Hyperlocalsites

Innovationhubs

Social apps

Online spaces

Social Spaces

Socialreporters

Communityorganisers

Business connectors

Networkweavers

Behaviouraleconomics

Localism

Cuts

Knowledgehub

Servicechanges

Social councillors

Social action

Mutualsupport

Mobile

Cloud

How do we promote and support social innovation in the current, confused landscape

of new policies, roles, technology, spaces

Personal apps

I developed these slides to give myself a framework for thinking about collaboration

spaces , online and face-to-face.I’m hoping the framework will be be

useful for a number of projects I’m starting in 2011.I’ll report on those at

http://socialreporter.com

There’s some references in the final slideDavid Wilcox david@socialreporter.com

Goals

People and their roles

Methodsand structures

Context• Politics• Policies• Networks Culture of

organisation, network

When tackling social challenges we need to think about the goal; the peopleinvolved; then the methodsthat may be appropriate; and thestructure to carry things forward.What’s possible will be influencedby the local culture, and wider socialand economic context

Challenges Solutions

Networks are increasingly important because they party define the context and culture, as well as providing structures for action.Methods may be online or offline activities, individual apps, or processes.People will be defined partly by roles, and also by skills, attitudes, and preferences.

Collaboration spaces enable us to work through the way we define goals, engage people, choose methods, create processes ... whether workshops or online innovation hubs.

Collaboration spacesfor social innovation

From model developedby Ann Holmes

How can we design collaboration spaces and processesamidst new policies, in a media rich networked environment?

Austerity

Localism

Social actionSe

rvic

e ch

ange

s

Challenges Solutions

Need to connect ...

1. Domains of innovation

2. New attitudes and skills

Networkinfluence

Socia

l

media

Goals

People and their roles

Methodsand structures

Socialartists

Social apps Socialassets

Socialnetworks

AnimateConnect

Enable

Support, sustai

n

New rolesNew structures

New methods New resources

1. Landscape view: domains for a social innovation framework

What social spacesto combine?

Challenges Solutions

Develop new skills, attitudes

Use personal

apps

Manageknowledge

Buildpersonalnetwork

Design workflow

Use networkknowledge

2. Personal view: each domain requires new skills ...

Raise profile, increase social capital

Blendon-offline

... in personal workspaces

What personal spacesand capacity to work across

domains?

Guides, training for new roles

Social appsstores

Socialassets

Local and interest network

platforms

Social reportersCommunity organisers

Connected councillorsPartnership coordinators

Business connectors

HyperlocalOur Society

Knowledge hub

Big Society BankCrowdsourced funding

Volunteering

Social app store

Knowledge hub store

Networkweaving

Network and asset mapping

Workflow design

Sustainability planning

Social collaboration spaces

and personalworkspaces

Solutions: develop within domains + between them

Social collaboration spaces online and face to face, local and central

Online spaces

Workshops Game sessions

Collaborative development We need work on specifics

• Roles in networks and network development• Tailored guides on using social media apps for specific roles• Design of personal workflows in the use of apps• Ways to blend online and offline methods• Systems/network thinking for sustainability planning

We also need collaboration spaces to bring different domains and ideas together• Online spaces like Simpl and the innovation hub• Social by Social game• Other workshops - like Social Spaces Travelling Pantry• Social Media Surgeries

The Social by Social gameFull description here http://socialbysocial.net/notes/Social_by_Social_game

The game creates a collaboration space within which people follow the sequence previously outlined, from developing a scenario to developing a plan, with the main emphasis being on choosing methods. - the social apps domain. There are limited options within the game for exploring other domains: the network of stakeholders to be engaged, the roles and resources.

The game has been used with• presentations and exercises beforehand to familiarise people with the ideas and methods (apps)• hands-on demonstrations or social media surgeries so people can explore the practicalities of the plan that they have developed

The game provides one way to put the collaboration framework into practice for a local community, network or organisation.We can develop it so that there is more balance between the different domains of role, apps, networks, resources - and/or make these modules.We can also develop links between the game method cards (apps) and an evolving social apps store: the roles and guides; and ways of mapping networks and planning use of resources.

NEW GAME FOR NEIGHBOURHOODS AND NETWORKS

BackgroundThe Social by Social game has been successful in helping people plan what social media and other communication methods they might use in localities, organisations and networks. During the course of play in a workshop, people also explore other aspects of the situation ... the stakeholders, resources available, and who would do what.

The current policy context makes it even more important to take a whole system approach when there will be fewer resources, and projects and services may be delivered by local groups and social enterprises rather than public agencies. We need to do “more with more” by releasing assets in the community or organisation, and animating the total network of interests involved.

OutlineThe following notes outline a possible game that simulates this approach. It could be used “for real” or as a way to open discussion around the key issues, and new frameworks for thinking that are needed. It brings together key elements in our thinking about social innovation:

• Roles

• Methods

• Networks

• Assets

It should be possible to "focus" the game from the point of view of each of these elements - that is, from the point of view of roles or assets depending on what a group of participants wants to explore.

Game processThe game will build on the existing Social Media game but with the addition of role playing and network mapping elements. The process will be something like this:

Setting out the Aims and contextThe players will agree what they are trying to achieve and the specific local context in which they will work by developing a scenario and agreeing broad goals.

Defining the rolesPlayers will list a set of roles that are active within the scenario defined including agencies, interest groups and stakeholders. The Facilitator then cuts the list to the number of players and assigns a role to each. Each player then spends a short while writing a description of the role and listing its current aims, activities, methods and resources (some of these may be generated randomly).

Players also agree any existing working links between roles by producing a basic network map. The game is now ready to start.

Play

Players examines the activities, methods and resources allocated to their role and decide what initiatives they wish to take, while considering the allocations made to other roles. A period of dealing (say 15 minutes ) now ensues where alliances may be formed to:

• Pool resources

• Act towards a shared goal

• Act jointly to secure resources from outside the network.

At the end of dealing period, players will announce the deals that have been made and the projects that they support, listing the activities, methods and resources entailed. The Facilitator, representing policy makers and all external elements, will announce:

• external events that have local effects

• The results of funding or other support bid for

• Any local events which may directly affect local initiatives

• Any national events that may affect role types (eg changes in charity law, etc.)

Players now carry out other rounds of dealing and announcing results. The number of these rounds to be determined by the time available.

ConclusionAt the end of the game, players hold a facilitated discussion on:

• How successful collaborations were in achieving the goals

• What alliances, networks emerged

• How efficiently the overall resources were used to achieve the goals

• What range of methods were used

Social by Social game http://socialbysocial.net/notes/Social_by_Social_game

Drew Mackie and David Wilcox

drewmackie@mac.com

david@socialreporter.com

January 5 2011

References

•The context for current thinking is set partly by the UK Government’s Big Society ideas and policies - http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/big-society

•I’m helping develop http://oursociety.org.uk which focusses on the local opportunities

•There’s more on social innovation and social technology in the Social by Social book, including a development process for projects http://socialbysocial.com

•Here’s a post and links on designing events for social innovation http://socialreporter.com/?p=799

•The idea of the Social Apps Store developed here http://socialreporter.com/?p=951

•We talked about roles in Social by Social http://www.socialbysocial.com/book/emerging-roles and I wrote about social artists here - http://socialreporter.com/?p=474

•The UK Government is planning to support training for hundreds or maybe thousands of community organisers http://bit.ly/gQO0Mf

•Antony Mayfield helped me think about workflow http://bit.ly/eK4mLq•Simpl is a social innovation marketplace currently in beta - http://www.futuregovnetwork.com/items/170

•The Innovation Hub is a government online innovation space http://innovate.direct.gov.uk/blogs/dotgovlabs

•About the Knowledge Hub http://www.local.gov.uk/lgv2/core/page.do?pageId=174022• More here about Tessy Britton’s project Social Spaces http://www.socialspaces.org/ and Travelling Pantry workshops http://www.socialspaces.org/#814982/Blog-posts-about-the-Pantry• Earlier workshop games at http://usefulgames.co.uk

As the framework evolves, I’ll connect resources more directly