Cities

Introduction Over the coming months, SIX will be sharing our tracking and interrogation of how the discourse around philanthropy has shifted, or not, after the profoundly impactful events of 2020. We are looking for themes that have been lost in the noise, and trends that have become louder; we are searching for signals about what has ... How has the discourse around philanthropy shifted after the events of 2020?

As part of Seoul Innovation Week 2020 organised by Seoul Metropolitan Government, we are hosted a special session sharing the story of Seoul’s journey to becoming a people-powered city on 25 November 2020 at 8-9:30 am GMT. Seoul City’s global advisors on social innovation – Ada Wong, Anil Gupta, Ezio Manzini, Gabriella Gomez-Mont, Geoff Mulgan, Louise Pulford and Peter Ramsden – ... Seoul: Social innovation lessons for global cities

This article summarises highlights from the first SIX Dialogue Series: Social innovation for Resilience – the Taiwan Approach, between Audrey Tang and Geoff Mulgan.  When we see “internet of things”, let’s make it an internet of beings. When we see “virtual reality”, let’s make it a shared reality. When we see “machine learning”, let’s make it ... 5 things we should learn from Taiwan to build a resilient society

Last week, the WHO officially declared Coronavirus a pandemic. Since then, a feeling of being out of control is spreading around the world. One by one, governments declare national emergencies and implement lockdown policies. The streets of London were quiet this morning, and for those who are not socially isolating themselves, ‘social distancing’ is becoming ... Global exchange in the age of Coronavirus

One of the reasons why I decided to run for Mayor was to pursue social innovation. Seoul has a population of 10 million, it’s a big metropolitan city and changing the lives of Seoul citizens is only possible not in front of a desk, but within the lives of the citizens. I am moving the Mayor’s ... Future trends for innovative cities

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written ... Cities for the imagination

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written by the leading thinkers of the Mayor of Seoul’s ... Next for city innovation: creating backbones for enabling multi-stakeholder solutions

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on Future trends for innovative cities, written by the leading thinkers of the Mayor of Seoul’s ... Inclusive cities of the future: creative commons, compassionate connectivity

Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger. Ben Okri In the small actions of how you eat or what kind of energy you use or how you study or how you work, there are big ideas implicit in these very small things, and that’s what gives them so much meaning ... Making the heart bigger: The stories of the Unusual Suspects Festival

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written by the leading thinkers of the Mayor of Seoul’s ... Snakes and ladders in participation

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written by the leading thinkers of the Mayor of Seoul’s ... Collaborative cities: what social innovation teaches us

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written by the leading thinkers of the Mayor of Seoul’s ... Why public servants need to get out of the office more

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written by the leading thinkers of the Mayor of Seoul’s ... The city as collective intelligence

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written by the leading thinkers of the Mayor of Seoul’s ... How can a city empower its youth to create their own global future?

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise — with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. Abraham Lincoln  It’s been another eventful year at SIX, with a growing team, activities and ... Highlights 2017 – How has social innovation shifted and how has SIX contributed?

No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main John Donne I’ve realised that since being at this Festival  that I’ve been involved in politics and activism my entire life.’ Peter Macfadyen (Independents for Frome) To say it was disconcerting to be led ... Follow Our Movement- Reflections following the Rethink Activism Festival in Aarhus

This document is a four year review of the Unusual Suspects Festival model and events. Following the success of the London festival, we wanted to review all our past events and think strategically about how best to take the festival model onwards. All the festivals have reinforced that collaboration is a skill, not a hobby. ... The Unusual Suspects Festival- London Impact Report: 4 Years in Review

Dangshu (Jaff) Shen and Fan Li from Leping Social Entrepreneur Foundation have collaborated with various individuals in East Asia working on the emerging frontiers of research and innovation in the field to create a collection of practices and perspectives on social innovation from East Asian countries. Leping Social Entrepreneur Foundation is part of SIX Global Council. Stanford Social Innovation ... East Asia’s Role in Global Social Innovation

As usual, the Unusual Suspects festival showed lots of things that are not found during an average social innovation event… 1) We facilitated unlikely connections creating genuine social change Orode Faka from Roehampton R.O.C.K.S. met Louise Foreman from the Young Foundation for the first time at the Unusual Suspects ideas exchange, months before the Festival began London on ... 10 unusual things about the Unusual Suspects Festival

– from Seoul City’s Global Advisory Committee on Social Innovation SIX’s Director Louise Pulford is part of the Social Innovation Global Advisory Committee Group of Seoul Metropolitan Government. Last month, we travelled to Seoul to join the Future Innovation Forum 2016 and to also be part of the Social Innovation Global Advisory Committee Group Meeting hosted by ... 7 tips for building a social innovation city

As part of the SIX series exploring social innovation in post conflict places, Eddy Adams, SIX Adviser, spoke with Gorka Espiau. Hailing from the Basque country, Gorka was actively involved in the peace process there, and has subsequently been involved in social innovation work across the globe. This includes experience in Colombia and Croatia, which ... Building social innovation in post-conflict places

Written by Peter Ramsden, Freiss ltd in July 2016 Can social innovation ecosystems overlap with those for technological innovation?  Where are the connections?  Why is the uptake of European Structural Funds in support of social innovation so slow in the 2014-20 period? Where are the new opportunities? I can’t be the only person to think that ... Regions are from Mars, Cities are from Venus

What behaviours and attitudes contribute to an effective social innovation culture? A few months ago SIX co-hosted an SIE event with the BMW Foundation to consider this question. “Transparency” Trust” and “Openness” were frequently recurring words in the discussion. This endorsed much of the established evidence about the importance of a collaborative approach to stimulate innovation. But ... SIX Series: Exploring social innovation in post-conflict societies

In cities across the world, citizens are looking for new ideas and ways to solve big social challenges. And Zimbabweans are no different. With a booming population, urban residents in Harare face a myriad of challenges- from air and water pollution, housing, water and electricity shortages, limited public transport, and damaged public spaces combined with ... Inclusive Cities of the Future: Experiences of Zimbabwe in a global perspective

Across the world, development and social challenges are increasingly more complex and urgent. From INGOs to community organisations to governments, finding new ways of working to meet these challenges is more of a priority than ever. The organisations that are best placed to deliver the biggest impact are those that are highly connected, that are agile ... How to be more innovative in your practice: 6 reflections from SIX and Hivos

How can mayors be more involved in driving social innovation at a city level? Social Innovation Europe recently asked Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam, the Netherlands to share his insight on innovation in his city. Please allow me to say that I am so happy with the subject you have chosen for this interview. This is a subject ... Driving social innovation at a city level: Mayor Aboutaleb on Rotterdam

City administrations are facing a whole range of challenges on the social, environmental and economic fronts. New competences are being transferred from the national or regional levels while the budgets available to tackle them are shrinking. In this increasingly difficult context, social innovation is a new asset. Citizens are taking promising initiatives. They are inventing ... Social Innovation in Cities – URBACT report

The original post about this report can be found on Nesta website here. This Nesta report tells the stories of cities around the world – from Beijing to Amsterdam, and from London to Jakarta – that are addressing urban challenges by using digital technologies to engage and enable citizens. Key findings Many ‘top down’ smart city ... Rethinking Smart Cities from the Ground Up

How to organise and run a social lab? Lab Practice aims to share experiences from doing a social lab with elderly people in Amsteldorp by sharing methodologies and stories from both changemakers and social lab facilitators. In the face of fast moving, global, often elusive developments, national governments and their counterparts (public sector) find it ... Lab Practice: creating spaces for social change

As civil society grows in post-colonial Hong Kong, participatory art has registered a heightened local consciousness, the desire to be autonomous and attempts to resist various kinds of hegemony in the 2000s and the 2010s. This essay aims to provide an empirical base for further studies by examining exemplary works, namely Complaints Choir of Hong ... Taking part: participatory art and the emerging civil society in Hong Kong

Of all the bars in the world….This story starts in a bar. But not just any old bar. It’s a rooftop open-air number, straddling an uber-modern glass and steel business conglomeration. It’s a bar with a boxing ring, where two teenage Thai boxers are knocking seven bells out of one another, cheered on by boozed ... Inside India’s Smart Cities

Chief Executive of Nesta and SIX Global Council member Geoff Mulgan highlights the issue of inequality in innovation in this blog, originally published on Nesta. The relationship between innovation and inequality is rapidly moving up policy agendas. For years an implicit ‘trickle down’ theory dominated how policy makers thought. It argued that resources should be concentrated where ... Inequality and innovation: the end of another trickle down theory?

Nesta and Bloomberg Philanthropies have published the i-teams report to explore in-depth twenty innovation teams and funds from around the world. We analyse the diversity of structures and approaches, their impacts, and the key lessons for other government leaders looking to emulate these efforts.  We present the new practices being developed and implemented by city ... The teams and funds making innovation happen in governments around the world

This report is about how social innovations spread and grow. It aims to provide a theoretically and empirically grounded guide for the many people involved in social innovation: innovators, funders, policy-makers and commissioners. It draws on a growing body of research on patterns of growth, and distils its conclusions into a guide to help direct ... In and out of sync: The challenge of growing social innovations