This page brings together toolkits, books, networks, and communities working on social innovation, gathered from across the field. EdelGIve/SIX didn’t write most of what’s here – we’re pointing you toward the people and organisations who did. It’s a starting point into a field that spans many countries, languages, and communities of practice, with no single centre.
Something missing, or out of date? Let us know – this list is only useful if it keeps growing.
Toolkits & Methods
Practical frameworks and how-to guides.
Compendium of Innovation Methods (Nesta) – A reference collection of innovation methods, organised so you can find the right one for the stage you’re at.
Skills, Attitudes and Behaviours that Fuel Public Innovation (Nesta) – A competency framework for people working on innovation inside government and public institutions.
DIY Toolkit – Practical tools for people running innovation projects with limited time, budget, or backup.
OPSI – Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OECD) — A database of public sector innovation cases and tools, run by the OECD
Community Wealth Building Toolkit (Creative Scotland) – A guide to community wealth building approaches, developed for the cultural sector but applicable more broadly.
Books & Publications (Open access)
Free, longer-form texts.
The Open Book of Social Innovation – An early and widely-cited attempt to map methods, actors, and theory across the social innovation field.
Social Innovation Playbook: Unlocking Universities for Impact – A guide for universities looking to build social innovation capacity and partnerships.
Social Innovation Lab Guide (University of Waterloo) – A step-by-step guide to setting up and running a social innovation lab.
Atlas of Social Innovation – A global mapping of social innovation research, initiatives, and policy approaches.
New Frontiers in Social Innovation Research – An academic collection on emerging directions in social innovation theory.
Social Innovations in the Urban Context – A collection of case studies and analysis on social innovation at city level.
Systems Change Learning Handbook (School of System Change) – A practical handbook for people learning to work with systems change approaches.
Encyclopaedia of Social Innovation – A reference volume covering the concepts, actors, and debates that make up the field.
Networks & Country Nodes
National and regional bodies building social innovation infrastructure in their own contexts.
Danish Social Innovation Academy – A Danish leaders’ network across sectors driving collective action on social innovation and change.
Social Innovation Canada – A national charity connecting Canadian practitioners and funders to build the country’s social innovation sector.
Nesta UK – A UK innovation foundation designing, testing and scaling solutions to society’s biggest challenges globally.
Instituto de Cidadania Empresarial (ICE) – A Brazilian civil society network of philanthropists and investors advancing social impact business and finance.
Africa Forward – A Catalyst 2030 initiative connecting social innovators, funders, businesses, policymakers, and ecosystem partners to boost African-led social innovation.
European Competence Centre for Social Innovation – EU-funded hubs across member states building national capacity and networks for social innovation.
Universities with Social Innovation Departments
Academic institutions with dedicated departments, courses or research in social innovation.
Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, South Africa
Africa’s first academic centre dedicated to social innovation and entrepreneurship, based at UCT.
Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation
Cambridge Judge Business School’s centre offering a research-based Master’s in Social Innovation.
Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement
A Canadian charity building collaborative, community-led strategies to end poverty nationwide.
Social Innovation Case Study banks
Real-world examples and documented cases showing how social innovation approaches work in practice.
Profiles of Skoll-backed social entrepreneurs and organisations tackling the world’s toughest problems.
Stories from Acumen’s patient-capital portfolio of social enterprises helping low-income communities globally.
Fellows from a New York-based social impact accelerator that works at the intersection of social innovation and social justice.
Storytelling about Social Innovations from New Zealand
Video storytelling spotlighting grassroots wellbeing and equity initiatives across New Zealand.
Profiles of the Schwab Foundation’s global network of social entrepreneurs driving systemic change.
Case studies from Ashoka’s worldwide fellowship of social entrepreneurs transforming systems.
Awards for Social Innovation
Prizes and recognition programmes celebrating outstanding social innovation work worldwide.
Skoll Award for Social Innovation
The annual award recognises entrepreneurs and organisations creating large-scale impact.
The Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year and Social Innovation Awards, tied to the World Economic Forum.
A global youth competition supporting student-led social and environmental ventures.
A celebration of pioneering UK organisations and leaders.
Social Innovation Courses
Educational programmes and training courses building skills in social innovation practice.
Free and low-cost open online courses on social innovation and entrepreneurship, from providers worldwide.
School for Social Entrepreneurs
UK-founded charity offering practical, action-based training and funding for social entrepreneurs
Acumen’s online course catalogue and fellowships building leadership and enterprise skills for social change.
Social Entrepreneur Support / Accelerators
Programmes offering mentorship, funding and acceleration support to social entrepreneurs worldwide.
A global fellowship providing seed funding and leadership support to early-stage social entrepreneurs.
LSE-based accelerator giving impact-first ventures catalytic capital and support to scale globally
Europe’s first “tech for good” accelerator and VC, backing early-stage social and environmental tech startups.
Learn about funding readiness
Social Finance Academy (Roots of Impact)
Roots of Impact’s training arm helping impact entrepreneurs build investment and finance readiness.
Funding models for Social Innovation
Diverse financing approaches, from grants to blended finance, funding social innovation work.
Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL)
Case studies of global community-based and other financing models from the community turning Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics model into practical local action.