subscrever RSS The bees and the trees: Geoff Mulgan’s ten thesis on social innovation
The opening panel I chaired at the Social Innovation International Congress had an excellent trio of speakers: Geoff Mulgan, Peter Armstrong and Richard Wilson. Geoff needs no presentation, since he is the world’s thought leader on social innovation. He was the founder of Demos, was former Director of Tony Blair’s policy unit and is now Director of Young Foundation, an inspiring London-based institution. Peter is the co-founder of Oneworld, a cutting edge in harnessing media technology to benefit people who need it most (see previous post). Richard is a co-founder of Involve, a new organization focused on the practical issues of making public participation work and has written and spoken widely on public participation and democracy at home and abroad. All three panelists did very well and their presentations were followed by a vibrant discussion.
On his keynote speech, Geoff made the case for social innovation. There is a growing convergence of governments, business and civic society around the need for acting together.
Here are the ten thesis on Social Innovation, presented by Geoff:
1. The world has a deficit of social innovation. Existing models are inadequate to cope with ageing population, climate change, equality, diversity, drugs, well being, etc.
2. There is a widening gulf between business and society. It’s a mismatch between how economy grows and how society develops.
3. There is no shortage of creativity. There are many promising projects and we can learn a lot from them.
4. However, something is missing: the system for turning promising ideas to scale is inadequate and far inferior to those in science and business. That’s why there is this deficit.
5. Many fields can contribute methods and insights to social innovation. How to set the conditions to innovate? How to scale and to difuse?
6. We need better ways to design, incubate and supply new ideas and models – feed by crisis, curiosity, combination. We have to do that trough funding, incubation, putting problems, competition, fast testing, prototyping and mobilizing front line users.
7. Large scale impact depends on better ways to spread innovations and mobilize demand, using capital, commissioning and collaboration.
8. Demand and supply need to be linked by intermediaries. We both need the bees and the trees. The bees have great ideas but no power, the trees have great power, but no ideas. Social Innovation exchange is a good way to cross pollination networks.
9. Every city, every region, every country should cultivate its own capacity to innovate solutions its own social problems.
10. We need to bring all these elements together so that social growth to mach economic growth.
“We need to start thinking on a new Lisbon Agenda”, said Geoff. A new Lisbon Agenda to mobilize the hearts and minds of all the European innovators. An agenda with the aim of spread innovations in all aspects of society. The current financial crises, the ageing population, the threat of climate change; all these major challenges will require new innovative answers. I couldn’t agree more .
Traditional programs and policies, built around silos and on a command and control mood, are not longer sustainable solutions. All this major challenges requires structural transformations on the way we live and on the public sector works. Europe’s most intransigent problems demand solutions depending on cross-sectoral cooperation and innovation. That’s why social innovation must be a key priority: new solutions are needed and this solutions must involve citizen’s participation.
As Geoff said, Europe’s in this century will depend on its ability to innovate in all sectors and across all society. And for Europe to become a beacon of social innovation, European leaders must understand the challenges of a connected and collaborative world and have to give users “voice and choice”. As Charles Leadbeater explains in his recent book, “we are what we share”. That’s why the Social Innovation Exchange is an excellent platform to learn about innovative experiences across the world.
From “Next Rev” to “Notre Rêve”
“Social Innovation – The Next Rev” was the “motto” of the Lisbon International Congress. Discussing this compelling concept with the Portuguese First Lady Maria Cavaco Silva, a big supporter of the third sector in Portugal, she told me social innovation should be not only the “Next Rev”, but mostly “Notre Rêve”. And we don’t need to wait to make “our dream” to happen. On a connected world, all of us can make a difference. But we should do it together, in collaboration. As Geoff said, “all of us are smarter than any of us”.
Publicado em The Connected Republic
