What is Social Innovation?
“A social innovation is any initiative (product, process, program, project or platform) that challenges and, over time, contributes to changing the defining routines, resource and authority flows or beliefs of the broader social system in which it is introduced”
Social Innovations are not simply projects that are developed within the existing system but rather they are projects that,
Profoundly transform the system rather than adapting and improving it
Impact across all scales, not only specific groups, organizations and communities but the whole system at the very broadest level( changes in culture, laws, policy etc)
What is a Social Innovation Lab?
Social Innovations Labs (SILs) are an ever-evolving methodology developed to bring people together when there is a persistent problem. People from many groups that have lived experience and a shared interest in a challenge come together to explore:
Sense making - understanding what is happening and why
Identifying new emerging patterns - programs, initiatives, and ideas that can transform
Identifying opportunities to shape or influence new partnerships, resource flows etc
The goal of a social innovation lab is to develop an adaptive change strategy that tests multiple solutions, which together can solve the challenge. Each small solutions can solve a crucial part of the wider problem. The right elements brought together at the right time can be transformative. This is a PROCESS, not an OUTCOME.