Making social change
Making a difference to society is a noble aim, and leaders shouldn’t be put off by a few bumps along the way. If my experience in social innovation has taught me anything, it’s that making social change is not for … Continued
Social impact beyond the investment exit period
Since the inception of the impact investing field the focus of practitioners and academics has primarily been on showing the rest of the world that so-called triple bottom line returns are in fact feasible and measurable in the long-term and … Continued
Public sector spin-outs: innovative or chips off the old block?
I am living proof that social entrepreneurship is not always terribly glamorous. Most of my days are spent in featureless buildings owned by councils or the NHS, helping the services based there to set up as new ventures, or ‘spin-out’; … Continued
The land and its discontents
Can social enterprise and empathy help? by Toby Norman & Professor Jaideep Prabhu On 24 April crowds gathered along the dusty roads of a small village outside Rangpur as shouting cut through the air. In the centre of the fray … Continued
Social innovation and the crisis of national inequality
Can anything really be done about the fundamentals of social mobility and inequality? After reading ‘Poverty Tsar’ Alan Milburn’s recent ‘State of the Nation Report 2014’ (the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, 20 October) I am pessimistic. It documents … Continued
Fads, fashions and community-based organisation
We have witnessed numerous big ideas on community, regeneration, and place come and go with mixed and frequently transitory impact. The notion of the Big Society is the latest in a long line of such initiatives. From the point of … Continued
This time is different? Think again.
Why history is still the greatest teacher when it comes to tackling social transformations. Apparently this time is different. Changes in technology or society are marshalled to explain why our generation faces uniquely testing times. Be it the digital economy, … Continued
Inside the fish bowl
Neil Stott’s defence of Public Sector innovation is a provocation for those of us attempting to work on complex issues from within. Adaptability, risk taking and innovation are not the words that spring to mind when thinking about big bureaucracies. … Continued
Public sector intraprenurship: overcoming bureaucratic immune systems
In a massive public bureaucracy like the US Military, what is intrapreneurship and is it possible? Intraprenurship is a leadership style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational techniques that are more traditionally thought … Continued
Why change isn’t always for the better
When it comes to public services, reform is often in the eye of the beholder, says Neil Stott, Chief Executive of Keystone Development Trust and Executive Director, Centre for Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School. Are you a “change … Continued