SE Summit 08: Frances Westley, SiG@Waterloo

SES08 – What is social innovation? from SiG @ MaRS on Vimeo.

9:25    Introduction – Tim Brodhead, CEO, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation Dr. Frances Westley, J.W. McConnell Chair in Social Innovation at the University of Waterloo, SiG@Waterloo, will present on a framework for understanding social innovation. Dr. Westley is also the author of the ground-breaking book  “Getting to Maybe,” copies of which will be available for purchase at the event.

Tim: Let’s have a ‘shout out’ for Frances Westley. Audience: Laughs and applause. Frances Westley, SiG@Waterloo – first keynote presenter of the morning Speaking about a framework for social innovation

Social innovation is an initiative, product or process or program that profoundly changes the basic routines, resource and authority flows or beliefs of any social system. Successful social innovations are therefore disruptive and have durability and broad impact.

Reference Document: The Social Innovation Dynamic

Social innovation is complex: understanding the difference between complicated and complex is important in understanding the dynamics of social innovation

Market/diffusion models of social innovation should be complemented by complex systems models which see change as discontinuous and focus on cross-scale dynamics

Innovations abound…

Santropol Roulant

Eva’s Phoenix

The Working Centre

Simple, Complicated and Complex analogy from Getting to Maybe: How the World is Changed

Simple: Following a Recipe

Complicated: Sending a rocket to the moon

Complex: Raising a child

Problem of hiring consultants: most consulting packages are simple recipes when the organization they are looking that is either complicated or even complex – hence the abysmal failure in Geoff Cape’s example. Dynamics and phases of adaptation, the Adaptive Cycle:

Summary: To understand social innovation demands a complexity perspective

Cross-scale dynamics are key and institutional entrepreneurship (intrapreneurs) and actor nets are as important for impact as are social entrepreneurs

Institutional entrepreneurs draw on a range of transactional and translational skills and competencies to manage different phases of social innovation for greater impact

“Farmers don’t grow crops. They create the conditions for crops to grow: – Gareth Morgan

Posted via web from Renjie Butalid