Social innovation, systemic change and societal transformation. | European Social Innovation Research What’s the link between social innovation, systemic change and societal transformation? This blog has been written by Julie Simon. Over the course of the two days of the Social Frontiers conference, the issue of scaling up was discussed repeatedly. We were able to examine some of the issues in much greater depth in the session entitled ‘what’s the link between social innovation, systemic change and societal transformation?’ We had three presentations. Howaldt argues that while the concept of social innovation is gaining momentum, it still lacks a strong theoretical basis. In her presentation, Antadze drew a distinction between ‘scaling out’ (replication) and ‘scaling up’ (system change). In his presentation, Haxeltine addresses the central questions: How can social innovation be analysed in relation to systemic change and major societal challenges. All three papers and presentations will be available shortly.
Systemic - Tool/Concept/Definition Systemic means affecting most or all of a system rather than a small portion of the system. in medicine, systemic means affecting the entire body, rather than a single organ or body part. In systems thinking, systemic means arising from the structure of the system and affecting the general behavior of the entire system. Why this is important From the definition we see that a problem is systemic if the behavior of most or all of its important social agents is affected. Systemic problems arise from the structure of the system. Systemic problems require systemic solutions. Systemic solutions resolve root causes. Another reason why this is important Years ago the Wikipedia entry on sustainability was short. Sustainability is a systemic concept, relating to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society, as well as the non-human environment. Systemic thinking is a rare but learnable skill. The second definition reflects popular thinking.
Systemic change The most transformative innovations have been the ones that combine many elements in a new way. The car for example can be thought of as a combination of many innovations – from combustion engines, tyres and electrical systems, to road traffic management and driving schools. The mobile phone combines microprocessors, transmitters, networks of masts, payment models and so on. Systemic innovation is very different from innovation in products or services, and usually very different from innovation in business. Systemic innovations can be suddenly pushed forward by a crisis, or a disruptive technology. In this section we look at more fundamental innovations that are systemic in nature.
Teams Can’t Innovate If They’re Too Comfortable - Nilofer Merchant by Nilofer Merchant | 11:00 AM August 14, 2014 On a warm afternoon in June, a few dozen people gathered on a sun-dappled spot of lawn in Cambridge to discuss the very broad topic of modern leadership. The head of a famous museum debated a senior exec from Google about what constitutes great design. 30 minutes of a 50-minute discussion were spent reformulating the questions, rather than searching for answers. How often does this kind of deep conversation happen where you work? But this venue – Spark Camp – is designed for just such a thing. Funded by grant money and generous donors, with the luxury of inviting people to sit around on a grassy lawn for a whole weekend, you might think it’s easy for them to spark such conversations, to find such a diverse array of interesting people. Spark Camp is designed to bring together difference. I asked the Spark Camp organizers how they designed for these sorts of high quality interactions. Decide difference matters.
UNLEASHING INNOVATION Breakout Sessions Participants of The Wall Street Journal's Unleashing Innovation may sign up for one of the breakout sessions listed below. Topics are as follows: Driving Innovation in Large Companies Large companies inevitably build up bureaucratic systems that are resistant to innovation and change. How do you create a corporate culture that counters those inevitable tendencies, and allows innovation to flourish? Moderated by Andrew Browne, China Editor, The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Co-chairs: Scott Anthony, Managing Partner, Innosight Duncan Clark, Chairman, BDA China Hal Gregersen, Professor of Innovation and Leadership, INSEAD Ya-Qin Zhang, Chairman, Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Public Policies to Encourage Innovation Government's around the world are eager to adopt policies that will allow innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish. Moderated by Geeta Anand, News Editor, The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones
Executive Program Program Overview Singularity University’s unique take on the accelerating technologies of our age will prepare you to mitigate new challenges in our converging world, and capture the innovative spirit that we foster here in Silicon Valley. Discover How artificial intelligence and machine learning will complement human jobs.How the next generation of “digital natives” will leverage their skills in a new labor market.How automation will affect our labor markets.How we will design cities when cars are autonomous.Who owns the rights to your DNA.How our policies can keep pace with accelerating change.And much, much, much more... "The Executive Program was a truly mind-expanding experience which should help prepare me for the extraordinary changes to come." Exponential Technologies Humanity’s most powerful tools for innovation. They demonstrate sustained doubling of price performance. "The nature of technological progress is exponential. "CEOs are desperate to know this stuff. Practical Tools
Forget Lean and Agile – It’s Time to be Anticipatory | Daniel Burrus We are all good at reacting and responding, putting out fires, and crisis management. In addition, organizations large and small have learned how to be lean and agile, and how to best execute a strategy at a high level. However, despite these skills, General Motors still declared bankruptcy, Blockbuster closed its last store, and Blackberry quickly moved from leading to bleeding. And let’s not forget Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Dell, and a host of other companies who failed to thrive despite its leaders and workers being constantly busy. To thrive in this new age of hyper-change and growing uncertainty, it is now an imperative to learn a new competency—how to accurately anticipate the future. That may seem impossible, but it’s not. Based on three decades of research and applying the principles I’ve developed to organizations worldwide, I have developed a way of separating what I call Hard Trends from Soft Trends. What is the science of certainty? Those are technical examples.
Feng Zhang: The Midas of Methods Core Member, Broad Institute; Investigator, McGovern Institute; Assistant Professor, MIT. Age: 32 © PORTER GIFFORDAs a teen in Iowa, Feng Zhang spent five hours every weekday after school volunteering in a lab at the Human Gene Therapy Research Institute in Des Moines. Zhang remembers fondly the “crazy ideas” his mentor would come up with, like whether green fluorescent protein (GFP) could act as sunscreen (it absorbs UV light). Zhang purified GFP, slathered it onto a layer of DNA, and found that it did, in fact, prevent DNA damage. Zhang’s project earned the first of many science fair top prizes, winnings that later helped pay his tuition at Harvard University. His undergraduate degree initially hampered him when he joined Stanford University as a graduate student in 2004. Before long, the Broad Institute and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, both at MIT, recruited Zhang to establish his own lab. This spring, Zhang celebrated the graduation of four of his PhD students. E.S.
GIF Portal - Gen IV Reactor Design 5 Project Management Tips for Innovation Initiatives On Tuesday April 8th, GovLoop hosted our third annual Government Innovators Virtual Summit. This year we focused on "Innovations that Matter" and how to make innovation stick at your agency. Read this recap of our session on project management and head here for the full recordings. A good idea without a tangible execution plan is just that – an idea. Winnie Liem (PMP), Community Manager at the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Government Community of Practice, spoke at the Government Innovators Virtual Summit on April 8th specifically to address the gap between the idea stage and the final product. “As you prepare for challenges in government, project management skills enables us to manage our triple constraints, understand our requirements, set the right expectations and engage the right stakeholders in order to set us up for success,” Liem explained. You can view an archived recording of the training by logging into the virtual conference here. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Additional Resources