The Changemaker Certificate:Social Innovation from Theory to Practice

Tim CurtisSenior LecturerOctober 2014

What is social innovation?Foucault 1969 “under what conditions does a word come to mean what it signifies for us today?”

• Innovation –imitate & re-define, not entirely new– Innovation studies– Technological change– That which classical economics cannot explain– Marx’s destructive creativity of capital– Schumpeter’s creative destruction

• For whose benefit does this innovation operate?

What is ‘social’?• Some form of positive impact on society– Whose positive impact? Ethics– What impact, how significant?

• A genre of problems that are socially constructed or socially mediated

• Innovation employing ‘social techniques’

SI as an academic field• A shift in academe from ‘social enterprise’– Not just about the business– Not just solitary hero entrepreneurs– About the processes and about the problem

• Popularised by Michael Young, Young Foundation, New (Times) (and Blue) Labour, Geoff Mulgan and Skoll Centre, Oxford

SI as a political actAs opposed to what?State welfarismPrivate wealth & philanthropyCivil society voluntarism

Principles of SI• Addresses state/social/capital market failures• Structural inequalities/contradictions and

uneven development• Super complex- wicked issues• Power of crowds- indigenous solutions and

leadership• Slow innovation

Tacking SI for granted• Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities• Rochdale Pioneers, Co-operatively owned

organisations• Toynbee Hall University/Social Action Centres• The Clapham Sect, abolition of slavery• Sierra Club and Rachel Carson, enviromentalism• Feminism and womens suffrage• Paolo Freire, emancipatory pedagogy • Community organising, Saul Alinsky

So much for the theory, lets meet some people

Who are Changemakers?

What do these two people have in common?

What about Suzi Rees of iDid Adventure?

Changemaker Behaviours• Communication• Problem solving• Team work• Planning and Organising• Adaptability

• Integrity• Independence• Empathy• Leadership

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/top-ten-skills.htm

Multiple Outcomeshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo-kvh1w60w 1.Spotting the first problem- homeless people2.Developing a response- a coat3.Finding the underlying ‘root causes’- homelessness4.Tackling structural problems- employment5.Widen impact- self worth

6 Units, Bronze, Silver, Gold1. Understanding social change, innovation & entrepreneurship, 2.Understanding me- my, empathy, my personal assets, skills and resources and my innovation orientation 3.Understanding society, communities and social problems- through voluntary action, scientific research, employment or experience4.Solving problems- through innovation, ideation and decision-making skills5.Venture planning- either business, product planning, event creation, performance or media campaigning to achieve mainstreaming6. Communicating the venture- marketing and media, personal and organisational branding

Features

• Designed, written and delivered by students• The best of social innovation learning &

teaching• Online community & practical activities• Free to students and University staff• Handbook available for print • Unique LifeHack tool

Start the conversation#listitliveit

www.northampton.ac.uk/changemaker