policy

Labs for System Change

The Labs for System Change report is our humble attempt to capture the overwhelming richness of the conversations that took place both within the conference and online via Twitter (we captured over 2,000 tweets over the few days of the event). We hope that the report will also surface some of the most pertinent questions and challenges ... Labs for System Change

Social Innovation Community yearbook – looking back on 3 years of community building in Europe

The Social Innovation Community (SIC) project aimed to develop an enabling environment for social innovation by connecting social innovators from Europe and beyond. SIX was one of 12 European partners involved in building this initiative. This was a an important next step in Europe, following the work of SIX and others to connect social innovation actors ... Social Innovation Community yearbook – looking back on 3 years of community building in Europe

What did we learn from Social Innovation Community Project?

The Social Innovation Community (SIC) project aimed to develop an enabling environment for social innovation by connecting social innovators from Europe and beyond. The global challenges that we face are diverse and resistant to solution. Issues like inequality, climate change, housing shortages, and migration require new thinking. They require an environment in which we appreciate that ... What did we learn from Social Innovation Community Project?

The state of social innovation in 2019

Over the last 10 years, SIX has developed a broad view of what social innovation looks like in different parts of the world. We’ve seen how social innovation ecosystems have developed in response to the individual contexts of different countries, as well as the patterns that have emerged locally, regionally and globally. Here, SIX Executive ... The state of social innovation in 2019

Conversation with Social Innovation Task Force from the Government of South Korea

In conversation with Nowon Park, Jun Hyung Shim, Sooyeon Lee.  Interviewed by So Jung RimPhotographs by Kwansoo Ahn This month, we connected with a delegation from the Social Innovation Taskforce from the South Korean government, representing four different departments, Ministry of Interior and Safety, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Science and ICT, and ... Conversation with Social Innovation Task Force from the Government of South Korea

How EU employment policy is driving social innovation

The Social Innovation Community has produced its second ‘state of the union’ report, researching and mapping how EU employment policy is driving social innovation throughout Europe.  The European Commission has recognised a need to address fundamental challenges around work and employment across the European Union. The European Pillar of Social Rights (2017) highlights that the future of the ... How EU employment policy is driving social innovation

Participatory Systems Change: A Primer

Abstract  Addressing many of today’s most pressing problems—from climate change to unsustainable borrowing to rising inequalities—requires both engaging broad public audiences and working with complex systems of institutions, actors and drivers to mobilize solutions. Over the past thirty years, advances in the field of public engage – ment have enabled citizens to meaningfully affect government ... Participatory Systems Change: A Primer

East Asia’s Role in Global Social Innovation

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

10 unusual things about the Unusual Suspects Festival

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

Migrant crisis: what can cities learn about new service design?

This blog was originally published on URBACT. A message from Sicily There’s been a lot of recent talk about the additional pressure new migrant arrivals place on public services. There has been less discussion about how cities – and it is mainly cities – are coping with this. And less still about what we are ... Migrant crisis: what can cities learn about new service design?

Social Innovation in the Basque Country

Building on Social Innovation Europe (SIE)’s country profiles which demonstrate a variety of views on what social innovation means to different kinds of organisations in a particular country, SIE also looking at how social innovation is carried out in different regions across Europe. SIE recently interviewed Innobasque to learn more about social innovation in the Basque Country. The following interview builds on Innobasque’s contribution to the country ... Social Innovation in the Basque Country

Driving social innovation at a city level: Mayor Aboutaleb on Rotterdam

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

Comparative Report on Social Innovation across Europe

SIMPACT investigates the economic foundation of social innovation in relation to markets, public sector and institutions with the intention of providing a dynamic framework for action at the level of individuals, organisations and networks.  According to SIMPACT’s understanding, social innovation refers to: novel combination of ideas and distinct forms of collaboration that transcend established institutional contexts with the effect of empowering and (re) engaging vulnerable ... Comparative Report on Social Innovation across Europe

Social Innovation in Cities – URBACT report

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

Lab Practice: creating spaces for social change

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

Disruptive Social Innovation – A political challenge

This article, written by Simon Willis (CEO, Young Foundation) and Jeremy Crump (Head of Strategy, Young Foundation) is part of our SIX Global Council series on Ideas for the Future. Clayton Christensen’s concept of disruptive innovation arose largely from an analysis of the industrial and product market, such as steel, manufacturing and computing. The focal point ... Disruptive Social Innovation – A political challenge

Growing a digital social innovation ecosystem for Europe

Over the last 18 months Nesta, funded by the European Commission, has led a large research project into DSI. The project seeks to define and understand the potential of DSI, to map the digital social innovators, their projects and networks, and to develop recom­mendations for how policymakers, from the EU to city level, can make the ... Growing a digital social innovation ecosystem for Europe

The teams and funds making innovation happen in governments around the world

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

Interview with Agnès Hubert: How has social innovation changed in Europe?

Louise Pulford, Director of SIX, interviewed Agnès Hubert, adviser in the Bureau of European Policy Advisers and author of the influential report ‘Empowering people, driving change: Social innovation in the European Union’ first published in 2010. Agnès has been instrumental within the Commission for championing and recognising the importance of social innovation as a pillar of ... Interview with Agnès Hubert: How has social innovation changed in Europe?

The radical’s dilemma: an overview of the practice and prospects of Social and Public Labs.

This article was originally written by Geoff Mulgan on the Nesta website. In this paper, Geoff Mulgan looks at the various social and public labs across around the world. He summarises his personal view of the field of innovation labs – and what might lie ahead – largely based on Nesta experience. The report looks ... The radical’s dilemma: an overview of the practice and prospects of Social and Public Labs.

Design in public and social innovation: What works and what could work better

What’s going right and what’s going wrong? Is design a key to more efficient and effective public services, or a costly luxury, good for conferences and consultants but not for the public? This Nesta paper looks at the elements of the design method; the strengths of current models; some of their weaknesses and the common criticisms ... Design in public and social innovation: What works and what could work better

Public and Collaborative: Exploring the Intersection of Design, Social Innovation and Public Policy

An interesting phenomenon is emerging worldwide: more and more people are organizing to solve daily problems together and are collaborating with each other to live more socially cohesive and sustainable lives. This active and collaborative attitude, driven by several social and economic factors, is also based on a technological pre-condition: the diffusion of technologies that ... Public and Collaborative: Exploring the Intersection of Design, Social Innovation and Public Policy