Finding the right instruments to implement socially innovative ideas can be challenging. Many social entrepreneurs and community enterprises are not sure what financial instruments are available for social entrepreneurs in the UK, or how to go about seeking investment outside of mainstream models of business investment and investor networks. Much funding that is available for start up and business development is focused on the bottom line, and the financial health of an organisation long term. Organisations with a social mission often struggle to contend and compete within these frameworks. These more traditional models can prevent small and grassroots organisations from affecting the change they wish to see because of unsuitable impact and reporting frameworks.

There is a growing interest in offering finance options that take into account social and environmental impact. Many funders and investors now ask for evidence of the social and environmental impact a project or enterprise will have. Many organisations are exploring models that make use of a diverse range of sources of funding and investment for their idea. Public organisations are looking at alternative models for procurement and funding of projects that promise social impact.

During this session we will hear from leading organisations in different regions of the UK about funding projects and businesses with social and environmental missions, and also about the ways in which we can start reshape our local economies to empower marginalised groups and local communities. This will be an online Zoom session. The panel discussion will be followed by audience questions. Our key speakers on the panel are:

• Colin McMillan, Investment & Growth Manager – Firstport

• Glenn Bowen, Enterprise Programme Director – Social Business Wales

• Kai Wooder, Director of Programmes – Rank Foundation

LINK TO JOIN: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/370858968157

Social Innovation is often supported by key agencies and organisations across the UK. These organisations are key to understanding what support is needed locally and nationally, and where key gaps are. Whether these organisations are public organisations focused on specific support, or independent organisations that provide key resources and services to budding social enterprises and community projects; they empower and drive groups and individuals with a social mission.

There is much to navigate when deciding to undertake a business or project that addresses a social cause. It can be a very lonely place to be, and a difficult journey engaging a community or group, and also navigating the complicated legal and financial processes to get established. Failure is common for new social innovators, and organisations that support them are often the ones that persuade them to keep trying in the face of adversity. Organisations like this also face their own challenges, working with the context varying across the UK between regions and the four nations of the UK. Justifying their existence often becomes a key issue when funding and policy changes around them, and to survive organisations have to be agile and prepared to pivot focus whilst still supporting the communities they did before.

During this session we will hear from leading organisations in different regions of the UK about Social Innovation and Enterprise in their local context, and also about the ways in which we can start to collaborate with our communities to address the variety of challenges we face as a society today. This will be an online Zoom session. The panel discussion will be followed by audience questions. Our key speakers on the panel are:

● David Haddow, Co-Founders - Social Shifters

● Cleo Goodman, Co-Founder – Basic Income Conversation

● So Jung Rim, Chief Operating Officer - Social Innovation Exchange

LINK TO JOIN: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/370845909097

Within Social Innovation we often refer to Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship but Civic Innovation is a key area where socially innovative activities can take place.

With the strain on local authorities and health boards for greater provision of services and community empowerment, despite lower available resources; there is a growing space for Civic Innovation to address the challenges of regions and cities in innovative and effective ways; while putting citizens at the heart of that process. Citizens themselves may have solutions to offer, and engaging them in a co-design, collaborative decision making process is resourceful and a potentially more model.

Civic innovation has the potential to have wider scope and reach in addressing social and environmental issues, and is not confined to business and start-up financing; but has the option to engage with large strategic funds; and multi body collaborations that can have far reaching positive effects. There are many examples of innovative new models of citizen participation, community empowerment, participative democracy, and enabling of grassroots movements from public organisations across the UK.

During this session we will hear a few examples from local authorities and other organisations in different regions of the UK about Civic Innovation in their local context, who are trying to implement new ways of public engagement and provision, and also about the ways in which we can start to collaborate with our communities to address the variety of challenges we face as a society today. This will be an online Zoom session. The panel discussion will be followed by audience questions. Our key speakers on the panel are:

● Stevie McGowan, Creative Design Lead - Centre for Civic Innovation, Glasgow City Council

● Pauline Grandison, Developent Manager (Community Action) - The Coalfields Regeneration Trust

● Róísín Wood , Chief Executive Officer - The Community Foundation Northern Ireland

LINK TO JOIN: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/370841024487

Every day, significant quantities of social, psychological and organisational data are produced. Some problems can be easily solved using this data: predicting extreme weather, easing traffic flow. But, how can this data be used to address global social problems including, for example, human trafficking, homelessness and climate injustice?

Effectively harnessing this data could better help ecosystem actors generate knowledge to address society’s most wicked problems. But questions remain surrounding the deployment of these resources to design, evaluate and implement innovations, whilst maintaining an emphasis on ethical and equity concerns. This session will look at the potential of Big Data for social innovation and consider where we go from here, and how. This will be an online Zoom session. The panel discussion will be followed by audience questions. Our key speakers on the panel are:

● Dr Abdullah Gok, Senior Lecturer & Chancellor's Fellow – Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde

● Rebecca Lee, Chief Impact Officer - Open Corporates

● Claudia Baldacchino, Communications & Digital Manager - People Know How

LINK TO JOIN: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/370813502167

Within the HE context, social innovation is an area of growing interest. From the growth of Ashoka U to a growing body of research, interest is growing for greater depth of understanding in this area. Social Innovation Connect, wants to bring together key researchers and academics from across the UK to discuss their local social innovation context. SIC is embedded within the Scottish ecosystem, but across the UK, the context varies widely, and we want to have a conversation about the nuances and differences, but also our similarities.

Universities are often seen as removed from their communities, and considering the wealth of resources, knowledge and capacity available within universities; more needs to be done to ‘turn the university inside out’. Within the Social Innovation ecosystem, even the use of the term ‘Social Innovation’ can be an alienating and exclusive term. We want to understand how we can bridge the gap between the research and study within universities and bring the benefits of this to our local communities. We face unprecedented challenges around the world today; from climate change, to health inequalities, to poverty and social cohesion. Higher education is often at the forefront of thinking and investigation into these wicked societal problems, but being disconnected from our local communities hampers connections that could change the tide on some of these key issues.

During this session we will hear from leading academics in different regions of the UK about Social Innovation in their local context, and also about the ways in which we can start to collaborate with our communities to address the variety of challenges we face as a society today. This will be an online Zoom session. The panel discussion will be followed by audience questions.

REGISTER NOW: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/national-conversation-on-social-innovation-in-context-of-higher-education-tickets-317482096497

An opportunity to showcase projects and develop new partnerships

The event will be face-to-face and will offer you the chance to highlight your work and meet other organisations carrying out similar projects, to forge new partnerships and respond to potential opportunities to help drive change in our societies.

Brokering for Change is hosted by the EU funded project, SEVERE (Social Enterprise through Virtual Environments and Remote Entrepreneurship). The project was conceived as a response to the Covid pandemic and revolves around a unique programme to build a culture of social entrepreneurship, one that is virtual, transnational and exposes students first-hand to the challenges of effecting meaningful change.

The event will include a Partnership Market Place to showcase existing initiatives and world cafés where specific challenges and potential solutions will be discussed. Above all, the event will offer its participants a forum to devise new projects in response to forthcoming calls for action in Europe and beyond, to tackle the oncoming challenges that face us and help drive change in our societies.

Programme

An opportunity to showcase projects and develop new partnerships for social innovation

9.00 - 9.30 Welcome, Anastasia Cozarenco and Mark Majewsky Anderson

9.30 - 10.00 SEVERE presentation Showcasing the project’s unique approach to virtual social entrepreneurship incubation. Members of the SEVERE Consortium and students showcase its Intellectual Outputs

10.00 - 11.30 Revolving cafés 1 (Chairs: Teresa Franqueira, Teresa Monllau, Anastasia Cozarenco, Alexandra Gaidos)

Social entrepreneurship support A series of workshops in which leading social innovators debate how we should approach major challenges:

• CREATIVITY (Cecília Carvalho, Universidade do Minho; PauloSouza, Universidade Federal da Bahia; Farba Ndour, Crealead)

• ENTERPRISE (Benedicte Faivre Tavignot HEC Business School; Miguel Garcia Social Business City Barcelona; Romain Paul, Yuyo)

• INCUBATION (Helen Denny, The Melting Pot; Marie Gomez Breysse WHY3C; Cyril Salort, INCUB-online; Javi Finez, BiB S. Coop.)

11.30 - 12.30 What makes European Projects successful? (Chair: Natalia Popielska) A Panel Debate featuring: Laura Pardo García, Connexx-EU; David Alpera, Project evaluator; James Sharples, Scotland Europa

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch

13.30 - 14.30 Shaping Policy (Chair: Mark Majewsky Anderson) Panel discussion debating how social innovation can be effective on a large scale. Minna Harjo, Estonian Government; Philippe Guichandut, Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation; Gustavo Freitas Unidade de Investimento Social, SMCL.

14.30 - 16.00 Revolving cafés 2 (Chairs: Rose Cawood, Silvia Sordi, Margarida Fardilha, Samuel Nyarko)

The Challenges of Place A series of workshops in which leading social innovators debate how we should approach major challenges.

• TACKLING GLOCAL PROBLEMS (Lucia Merlino, Consorzio Comunità Brianza; Cristian Bevacqua, MedUp/Oxfam; Serena Baldini Vento di Terra ONG)

• NEW CONCEPTS (Josyane Franc, Cité du design; Andrea Balletbò, Tandem Social; Iñigo Urkidi, BiB S. Coop)

• NO ONE LEFT BEHIND (Zakia Moulaoui, Invisible Cities; Juan Lemus Fundacio Arrels; Lila Ruiz De Somocurcio Deliv'rue)

16.00 - 17.00 Speed dating session Responding to various potential EU calls, an opportunity to develop new partnerships for change.

17.00 - 19.30 Wrap up and cocktail Final comments and future plans


Date and time:
Thu, April 7, 20228:45 AM – 7:30 PM CEST

Location:
Pôle REALIS

710 Rue Favre de Saint-Castor

34080 Montpellier

France