Social innovation

Public services and civil society working together

Publication 1 December 2009

The report explores the evidence to suggest outcomes are improved when public services and civil society work hand in hand, and develops five new ways to do just that – from community entrepreneurs to asset sharing, new performance measures to

Danger and Opportunity

Publication 1 September 2009

Danger and Opportunity – part of a series on methods and issues in social innovation – argues that the most recent economic crisis, and the increased emphasis on social innovation are both merging to create a new social economy that

Social Venturing

Publication 1 July 2009

Social Venturing – part of a series on methods and issues in social innovation – focuses on how to establish and grow a social venture. While there is a long-standing economic and managerial literature on the market economy, and methods

Breakthrough Cities

Publication 1 June 2009

Cities are where we are at our best, and worst; cities are home to many of our proudest achievements, but are also where our biggest challenges are to be faced. Problems – including inequality, crime and violence, environmental degradation –

The London Collaborative: State of Play

Publication 1 June 2008

The London Collaborative was an ambitious programme designed to improve the capacity of London’s public sector to work across boundaries of place, profession and organisation in order to meet future challenges facing the capital. This publication provides an overview of

Transformers: How local areas innovate to address changing social needs

Publication 1 January 2008

Innovation in public services is going to prove crucial to the UK’s ability to meet the social challenges of the 21st century. However, historically, the UK does a poor job of developing innovations in the public sector. We are particularly

Making the most of local innovations

Publication 1 November 2007

Making the most of local innovations – What makes places innovative and how local innovations can be best exploited’ is an interim report introducing the Young Foundation and Nesta research project about local social innovation and what makes places innovative.

In and out of sync: The challenge of growing social innovations

Publication 1 September 2007

This publication aims to provide a theoretically and empirically grounded guide for the many people involved in social innovation: innovators, funders, policy-makers and commissioners. It draws on a growing body of research on patterns of growth, and distills its conclusions

Social Innovation: what it is, why it matters, how it can be accelerated

Publication 1 March 2007

This report examines how social innovation happens in NGOs, the public sector, movements, networks and markets. It presents an analysis of the history, the theory and the process, paving a way for social innovation to play an increasingly significant role

Life begins at 60: what kind of NHS after 2008?

Publication 28 October 2006

Can the NHS evolve into a national wellness service capable of maximising people’s health rather than just treating us when we get ill? That’s the question at the heart of a visionary document about the future of the NHS by

Social Silicon Valleys

Publication 5 March 2006

The world today faces a serious innovation gap. In fields ranging from chronic disease to climate change we badly need more effective models and solutions. This paper examines how social innovation happens in NGOs, the public sector, movements and markets. It

Wide Open – Open source methods and their future potential

Publication 18 April 2005

The rise of the Internet has made it possible for knowledge to be created and shared in ways that emphasise its character as a common good, rather than as something to be owned. In the world of open source programming,