Social innovation and improving the lives of the

poorest

Geoff Mulgan, Bogota, October 2013

What I’ll cover

• The changing nature of innovation• What social innovation can - and can’t -do• Examples and methods, and policy options

The big shifts

• From hard tech - to services, software, society• From innovation as solely by and for elite - to

mass participation• From innovation dominated by military and

big business - to innovation for welfare

Elberfelder Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedrich Bayer & Co

Open innovation

Social innovation

Innovation in servicesUser innovation

Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ

Social ...• Innovation Parks (Bilbao,

Singapore)• Innovation Exchanges (globally)• Innovation Camps (globally)• Innovation Funds (Australia, HK,

France)• Innovation Incubators (several

hundred)• Innovation Offices (eg White

House)• Innovation Mayors (eg Seoul)• Innovation prizes (US, Europe,

China..)• Venture intermediaries• Impact bonds (UK, US, Australia)• Innovation corporate initiatives

(HP, Danone)

http://www.ssireview.org/

http://www.pratham.org/default.aspx

The best minds working on meeting the needs of the rich who don’t need it -

rather than the poor who do

Jugaad

Roots and Wings Intl

Frugal innovation in India

Civil society

Government

Business

Relative decrease in the cost of the innovation process

CREATING CONDITIONS

•TOOLS FOR FINANCE

New sources of money

Social impact bonds

NEW MODELS OF STATE ACTION

Behavioural insights team

Nesta InnovationLab

• Experiment fast, small• Learn, measure• Scale what works

31

We’ve promoted a common language to describe standards of evidence

Dept ADept A

Dept BDept B

Dept CDept C

Dept DDept D

Dept EDept E

President, Prime MinisterPresident, Prime Minister

Agency AAgency A

Agency BAgency B

Agency CAgency C

Agency DAgency D

Agency EAgency E

Joint budgets

Joint targets

Shared front end

Joint appointments of ministers and officials

Local partnerships

Shared back office

Double keysDelivery teams

Joint training of professionals

Crosscutting strategy, delivery

Intellipedia-type KM

• Street homelessness: moving from addressing the symptoms (providing hostels, soup kitchens etc) to addressing causes (flows into homelessness from prisons, family, military and holistic support for mental health, drugs, alcohol, jobs). Helped by systematic measurement; task focused teams; pooled budgets; engaged but challenged NGOs … delivered 90% reduction (1997-2010)

FIELDS OF INNOVATION

BETTER MATCHING NEEDS WITH UNDERUSED RESOURCES

BETTER FINDING WHAT’S INVISIBLE

Baby come home

•BETTER ORGANISING USEFUL KNOWLEDGE

•OPTIMISING SOCIAL RESOURCES

KT’s call volume

data

Public Information

KT’s call volume Data

- By time, day, month / Age / Gender

Public information

- NTS Data / Facility Data Spatial information for political

decision making

• Welfare facility (daycare center / senior welfare center)

• Micro-targeting for PR materials

• Other political decision makings

Optimal location of public facilities

•SMARTER LEARNING

50

RICHER COLLECTIVE MEMORY

•SAFE SPACES FOR CURE

•TOOLS FOR INNOVATION

•STRONGER ACCOUNTABILITY

•BETTER SOCIAL SUPPORT

60

The practical craft of social innovation

Transforming a system

New technologies, products and services

New policies and regulations

Recalibrated markets

Behavioural change, social

movements

• Financial ecology of support – micro enterprise, micro loans up to growth capital

• Incubators and accelerators

• New legal forms• Reforming the state

to become a partner• Grassroots

innovation support and social learning

• Orchestrating evidence

• Shifting systems

A shaman describes himself as containing two bears, one a cruel, warlike, and violent hunter, the other caring and compassionate. A young boy asks him which will win

out. The shaman replies: whichever one I feed.