Why are we here?

Why are we here?

• share our tools and stories of things that lead to social innovation
• deepen our collective understanding of what leads to social innovation
• improve therecommendations to ESF decision-makers

Social Reporters

• encourage conversations about tools and practices that complement formal presentations
• develop a collective understanding of social innovation by bringing insights to the surface and putting them online
• improve the lessons learned and recommendations

Also take a look at attached the programme .

Social reporting

During the event we introduced an innovative approach to communication for social innovation - social reporting.

Social reporting aims to help anyone engaged in social innovation use a range of different media to communicate with each other, and key interests, in ways that are conversational, informal and highlight interesting stories. It is a complement to more formal documentation and presentation.

At the event we did this in a number of ways:

• By having a lead social reporter - David Wilcox - who took video and uploaded this for use on our site.
• By working with participants who had agreed to act as social reporters, lending them cameras if they did not have their own.
• Also encouraging anyone else interested to become social reporters and use the cameras.
• Engaging an illustrator - Lucy Pepper - to create drawings of the event.

Social reporting using videos, drawings and associated text served a number of purposes:

• It created a shared memory of the event, which is richer and more engaging because it was created by those at the event, not just by an observer.
• It developed informal material to complement the presentations. Speakers were invited to give short interviews summarising their main points.
• It encouraged participants to have deeper conversations with each other, as they took a little more care in framing questions and answering them - as the video below confirms.

First insights

A collective description of people at each table was presented in one line from each table.

 "We are a learning and very curious family. There is a gender balance - and do not want to leave anyone behind."

"We are prepared to write the script for Indiana Social Jones - it is the road to an EQUAL legacy."

"We are multi country table, very diverse and keen to learn about innovation and learning from others."

"We are from Portugal and the European Commission."

"We are all looking do social innovation."

"We are a multi level table."

"We are a Portugese table; the Atlantic is rough - and we are very happy with this marriage between the programme from the Ministry of Education, the operational programme human potential and the EQUAL initiative."

What is (or isn't) social innovation?

Here are the different interpretations people have of what Social Innovation is... They were written on post-it notes and stuck on the wall. See them categorised below...

You should also watch these videos to see what people said about social innovation...

• Vladimir Kvaca from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Czeck Republic
• David Lindenaar from Agentschap SZW on social innovation in the Netherlands
• Wolfgang Michalek from Austria the ZSI-Center for Social Innovation compares social innovation to love!
• Ton de Kort on social innovation as humanity in the workplace
• Louis Vervloet from Flanders telling us what social innovation is not.

Ana Vale came back to this question at the end of the session, where she said that it doesn't matter if we all have different views of what social innovation is; what's important is that we define what we think it is. See her talk about it in the second part of this video here.

What is social innovation - some thoughts

I have categorised the post-it notes created in the first session under these headings:

• Better work methods and labour relations,
• Solving social problems,
• Stimulating the jobs market,
• New social relations,
• Personal development 
• Other.

Sometimes they fit into more than one category? Do you agree with these categories? What other categories should we use? Please send your comments and suggestions.

What is social innovation?

Social innovation is better work methods and labour relations

• workspace innovations better relations
• integration of relation
• "making the workplace more enjoyable, higher quality" Ton
• formação permanente de empregadores e empregados
• melhorar as problemas de envolvimento dos actores
• know better solutions
• find new and better solutions (Jovita)
• flexibilidade na adaptação dos serviçõs
• situação win-win empregador-empregado
• a process to get common views
• creatividade rotura c/ a rotina novas formas de trabalhar
• involving everyone in process, decisions and in action
• eliminar desigualdades através de novas intervenções
• know sustainable solutions

Social innovation is solving social problems

• working with disadvantaged groups, new network in LM
• new target groups and new methods, both leading to effectiveness/efficiency
• improving things to achieve social equality
• a new way of solving social problems
• new methods involving people in society
• empowerment and change together
• actively involving people/participants in the "making" of new solutions for social problems
• social innovation "change structure to make society more Equal" (Juan)
• social innovation is to be open minded, to debate with peers and stakeholders, to question and question again and again
• makes life better for some people
• melhorar as problemas de envolvimento dos actores
• social innovation é um casamento feliz entre quem financia (FSE) e quem define os "programas" ao nível técnico: flexibilidade do FSE + visão os politicos
• to find the ways to live without ESF money
• intervenção multi-nível simultaneamente e multi-funcional
• empowerment
• innovation is inclusive

Social innovation is  stimulating the jobs market

• activating jobs from the creation of collective thinking inside organisations 
• activating jobs
• making changes in the structures (labour)
• changing structures and finding solutions to have more equal labour market (Juan)
• a way to improve job market

Social innovation is new social relations

• to change things in society in a collective way
• a cultural approach
• social innovation is: integration of social network
• networking
• social innovation is to be open minded, to debate with peers and stakeholders, to question and question again and again

Social innovation is personal development

• different ways of dealing with problems
• beyond horizons
• working in partnership
• doing something differently
• doing things in a new context. Reframing the way we see and do things
• taking experiences and adapting to home country (Alec)
• learn with each other and do it real (Susana) 
• social innovation is change
• progresso envolvimento das pessoas
• capacidade de responder de forma + eficaz e + eficiente a problemas emergentes e não antecipáveis
• solving problem
• to be free and interactive
• creatividade / novas respostas para ager velhas problemas / refelxão / atividade prática perante problemas
• risk-taking
• equilibrio integração nova perspectiva
• is substantial change of way you are doing things
• is non-discrimination
• make some changes by adapting solutions from other countries to our own reality (Alec)
• learning with others / better practices
• experimentação

Social innovation is something else

• more difficult than technological innovation, because the progress is not so obvious
• social innovation is change
• progresso envolvimento das pessoas
• social innovation is a paradox of doing things in a new context but once already happened is not an innovation any more
• social innovation "new and better" (Jovita)
• social innovation is <a Jeti> - everybody talks about it, nobody knows what it is
• not standard procedure
• changing of culture
• futuro, continuidade, desenvolvimento

And what is not social innovation?

Here are the different interpretations people have of what Social Innovation is not ... What categories to they fall under?

• it can't be imposed
• social innovation is not single politics
• is not when everybody knows that something will work. The real innovation is beyond the horizon. 
• single policy, one activity not integrated
• not a standard process
• qualidade/progresso/desenvolvimento
• it is not bureaucracy
• something already approved
• não é não ouvir e atender as expectativas dos destinatários das acções
• just working with disadvantaged groups is not social innovation 
• is not when a solution is so obviously working that there is no more "trying out" to do
• acomodação, imposição de ideias
• is not only to invest or to put funds to solve social problems
• social security
• burocracia
• discrimination
• a single action with no partnership
• a lot of things that are unfortunately labele as "social innovations" - problem of inflation of the meaning
• it isn't technical innovation
• grassroot organisations working with disadvantaged are not in a position to produce social innovation
• innovation is not business as usual. Is not do things in the same wa. Create or improve something. Social innovation is integration and balance between what we have and what we can have.

Netherlands Centre for Social Innovation

Ton de Korte described the Netherlands Centre for Social Innovation (NSCI) with this powerpoint presentation.

In summary, the objectives of NSCI are:

• to gather & spread infomation (website & d-base:tools, best practices, collective labor agreements, books, articles & research
• to provide knowledge: courses, NCSI-academy, congresses
• actions: support or develop social innovative projects 

Their recommendations to a decision-maker would be:

• keep it simple
• emphasise the practical relevance rather than theoretical discussions

If you are interested in the NSCI you can also read about the Community of Practice visit to the centre earlier this year.

See how Ton defines social innovation in this video:

ESF for social innovation in labour (NL)

David Lindenaar from the Agentschap SZW in the Netherlands presented the powerpoint below.

Later he talked on video with Leda Stott who asked him how successful they have been in stimulating engagement and innovation.

When asked what recommendation he would make about social innovation, he answered: "...before promoting social innovation, it is important to know what social innovation is. A definition of social innovation is very important. After that start thinking about who you want to reach."

And you can watch David talking of the goals of social innovation here.

Appraising innovative project proposals

Louis Vervloet from the ESF Flanders gave his presentation about appraising innovative projects.

As well as the Powerpoint presentation, you can also watch Louis summarising his presentation in three sentences on video ..

And he was also captured on video contributing to the discussion about leadership

The validation process

Jenny Charlier started the presentation with a Power Point presentation about the validation process in Belgium Flanders.

Florindo Ramos continued with stories from implementing the tool in Portugal...

...and Vladimir Kvaca with the experience of the Czeck Republic.

Florindo also talked about the complexity of the validation process on video.

Other useful links:

• The validation tool they are referring to can be downloaded from the site on this page.

• Belgium France has a series of tools on this site related to the tool. They have a practical guide to help operators grasp the principles and provide guidelines to implement the process of validation. The also have produced an overview on the validation process in BEfr (methodology + validation grid + evaluation).

• Also on this site is how the tool was adapted to the Czeck context.

What does stimulate innovation?

Group one:

• Have strong evidence (facts and figures) of unmet needs (social, labour market ....);
• Not fearing to put your everyday work into question;
• Thinking "outside the box"
• "Openness" to recognise goals aren't being met and to ask for "outside" help (partnership, networking, exchange with other your weaknesses, failures and strengths - having not fear of sharing and exchanging);
• Creativity
• Engagement to change
• ESF Programmes can help bring some innovative solutions scale (within an acceptable time frame)

Group two:

• Action
• Passion
• Partnership (with power)
• Listen .... ed
• Problem diagnosis
• Innovation is developed in the border of standards
• Social innovation starts from problem diagnoses and is developed by partnership(s) creating joint solutions. 

Group three:

• Urgent pressing need/better way of doing things
• Horizonal communication
• Having an overarching vision and clear aims and objectives
• Identifying brokers/enabling agents who can push for change
• Persuasion and persistance

Group four:

• The social innovation is not only to solve social problems but to create new opportunities
• The focus is not on problems but on solutions
•  The innovation is a process, more than a goal

What stimulates innovation is:

• democratic leadership
• participation/envolvement
• contribute groups of different stakeholders
• passion. 

 
Group five:

• passion
• empowerment
• partnership
• patience 

Group six:

What stimulates social innovation is:

• the ability to mobilize energies from individuals and organisations in order to understand better social issues (adopting self-criticism as a guiding skill) thus generating different and better solutions that can deal in a more efective way with those problems
• ...in order to better diagnose and solve social issues/problems, granting necessary political commitment.

EQUAL PRINCIPLES

S.I. = F (L, E, SM. P, G, Sk, Fx, C, A)

L = Listening

E = Empowerment

SM = Self-management

P = Partnership

G = Gender

Fx = Flexibility

C = Courage

A = Anger

In other words S.I = F (EP)

e = MC squared

M = Mainstreaming

C = Cooperation

e = mobilizing, energy

Group seven

Partnerships

Leda Stott answered the question: how do partnerships contribute to social innovation?

She described how the central aim of partnerships is to draw upon the competencies of different sectors of society so that common goals can be achieved more effectively, legitimately and sustainably than when each operates separately.  By sharing diverse perspectives, ideas and resources partnerships can contribute to social innovation and mainstreaming in a variety of ways:  by developing new frameworks for interventions, creating new and/or improved institutions, linkages and ways or working, and changing attitudes and behaviours. 

Based on her experience the recommendation she would make to decision makers is that partnerships have a key role to play in supporting social innovation and mainstreaming but greater awareness of their added value, appreciation of their challenges and the time and skills required to build them, are necessary if they are to fulfil their potential. 

The importance of listening

In this session we heard four stories from people talking about the factors they think lead to social innovation.

Alec Carlberg told a story about listening. His main points were:

"To be able to start the process of empowerment within a vulnerable group that wants to change its life situation for the better it is necessary to start with a profound study of the target group. Questions such as these below should be answered:

• How did the group become a "Vulnerable group"?
• What happens to individuals, who for a long time have belonged to a vulnarable group"?
• What does the group need for surrounding/setting to be able to change there situation? Phsyically and mentally?

He discussed these questions with the example of ex drug users who have created there own social co - operative Basta in Sweden and had these recommendations to make to decision-makers:

• "Nothing about me without me" should be the attitude and way of working with vulnerable goups who want to change their lives;
• Promote projects that have the aim to let vulnerable individuals and groups take the power and responsabiliy  of there own organization och social firms.
• Promote micro loans to vulneralble groups who want to start there own NGO or social firm.   

Here is a video of Alec adding the importance of anger to a general discussion about the factors that lead to social innovation.

Attention to gender

Odette Filipe described how attention to gender stimulates social action. Later she talked to Horácio Covito in more detail about the products that came out of her partnership with Trade Unions.

Social Innovators

Paula Vicente is director of the Prisons’ Training Centre and this is what she had to say about the characteristics of a social innovator:

A social innovator is someone who is pro-active in finding innovative solutions that repond to social needs. The main characteristics they have are passion, creativity, initiative and persistance in adverstiy. They are clearly the characteristics that they bring to organisations. But to these characteristics I would also add the capacity to believe in people and in their value whatever their position in the hierarchy or their certified knowledge. To be able to mobilize people is the maiin challenge for a social innovator.

Contexts also very much determine the richness and speed of this growth in a "blue ocean", an ocean made up of unexplored opportunities and which provide the ideal environment for innovation and creation of value. Some critical aspects are a strong support from the top, delegation to lead the processes of creativity and innovation and investment in the active participation of all professional groups and at all levels of the hierarchy. The best environment for innovation is not having hierarchical pyramids, to have round tables made of diverse knowledge and experiences, made up of different perspectives that enrich the final product. A fundamental perspective is of the recipients and of other stakeholders. The administration of the future is focused on empowerment and sees its clients and stakeholders as true partners. Transparency, responsibility and active participation are key values.

Bairros Criticos

Virginia de Sousa talked about her experience in “Bairros Críticos” in Portugal as an example of horizontal mainstreaming.

"A iniciativa "Bairros Críticos" (IBC) é uma iniciativa interministerial que pretende promover uma abordagem territorial integrada.

Entre os aspectos chave que a orientam destaca-se uma forte coordenação estratégica, com uma co-operação inter-ministerial, e uma forte ancoragem na construção colectiva de planos de intervenção (inter-sectoriais/integrados) focalizados nos diagnósticos dos territórios, desenhados a nível local pelo conjunto de parceiros locais que intervém no território.

Para reforçar a importância de focalizar a intervenção no território e no diagnóstico colectivamente construido, os planos de intervenção desenhados, o modelo de financiamento da intervenção não assenta na existência de uma base financeira prévia. Esta abordagem traduz a intencionalidade do modelo metodológico adoptado de fazer depender os planos de intervenção locais da focalização no diagnóstico do território, em lugar de os fazer depender de planos e montantes de financiamento previamente delimitados. Neste sentido, toda a construção do esquema financeiro da intervenção exige também ele uma participação e responsabilidade conjunta dos actores envolvidos.

A explicitação desta questão é importante para enquadrar o processo de articulação da IBC à iniciativa Comunitária EQUAL. Esta experiência de mainstreaming associado aos projectos EQUAL surge quando se inicia o trabalho de operacionalização dos planos de acção dos territórios (e respectivos recursos para os por em prática), pelo reconhecimento da existência de todo um trabalho já realizado no âmbito da EQUAL, cujos produtos dos seus projectos constituiam respostas importantes e adequadas face às acções previstas. A "coincidência" temporal de se ir iniciar a fase 3 de disseminação dos produtos dos projectos EQUAL e a disponibilidade do Gabinete de Gestão EQUAL para disponibilizar recursos, enquadrar e mobilizar os próprios projectos, constituiram-se como a grande oportunidade de se promover este processo de mainstreaming horizontal, que permitiu fazer coincidir num mesmo território e espaço temporal um conjunto alargado de produtos que está a permitir criar algumas interdependências/interligações entre os mesmos, quase que possibilitando a criação de novos produtos".

Susana's recommendations to an ESF decision-maker are:

Uma das questões que muitas vezes é levantada pelo conjunto dos parceiros prende-se com a sustentabilidade e possibilidades de continuação das práticas iniciadas. Esta questão parece carecer, para além das questões associadas com recursos financeiros, do real reconhecimento das práticas e dos processos de inovação social promovidos pelos projectos, por exemplo, o reconhecimento formal de perfis profissonais ou metodologias de trabalho consideradas como 'boas práticas' no âmbito do próprio FSE, poderá ser o instrumento suficiente para a generalização/sustentação das práticas validadas.

Gamblers in Estonia

Christian Veske from Estonia told the story of gamblers in Estonia and how the work they did entered national legislation. He also has information about this mainstreaming story in the Resources section of the site.

Christian's recommendations to ESF decision makers are that:

1. Mainstreaming should be integral part from the beginning
2. Project promoters need active involvement when it comes to mainstreaming
3. Training project promoters about mainstreaming should not be place where to save up finances.

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Feedback, Reflections and Conclusions

Here are some comments and feedback given by different people at different times during the day

"We need to be innovative about capturing what doesn't work - case studies of failures and what we can learn from them (often a great deal more useful than learning from "success") (anonymous)

Comment about mainstreaming from Vlaimir Kvaca, Czeck Republic:

From Italy

To ESF decision-makers: lessons learned and recommendations

How can we facilitate innovation in ESF Programmes?

Sharing of experiences and knowledge by different countries taking part in the Innovation & Mainstreaming CoP has helped us identify management practices in several ESF programmes that have clearly had a positive impact on quality and innovation in the projects and action that they support.

In Spain, under the framework of the National Thematic Network on Employability, a subgroup comprising Equal projects working on Corporate Social Responsibility was created. Its aim was to identify and promote the inclusion of social clauses in the process of procurement at different levels: National, regional and local administration. Once the projects and the Equal NSS had elaborated a report on how to incorporate social clauses in public procurement, the members of the group started exchanging their experiences on a broader basis about how they managed Social Responsibility and Social inclusion aspects in their territories. As a result of this mutual exchange, organizations working at local level built a Network of Territories Socially Responsible in order to empower local authorities, local NGOs and social partners and to involve them on employment policies. This network is piloted by the Directorate General of Social Economy and Self-employment of the Ministry of Labour and Immigration and it is currently being financed under the ESF Technical Assistance Operational Programme.

Sound Planning Management COP: the MA for Frenchspeaking Belgium could improve its own skills on PCM (blended trainings), its implementation of PCM methodology and the formalization of its practices. The participation to this network offered an answer to its concern to find a way to ensure PCM training on a broader scale (PCM self training online).

4. Test and devise new solutions

Testing and designing new approaches and solutions must be done with the active involvement and participation of the relevant players and partners, and also the beneficiaries of the actions.

4.1. Partnership between organisations that are different in nature but whose aims are complementary gives rise to knowledge-sharing and skills convergence, which provide a fertile ground for collaborative working and holistic approaches to the multiple and diverse problems of the labour market’s most vulnerable and discriminated groups. Working in Partnership has been in the past one major contribution to social innovation.
 
In Flanders, ESF application forms contain specific questions about stakeholders’ involvement and organisation of partnerships.  The entire form-filling methodology causes operators to formulate their approaches to the target groups holistically.  This holistic perspective leads, in turn, to the formation of partnerships.

Practical Gendermainstreaming Fiches : after putting on a disappointing because too theoretical Gender Help desk, the MA for Frenchspeaking Belgium opted for a practical support for integrating gender in the ESF 2007-2013 projects based on PCM inspired fiches following the different project steps.

A validation process, inspired by the Portuguese experience, was set up in Belgium Fr. Through regular meetings and individual coaching, Equal projects prepared a broad mainstreaming of their flagship products. The validation process also allowed a high quality and uniformity level of the products presented at Equal Closure Seminar.