Social Innovation2009 Our Brief Perspective

Work in progress

BLOG: insearchofsocialinnovation.blogspot.com

What do this projects have in common?

1. Microfinance : Muhammad Yunus - Microfinance to Poor People helping them in creating their own jobs

2. Banco Alimentar : Portugal – Organizing food distribution to poor people in Portugal in a efficient manner with significant involvement of the community

3. Millennium Program – United Nations program to achieve 2015 goals (reducing poverty, improving education..) in a cooperative way between all parties involved

4. Social Innovation Cabinet: US and UK – Governmental effort for promoting social innovation in a complementary way to governmental programs

5. New Leaders for New Schools – US – Improving students performance by the involvement of community sponsors (ex.: coaching, support..)

6. Green Keepers Network: Portugal - Fighting climate change by the mobilization of the youngsters which receives credits that they can use in buying products or goods

7. Youth unemployment reduction: helping skilled unemployed people in new social innovation projects which creates their own jobs and increase sustainability in their community

8. New Profit Inc - US: Philantrophic fund to boost social innovation9. Immigrant Support: Italy – helping the integration of immigrants10. TESE – Portugal - actions to promote social innovation in Portugal (ex.: summer schools,

specific seminars...)

All of them belongs to our Social Innovation definition:New approaches to address social problems in a sustainable way.

Are they in different social innvation evolution stages? How can this be defined?

Visioning

Experimentation

Proved Solution

Effectiveness

ScaleLocal Community National

A

A Graameen Bank : Muhammad Yunus - Loans to Poor People

B Banco Alimentar : Portugal – Gathering food to distribute in Portugal

C Millenium Program – United Nations Achieving 2015 Objectives

D Social Innovation Cabinet: US\UK –platform to promote social innovation

E New Leaders for New Schools – US – improve students performance

1

Evolution Stage

2

4

5

3

B

C

F Green Keepers Network: Portugal Fighting Climate Change

G New Profit Inc - US: Philantrophic fund

H Youth unemployment reduction: boost of social innovation jobs

I Immigrant Support: Italy – helping the integration of immigrants

J TESE– Portugal - ideas and actions to promote social entrepreneurship

F

E

I

H

G

JD

But why it exists a boom in social innovation nowadays?

Individual

Creativity

Social

Development

Exc

eedi

ng

Cap

ital

Human Civi

lizatio

n

Development

Main Motivations

Main Driver

• The individual will always want to change society as a part of his meaning of being

Internet Stage

Industrial

Revolutio

n

……

..

• Reasonable amount of capital excedents (ex.: philantropy)

What are the components of Social Innovation projects?

Individuals, Organizations

Ideas, ValuesSpecific Social

Problem

Social impact

Sustainable Solutions

Social Innovation Components

MotivationCreativityBeliefs

PoliticsStrategyGlobalization

EconomicsInformation Logistics

StructureTechnologyFinancing

What makes an individual shift to social innovation? Why the values are so important?

• Understanding: ex: learn, develop new skills

• Social ex: attempting to fit into groups

• Enhancement ex: personal or pschicological development

• Protective ex: avoid guilt in the future

• Career ex: useful experience

However there are other reasons besides values that can enhance social innovation

We should consider “individual values” as the main driver

•Since the political speech has gone, moral values have ocuppied their place and solidariety has been again exalted

Source: Addapted from Gilled Lipovetsky o Crepúsculo do Dever

Source: Addapted from “ The psychology of giving and volunteering” Clary, E.Gil and Mark Snyder”

Social innovation is focused on 3rd Sector? What is the role of the governement?

Social Innovation will arise from every sector.

Governement should play a vital role enhancing and promoting initiatives.

The private sector will also need to “hear” more what society has to say as is proposed by Ashoka:

Source: Root Cause Report: Social Entrepreneurship & Governement

Source: SKOLL Report: Growing Opportunities

Why social impact measurement is so important? What can be done to define correctly?

• Improve accountability based on performance objectives

• Contribute to reduce “bad perceptions regarding some 3rd organizations”

• Facilitate investments by investment organisations (eg.: philantropic…)

• Improve overall recognition of social innovation activities

• Difficult on measuring the indirect impact

• Difficult on comparing investment (money) and returns (social value)

Measurement will improve transparency in performance contributing to enhance more

investment in social innovation

What is the “real“ value of reducing poverty? of

increasing scholar success? of minimizing diseases?

•Addapt business techniques (eg: Social ROI)

•Deploy new methods (“greenfield approach”)

What is critical for a social innovation project to be suceeded?

It´s possible to identify 10 critical sucess factors:

• Attract and retain the most “talented” individuals• Internal organization governance as a role model• Orientation to Strategic Social Thinking• Focus on Multidisciplinary Team Research & Training• Implementation of an sustainable capital access policy• Data Quality and Information Sharing• Capacity of mission oriented in medium/long term• Capability of measuring without simplifying too much• Continuous capability to reinvent itself• Collaboration between all agents in the value chain

What can be done to boost social innovation at a regional or country level ?

1. Specific Fund to support social innovation activities

2. Launch of a Competencies Center (“State of Art”)

3. Adjustement on Law and Governement organics (eg: Specific Cabinet for 3rd sector)

4. Strategic Social Plan (Prioritization of social problems)

5. Creation of a Social Bank

6. Implementation of a common methodology to evaluate social impact

7. Establishment of a country network to support social innovation activities

8. Develop conditions to private sector investment

9. Implementation of a specific Stock market

10.Promoting Social Innovation based on wide campaigns

Structure

Energize

Launch

So What´s next?

The result will be the sum of our efforts so we should try to:

• Be enthusiastic and promote the theme with our network

• Keep imagining a better world and translate this to concrete actions, always looking for partners to develop them

• Maintain an critical perspective (“we are never totally right” “often we are wrong”)

• Try to involve distinctive senior people in order to be aware of their “invaluable knowledge” and to “receive challenges” to your ideas

• Advance in your professional carreer and find ways to have synergies it with our social innovation actions

..But Why don´t you start right now!

• Do you have an idea for a project? Submit it to our blog and maybe we can help you by: – sharing best pratices; – identifying people that can be interested in developing the

project;– “pass the word” within our network– advising you in the next steps such as financing, management

team, partnerships...

• Submit a post to our blog:– Share a best pratice– Tell us your experience as a social innovator (your motivations,

difficulties...)