Oslo Ferry terminal for an “open space” on the theme “H+ as a arena for social innovation and renewed public service. How do we do it?” I opened the ‘conference’ with the context of the present economic crisis, as well as the long-term demographics that point to permanent and widening shortages in the financing of the public sector in Sweden from 2025 and onwards. But with a social innovation perspective, a seemingly static and trapped situation can be transformed by un-locking the creative power of the inhabitants of Helsingborg. Using examples from cities like London, Curitiba in Brazil, Malmo and Helsingborg itself, I pointed to social innovations as a way to shift focus from problems to solutions, to arrange already familiar elements in new and surprising ways, to organize cross-boundary cooperation and reinvent social relations.
There is a growing insight in many countries that we need to shift from a more narrow, corporate oriented way of looking at innovation to a broader, community- and society-based way. One example highlighted in the opening remarks was the Europe-wide consultation, organized by the European Commission, on recommendations on how to reinvent Europe trough innovation. These recommendations include:
• Leverage the power of networks and social innovation
• Implement community level actions orchestrated around major societal changes
• Open up innovation to the creativity of a broad range of people
• Anticipate the new institutions and processes that will drive future innovation
One of the big challenges for the public sector is to move from a mindset where things are done “to” and “for” people to a mode where things are done “with” people. This requires new platforms for user engagement and participatory processes, in them selves’ much needed social innovations.
The self-organising conference formed a number of groups discussing issues and proposals such as:
How can we build for democratic engagement?
How to plan for the unplanned?
“Flows” in the city that makes for spontaneous meetings?
How to use the massive renovations needs in the apartment blocks built in the 60’s and 70’s as platforms for participation and social innovation?
Free localities for third sector organisations?
How to enhance influence from third sector?
How to identify and tackle rules and regulations hindering social innovation?
How to use places where people wait for the bus, train etc.?
Creating a city-based centre for social innovation?
Creating a citywide fund for social innovation?
Creating voluntary “social innovation groups” across the city?
“Health groups” across the city?
How to extend the role of schools and day-care centres and their localities?

The final summing up pointed to a day that had released many new ideas, established the concept of “social innovations” and created many new relationships. A documentation of the “open space” will be carried over into the coming planning process for H+.

Bjarne Stenquist
Independent writer and consultant

On 23 October 2009, the Lien Centre for Social Innovation organised its inaugural social innovation conference in Singapore. An experiential immersion in ideas and insights on what it takes to change the world, Social iCON was host to a crowd of 300 movers and shakers in the Singapore and Asian social sector.

It was no less the social innovation adventure of the year: A street activist and ringleader who led the innovation bandwagon; outlaws who broke the rules to do good; a musician band on a tour to ignite the social web; an orchestra on a mission to conduct the social value chain; Robin Hood and his merry men on the good of social finance; and the alchemist out to create the turnaround society.

Yes, it was a day of alter egos for the 40 Social iCON speakers. They include leading social entrepreneurs Andreas Heinecke, Tony Meloto and David Bussau; Ammado’s Peter Conlon and Second Life’s Joe Miller as leaders in the social media space as well as David Green and Rob John who are movers in the social finance field.

Participants also experienced a lunch with meaning, the “Bumdog Billionaire Banquet.” This was where participants were randomly divided into low, middle and upper classes and placed in a simulated setting of stark income disparity to create reflection and discussion.

Social iCON was not only an event to learn from the established social entrepreneurs and leaders, it also marked the beginning of a journey for the 8 winners of the Lien i3 Challenge who have been awarded a sum of Singapore $1million in total for their socially innovative projects.

Social iCON was made possible with support by Ashoka.

You may find more information in the media reports below:

http://www.smu.edu.sg/news_room/smu_in_the_news/2009/sources/ST_20091024...
http://www.smu.edu.sg/news_room/smu_in_the_news/2009/sources/TODAY_20091...

Click here to view the photo gallery. http://www.lcsi.smu.edu.sg/Social_icon/2009/index.asp

I went to Poznan, in Poland, to speak at a conference called World Innovation Days. In brushing up on the history of the Wielkopolska region [of which Poznan is the capital] I was reminded that Central and Eastern countries of Europe are still called "Transition Countries" - as in, transitioning from communist statehood to membership of a bright, shiny and high-tech European Union. To help them along, the EU wants transition countries to grasp the holy grail of Innovation, which is why EU money paid for most of this event. Now in the EU,"innovation" is interpreted as high technology innovation - but, to their credit, the organisers in Poznan invited several speakers [including me] to talk about social innovation, too. I devoted a fair bit of my piece to Transition Towns which, I told my hosts, are the most important development happening anywhere right now. I would like to report that everyone in Poznan said "Yes! We must link up with these fellow Transtioners" - but as this would entail a 180 degree policy about-turn, they didn't. It will take a while yet.

Click here to hear more form John

Are you interested in changing the world? Do you have an idea for a project in your community?
   
Sprout is an e-course designed for aspiring social innovators and environmental entrepreneurs who want to grow their project ideas and learn to create lasting changes in their communities.
   
Sprout provides innovative young people (ages 16-30) all over the world with a unique way to learn, grow and connect with like-minded leaders in a supportive online environment that encourages your hard work to create a better world. The Sprout journey offers a chance to learn more about community-focused project management, apply your knowledge and skills, interact with an international learning community of youth and an opportunity to turn your idea into reality. Sprout also pairs participants with experienced e-mentors of all ages who provide inter-generational support, encouragement and insight through the Sprout journey. What are you waiting for? Sprout your project and change the world.
   
Applications for participants and e-mentors are due September 27, 2009. Feel free to contact our team by email at sprout@takingitglobal.org. For more information please visit http://www.sproutecourse.org.