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
User innovation
Innovation in services

Elberfelder Farbenfabriken vorm.
Friedrich Bayer & Co

Social innovation

Open innovation
Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
Social ...
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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)
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
Governmen
t
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
Innovation
Lab
• Experiment fast, small
• Learn, measure
• Scale what works
We’ve promoted a common language to describe standards of evidence

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Crosscutting strategy,
delivery

President, Prime Minister

Joint budgets

Joint appointments of
ministersDept officials Dept E
and D
Dept C

Dept B
Dept A
Joint targets

Shared back office

Delivery teams
Agency B
Agency A

Double keys
Agency C
Agency D
Agency E
Joint training of
professionals

Shared front end
Intellipedia-type KM

Local partnerships
• 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 (19972010)
FIELDS OF
INNOVATION
BETTER MATCHING

NEEDS WITH
UNDERUSED
RESOURCES
BETTER FINDING

WHAT’S INVISIBLE
Baby come home
•BETTER ORGANISING
USEFUL KNOWLEDGE
•OPTIMISING SOCIAL
RESOURCES
Optimal location of public facilities

 KT’s call volume Data
- By time, day, month / Age / Gender
 Public information
- NTS Data / Facility Data

KT’s call
Public
volume
Information
data

 Spatial information for political decision
making
• Welfare facility (daycare center / senior
welfare center)
• Micro-targeting for PR materials
• Other political decision makings
•SMARTER LEARNING
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RICHER COLLECTIVE

MEMORY
•SAFE SPACES FOR
CURE
•TOOLS FOR
INNOVATION
•STRONGER
ACCOUNTABILITY
•BETTER SOCIAL
SUPPORT
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The practical craft of social
innovation
Transforming a system
New
technologies, prod
ucts and services

New policies and
regulations

Recalibrated
markets

Behavioural
change, social
movements
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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.

La innovación social y su rol en el mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de población en situación de pobreza - Geoff Mulgan 9 oct 2013 - Bogotá