European Community of Practice

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.