NESTA Young Foundation report highlights weaknesses that inhibit social impact of ideas
12/09/2007
"This report will help to guide social entrepreneurs, philanthropists and public agencies to use their resources more effectively in developing and growing good social innovations"
Investigating why many promising social innovations fail to reach their full potential, the report draws an unfavourable comparison between the support given to encourage innovation in science and technology and what's available for social innovation.
Scientific and technological innovation enjoys multiple pools of capital and well-established networks of organisations which ensure ideas are put to effective use. In contrast, social innovation experiences a shortage of networks to share ideas, lack of funding or incentives to try new approaches, and lack of people with the right skills to spread the ideas.
The report contains strong lessons for those who support socially-minded enterprises, for policy-makers and broader government, and for the innovators themselves.
Innovators are encouraged to think strategically about growth, specifically in terms of how to build a management team that can cope with the tough challenges ahead, and what model they choose to grow their idea and their organisation.
Through 11 case studies, including Alcoholics Anonymous, Extended Schools and The Big Issue, the report demonstrates the conflict that can exist between the aims and aspirations of the individuals behind a social enterprise and the best route to achieving social impact. This means for government and funders, supporting single organisations might not always be the best approach.
Bridging the gap
Addressing these shortfalls will take a combined effort from the public sector, the government, private enterprise, and community level activists. As part of its Innovation Challenges programme, and in partnership with the Young Foundation, NESTA is beginning to address the funding gap for social innovation in health.
The 'Health Innovation Accelerator' will provide the funding and support to help accelerate the growth of ideas that have the potential to transform public services that address those with long-term conditions. It will open for applications from aspiring social entrepreneurs from the end of September around specific themes.
Jonathan Kestenbaum, CEO of NESTA, commented:
"Too many social innovations still depend on the personal commitment of philanthropists and individual champions within foundations or government. These, while important, cannot be the sole drivers of this vital innovation. We need to remove some of the barriers to growth and create an environment that allows these ideas to have maximum impact."
Geoff Mulgan, director of the Young Foundation and a co-author of the report, added:
"This report will help to guide social entrepreneurs, philanthropists and public agencies to use their resources more effectively in developing and growing good social innovations. At the moment this is too often left to chance, or the abilities of particular individuals. As a result we waste many of our most valuable ideas".
NESTA and Young Foundation spokespeople are available for comment and interview. Please contact our press office on 020 7438 9608.
NESTA
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. With endowed funds of over £300 million, our mission is to transform the UK's capacity for innovation. We do this in three main ways: by working to build a more pervasive culture of innovation in this country; by providing innovators with access to early stage capital; and by driving forward research into innovation, with a view to influencing policy.
The Young Foundation
The Young Foundation is a centre for social innovation that undertakes research to identify and understand social needs and then develops practical initiatives and institutions to address them.