Sources of information on social innovation

In my research for information and sources of information on social innovation I have found a number o actors and research institutes that are developing good practices and implementing initiatives and actions that I found particularly interesting and that I would like to share with you. Here is the list with the links and a description of their work. I hope you also find it useful

Information and sources of information on social innovation 

For many years, the European Commission has covered issues of social innovation in a number of different programmes and budget lines. With the post-crisis programme Europe 2020, the Commission has pointed out that innovation has to be thought in a new way explicitly including the notion of social innovation. All publications covering the Europe 2020 programme and initiatives can be found here

The Social Innovation Europe Initiative (SIE) was launched in March 2011 in an event headed by DG Enterprise and Industry. Social Innovation Europe
Examples of European social innovation are provided in a booklet. This is European Social Innovation
SIE has started to define what they call the “ecology of finance for social innovations”.  More information on this interesting topic can be found here.

Within the European Commission, BEPA (the Bureau of European Policy Advisers) has been charged to coordinate all activities. BEPA has published a scientific policy report on Social Innovation, accessible either via BEPA’s website BEPA

EUCLID is a large and rapidly growing community of civil society professionals who want to connect across borders for a stronger, more innovative and sustainable European civil society. Their mission statement says: Working to develop, connect and support third sector leader in every corner of Europe.
EUCLID

Europe Innova is an initiative launched by DG Enterprise and Industry mainly dedicated to service innovation in Europe.

http://www.europe-innova.eu

Part of this initiative is an expert panel that has just published two reports on their findings, a final report and recommendations and a collection of case studies.

SSH and FP7 to be provided by Net4society

Since 2000, the Forum on Social Innovations of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) has been functioning in the framework of the LEED Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development. They have produced a number of important publications on the subject.
For more information in several languages, please, go to OECD LEED Forum on Social Innovations

Co-financed by OECD, a substantial report on The New Nature of Innovation has been published and is accessible here.

PEFONDES.eu, Pôle Européen des Fondations de l’Économie Sociale, is a European network of foundations dedicated to promoting social economy in Europe. They

organise an annual conference, the so called Mount Blanc Meeting, where foundations for social innovation from all over the world meet and exchange their experience.
Pefondes.eu

The Zentrum für Soziale Innovation (ZSI, Centre for Social Innovation) based in Vienna and founded in 1990, one of the co-organisers of the conference, describes its scientific mission in a comprehensive brochure available here.
Josef Hochgerner, founder and scientific director of the ZSI, is author of a long list of scientific articles featuring social innovation.  Two of his recent contributions  to the discourse you can download here:
The Analysis of Social Innovations as Social Practice (In:  Pendeln zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis. ZSI-Beiträge zu sozialen Innovationen. Vienna 2011)
Innovation processes in the dynamics of social change (Vienna 2009)

sfs Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund, a central social research unit of the Dortmund University of Technology, has been dealing with social innovation for many decades, long before the notion itself was coined. Concepts and research needs of social innovation are presented here.

The London School of Economics (LSE) has united a circle of highly renowned scientific experts around a table in Hartwell under the Chatham House Rule. The outcome of this work called the Hartwell paper “follows the advice that a good crisis should not be wasted” and provides new insights into climate policies through a socially innovative approach. The Hartwell Paper

The London School of Economics (LSE) has united a circle of highly renowned scientific experts around a table in Hartwell under the Chatham House Rule. The outcome of this work called the Hartwell paper “follows the advice that a good crisis should not be wasted” and provides new insights into climate policies through a socially innovative approach. The Hartwell Paper

The Young Foundation, has published an “Open Book of Social Innovation” The Young Foundation Numerous activities of social innovation can be found on the website of SIX, the Social Innovation eXchange.

The Center for Social Innovation (CSI) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business “was launched in 1999 to develop leaders who can solve global social and environmental challenges”. It is represented in the Steering Committee by one of its directors, Kriss Deiglmeier.
Center for Social Innovation

CRISES is an interuniversity and multidisciplinary Centre for Research on Social Innovations (Centre de Recherche sur les Innovations Sociales) of several Canadian universities; it was founded in 1986 and is now formally linked to the University of Quebec in Montreal. It is represented in the Steering Committee by its former Director Denis Harrisson. “CRISES members come from a variety of disciplines: anthropology, geography, history, mathematics, philosophy, industrial relations, management sciences, economics, political science, sociology and social work. They study and analyze innovation and social change in three complementary areas: territory, quality of life and work and employment.”
CRISES

SIG, the Social Innovation Generation is a major programme in Canada, among other partners supported by the University of Waterloo represented by Frances Westley in Panel 1, can be found here.

In Australia, TACSI, the Australian Centre for Social Innovation, has been founded in 2010.
TACSI

In Asia, SIP, the Social Innovation Park based in Singapore, is very active far beyond the borders of its home base.
SIP

One of Barrack Obama’s first initiatives was the creation of an Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, the OSICP.
OSICP