Social Innovation

Social innovation- 'The creation of social outputs based on social needs and aspirations. Solutions that are relevant for society as a whole not just individual needs'- (Josephine Green 2010)


TED's DESIGN SOLUTIONS-

Materials and process-
-minimise waste
-reduce chemical impacts
-reduce energy and water use
-consider ethical and fairtrade production

Social and cultural-
-replace the need to consume
-dematerialise and develop systems and services
-design activism

Over the past hundred years, even when driven by the most positive intentions, designers have been active promoters of the ideas of wellbeing and ways of living that we have recently and dramatically discovered to be unsustainable. That is, designers have mainly been part of the (social and economical) problem that we now have to face. Moving from here to become part of the solution, to become active agents in the transition towards sustainable ways of living, designers must make a profound change in their culture and praxis. New conceptual and methodological tools need to be developed. New ideas, solutions and general visions need to be conceived. And an effort must be made to play a positive role in the social discourse on how to imagine and build a sustainable future.- Ezio Manzini

The Twentieth century was about consumer needs
The Twenty first century will be about social challenges- health, ageing, access to clean water, transport, reinvigorating local urban and rural communities

PROJECT H-
uses the power of the design process to catalyze communities and public education from within. They are a team of designers, builders, and teachers who together collate there knowledge and disciplines to problem solve and provide solutions to local and global problems.

'We design WITH, not FOR; We document, share and measure; We start locally and scale globally; We design systems, not stuff; We build) results in simple and effective design solutions that empower communities and build collective creative capital.'

TRANSITION TOWNS-
What is a Transition Town (or village / city / forest / island)?

It all starts off when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community come together with a shared concern: how can our community respond to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change?

They begin by forming an initiating group and then adopt the Transition Model (explained here at length, and in bits here and here) with the intention of engaging a significant proportion of the people in their community to kick off a Transition Initiative.

Creative communities-
This group of people who are doing it now. They have a high degree of entrepreneurship and initiative, they are 'auto cooperative'-they are practicing the solutions they want.