Discover Social Innovation

Social innovation is the development of more effective services, programmes and organisations to meet social needs-in fields as diverse as health and housing, education and care for the elderly. more...   Innovation in science and technology is supported by very substantial investment by governments and businesses. But social innovations tend to be supported in much less structured ways, with less money, fewer established institutions and methods.   We're interested in how the ideas of social innovators, whether they be government officials, doctors, nurses, teachers, university professors, policemen, artists, architects, social scientists, lawyers, business entrepreneurs can be better supported to solve pressing social needs.

Governments have supported experimentation in other fields (through R&D and Science Parks) and have encouraged enterprise (for example through Special Enterprise Zones) but are grappling with how to encourage experimentation in social fields,  how to manage risks, how to back individual social entrepreneurs and how to promote more effective social problem solving.

Starting from May, our E-letter will be available on monthly basis. An initial review of 50 papers we have received from Paper Contest supports our view that thinking around social innovation; what it is, where it happens and how it works requires a more coherent framework to promote understanding. Logon onto www.discoversocialinnvoation.org,  to download the full content of Social Silicon Valleys by Dr. Geoff Mulgan (A manifesto For Social Innovation), or listen to his presentation on Social Innovation delivered for China Centre for Comparative Politics and Economy on 25 April 2006.