Recent Blog Entries

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"Innovation which is social in both its goals and its means"

Submitted by Vern on 14 November 2011 - 12:53pm

Geoff Mulgan is the CEO of NESTA in the UK (National Endowment on the Sciences, Technology and the Arts). Geoff's newest and preferred definition of social innovation is "innovation which is social in both its goals and its means".

I like this formulation. It requires social means (relationships, exchanges, coalitions, transfers of information and power) between social actors (organisations, individuals, governments) to achieve social goals (social well-being and social change). 

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Helsinki Design Lab - Recipes for Systemic Change

Submitted by Vern on 22 October 2011 - 2:50pm

The Helsinki Design Lab is an agency whose strategic design processes are oriented to "a wide coalition of organisations and individuals" who seek systemic solutions to pressing social problems.

It's processes are not oriented solely to governments.

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Social Innovation, Wall Street, and the Financial System

Submitted by Vern on 16 October 2011 - 1:53pm

Social innovators seem to be silent about the financial crisis engulfing the western world. Why?

Geof Cox has written a good article on this. titled "The financial crisis gives social enterprise an unprecedented opportunity – so why so quiet?" http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2011/oct/14/crisis-social-enterprise-voice?commentpage=last#end-of-comments

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I Had a Dream

Submitted by Dynamic Screen ... on 25 September 2011 - 5:24pm

If you've ever been to Newtown in Sydney, you'll know the "I Have A Dream" mural, which has occupied a prominent spot   on King street (the main thoroughfare) for 20 years.                                                                    &nb

Vern's picture

Social Impact Bonds

Submitted by Vern on 13 September 2011 - 3:43pm

The NSW Government announced on 5 September 2011 that it is to trial a tender process for private investors in foster care and prisoner post-release programs, whereby investors may make a return on their investments if they yield budget savings for the Government. 

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Operationalising Social Capital

Submitted by Vern on 9 September 2011 - 6:09pm

I will be attending a Social Capital World Forum in late September in Austria. Its main focus will be the development of strategies to build social capital and methods of operationalising these strategies.

I would be keen to hear suggestions from social innovators on strategies for the building of social capital and the development of tools for this activity.

Vern Hughes
0425 722 890
vern@civilsociety.org.au

Vern's picture

Turning the tide on asylum seekers

Submitted by Vern on 2 September 2011 - 4:18pm

I'm interested in hearing from people who want to give some serious thought to turning the tide of national opinion in Australia on asylum seekers. Social innovators should be in the forefront in trying to break the stalemate in Australian opinion on this issue, with its paralysing dichotomy between xenophobia on the right and libertarianism on the left.

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Ashoka Changemakers #socentchat August 3rd!

Submitted by admin on 3 August 2011 - 2:22pm
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What is the Point of Social Innovation

Submitted by msweeks on 19 July 2011 - 8:22am

UK innovation writer, thinker and practitioner Charlie Leadbeater was recently back in Australia.  Among his engagements he contributed to another in the series of Social Innovator Dialogues, co-hosted by CSI, the Australian Social Innovation Exchange (ASIX) and the Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI).  I didn’t get to the Adelaide and Melbourne sessions but I did help to design and host the session in Sydney where Charlie was joined by Matthew Landauer from Open Australian, Chris Quigley from digital democracy outfit Delib.co.uk and Tom Bentley, PM Gillard’s Deputy Ch

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Diogo Vasconcelos, Chair of the Social Innovation eXchange

Submitted by msweeks on 11 July 2011 - 8:58pm

We were very sad to hear of the sudden death last week in London of Diogo Vasconcelos, the Chair of the Social Innovation Exchange and one of the champions of social innovation in the UK, Europe and around the world.