The Social Innovation Constellation is a follow up conversation that emerged from the Ontario Nonprofit Networks May 2009 event. At this event, a diversity of folks from the nonprofit sector began talking but it was clear that it was just the beginning of a conversation. As a result, the Centre for Social Innovation has created the space for the conversation to continue. Here is the framing for this constellation.
We are all aware that the limits of the current economy have been revealed. People everywhere are confronted by immense economic challenges at both the local and global level. This is an incredible opportunity for those of us interested in systematic change. When things get tough, it is a chance to envision old problems in new ways. The nonprofit sector specifically, has long been an innovator in discovering new ways to meet social needs and to fix the underlying systems. And in addition to all of this, governments all over the world are actually starting to realize the untapped potential of the third sector to present innovative solutions and solve problems that people are facing on the ground.
This conversation is an opportunity to discuss the landscape of social innovation in Ontario and in Canada. CSI is working, in our own small way, to create the conditions for social innovation for our community here in Toronto, but what will it take to build more social innovation in Ontario? What does social innovation mean, anyway? How do we create a culture of innovation in our own organizations? How can we carve out the space to foster new ideas? Where do we get the expertise and money to build prototypes and try things out? Should we be focusing our efforts in relationship to government? And, what is the best way to develop a system of open, effective collaborations to make this happen? How can we work together to enable social innovation in Ontario? – Lots of questions to ponder.
