introduction to social innovation and...

1/22Introduction to Social Innovation and SILKSkillsSILK

Introduction to Social Innovation and SILK

SILK Skills Programme

SkillsSILK

Developed in partnership:

© Kent County Council and Engine Service Design 2009


Introduction

This module was designed to provide participants with a basic understanding of social innovation and what SILK is and how it supports social innovation in Kent.

The first part of this module introduces social innovation - why is it an issue, who is supporting this change in thinking and how this differs from regular innovation. The second part covers what Kent have been doing in response to this, what SILK is, what its been doing and how SILK can support social innovation in Kent.

The module lasts approximately 2 hours, based on the following structure:

What does social innovation mean to 1. you? (card exercise)Presenting the challenges for local 1. governmentWays in which social innovation 2. differs from regular innovationWho is already doing this sort of 3. workWhat’s going on in KCC?4. Group exercise - barriers to social 5. innovationWhat is SILK? Aims and principles6. What does SILK do? Support and 7. recent projects

Preparing for the workshop

Contact participants in advance of • the workshop and prepare them for what to expect. Sometimes you might want to ask participants to bring along objects or photographs that you can use to stimulate conversation in particular exercises. Plan the workshop. The workshop • format that is suggested here is for you to use as a reference, not a guide. You can delete slides from the Powerpoint presentation that you are not comfortable with, and add new ones that you are. The same applies to exercises. To avoid ‘Death by Powerpoint’, it is advised that you limit the ‘slideshow’ element of the workshop and spend most of the time doing interactive exercises. Rehearse the presentation, and • ensure that fonts, images and embedded videos are not corrupted.These notes are intended as a • reference. Use them as scrap paper to make your own prompt notes. Logistics - remember to bring along • (and pre-order, if necessary) packs of post-it notes and pens. Make sure you have at least two colours of Post-its - as this is required on the group exercise ‘Barriers to Innovation’ (p. 15).

During the workshop

Leading a workshop requires providing direction, managing a group, coordinating active participation and stimulating an open discussion. At times it can be a difficult task to engage everyone and maintain a shared focus. These tips will be helpful to review before you begin.

Stand up - This helps let everyone know that someone is in charge of the session and where they can expect to get their directions from.

Set the rules - Clearly define the rules early on and repeat them if necessary. Encourage everyone to express themselves. Don’t allow more than one conversation at a time and make sure people listen and don’t criticise each others’ ideas before they’re written down. Suppressing negative criticism will foster creative expression.

Give them something to do - Passivity is a common response to workshops. Given half a chance participants will sit back and watch you attempt to entertain them. Prepare some challenges and questions that you might use to stimulate conversation.

Be prepared - Think through the sorts of questions you might be asked about your session and have the answers ready. Be clear in your own mind what you need to achieve during the session and how much time you have.

Write things down - Ensure everyone’s contributions are captured on paper (Post-it note, flip chart, etc). Make sure everybody has a pen and paper in each session to capture ideas so you don’t have to.

Interject and summarise - Be firm about stopping people from opening up an issue too much. This can divert the session in the wrong direction. A good way of limiting people from talking too much is by trying to capture what they are saying in writing, or even better, getting them to do so.

Focus on the end, from the start - Time flies when you’re facilitating. Start the session with the end in mind. Get people to contribute ideas, summarise their views and get to the point. Be prepared to park tricky issues if they will take too long to resolve.

Notes to facilitator


Introducing the workshop At the start of every workshop make sure that you have introduced who you are, what the workshop objectives are and what the overall structure is going to be. It is sometime a good idea to get everyone to introduce themselves, and say how they hope this workshop will benefit them.

You may sometimes need to cover ‘house rules’, such as health and safety, but you can also introduce some ‘soft’ rules, such as that people feel free to ask questions and that they should respect what everybody has to say by letting them speak. (See ‘set the rules’ on previous page)

Make sure everybody has a pen or pencil and a note pad or Post-it notes in front of them before you begin the session. Encourage people to write down questions and, if time permits you can address these later on.

1.0 IntroductionIce breaker exercise

Workshop participants are asked prior to the workshop to think about their favourite innovation.

Ask the participants to interview the person next to them. They must find out

what their name is• what they do • what their favourite innovation is •

They then present that person to the rest of the group

Make a note of what type of innovation they are mentioning i.e. Internet, mobile phones etc.

Thank the workshop participants for their answers. Quickly, draw out common themes that are obvious in their replies. For example, a lot of answers will most probably be based around technology, and the reasons why could be because it makes life easier, you can do things quicker etc.


1.1 Group exercise - social innovation cardsWhat does social innovation mean to you?

Introduce the social innovation cardsThese cards are a collection of images that capture what social innovation is. They are quite diverse - from Nelson Mandela to Wikipedia. Each image could mean something completely different to the next person i.e. Wikipedia might be a good example because it is built up from a variety of sources, so focusing on the idea of co-creation, or it could be because it is accessible to a worldwide audience.

The taskIndividually, select two cards from the pack that represent what social innovation means to you and write on a post it why.

Then turn to the person next to you and discuss your choices together. As a pair, select two of the four cards you would like to take forward as examples of social innovation.

Then turn to the pair next to you and do the same thing. By the end of the exercise you should have two cards with two post its explaining why.

Group feedbackAfter all groups are finished, go round the tables asking one person from each group to explain their choices - collect their cards and post its and stick them up on a flip chart. By doing this you will have built a group definition of social innovation.

This exercise should last approximately 20 minutes.


Blank slideDoes anyone have a definition of social innovation?

Next slideThere is no absolute definition of what social innovation is, everyone will have their own opinions and their own way of socially innovating according to job, project etc.

There are many definitions of social innovation out there - I’ve taken this quote from the Centre of Social Innovation in New Zealand.

1.2 So, what is social innovation?


1.Economic recession with immediate consequences on housing and employmentThe British economy is shrinking at its fastest rate in 50 years. In Kent, unemployment stands at 3.4% (May 2009). There is talk of a 20% cut in public spending.

2. Shifting demographics, rising expectations and ever-tighter budgetsShifting demographics, rising expectations and ever-tighter budgets mean that it will no longer be enough for Councils to focus on doing today’s work well. They need to increasingly cater for preparing for the future.

3. Need for social capital and civic engagementNeed for growing social capital, the main aspects of which are citizenship, neighbourliness, trust and shared values, community involvement, volunteering, social networks and civic and political participation – to ensure a more sustainable long term service provision.Bottom up.

4. Demand for personalisation and customisationSuccessful future public services will

have to adapt to people’s different contexts and circumstance, reflecting the increasing demand for customisation and personalisation.

5. Emerging technologies affecting our livesThere are many emerging technologies that will affect our future lives, in the way we interact, we communicate, we work, we consume, etc… Councils need to invest time, energy and resources in doing things differently, as well as doing them better, if they are to keep up with new and complex demands being placed upon the governing institutions of today. With technology having such tremendous effect on everyday life, emerging trends have to be considered and incorporated into innovative service provisions.

6. Need for collaborative innovationThere is a growing recognition that innovation needs to be more systematically nurtured. It is no longer seen as the territory of the lone inventor having a ‘eureka’ moment. Increasingly innovation is understood as an interactive, iterative process that occurs in many places, not just labs, sheds and ivory towers.

1.3 Making the case


When working in the corporate policy unit of a local authority it is easy to lose sight of what some of the basics: making sure that our staff is able to do their job in a way that is sensible and practical, and not just chasing targets and KPIs. And more importantly, that the services that we provide meet residents’ needs and lifestyles.

Large organisations like KCC are often very siloed, with some teams working very close to each other but having few opportunities to communicate and share insights. We know that organisations that have good cross-departmental communications perform better in the long-run because they have an in-built checks and balance system.

Also, people who work in the public sector often mistake risk management with not taking any risks at all. But with no risk there is no reward and we know that staff need to be empowered to take calculated risks in order to improve services.

2.0 Making the case


A new role for local government

First two points refer to priorities of CAA, the new performance framework. Empowerment is part of wider agenda – top of CLG’s list, embedded in duty to involve (2007 LG and Public Health Act), power of wellbeing (2000 LG Act). Place-shaping and economic development: shift away from seeing LG simply as a service deliverer: has a more active role to play in fostering sustainable, cohesive communities that are resilient. That implies a role that’s not purely about service delivery.

2.1 Making the case


Consensus: we will need to innovate!

It’s not just the local government sector who thinks this now. Over the past year, other parts of government have invested more and more in supporting innovative work. For example: DH have created regional innovation funds of £250m this year.

DCSF have invested £9m over five years in a series of ‘next practice’ programmes which focus on key system challenges such as school leadership and parental engagement.

DIUS announced the creation of the Public Service Innovation Lab in its white paper of 2008, referred to again as a key driver for innovation in public services in 2009 Budget.

The Cabinet Office has spearheaded wide-ranging work on citizen-centred innovation, most recently exemplified through the Office of the Third Sector’s investment of over £1.5m in the Innovation Exchange for the Third Sector.CLG and MoJ have both created significant funds designed to support innovation around democratic and community engagement – CLG’s

2.2 Making the caseinvestment is £1m, and the last round of the MoJ’s rolling programme offered £150,000 to support a handful of projectsThe devolved administrations are giving equal priority to innovation. For example the Welsh Assembly Government has undertaken to establish a Leadership and Innovation Directorate, due to launch summer 2009. The Scottish Government has commissioned proposals for a public service innovation lab.


What is at the heart of social innovation?

Wider view of evidence - combining quantitative and qualitative research to give depth to key issues.

Taking more time to define and redefine the problem - giving yourself space to think and explore all possibilities.

Seeing users as contributors not problems - consulting users in the research phase and potentially involving them in the development of new solutions.

Looking for solutions in AND beyond formal services - concentrating on meeting the needs identified in the research phase, whatever form that might take.

2.3 Making the case


2.4 Making the caseBut what kind of innovation?

Fundamentally, social innovation starts with people, rather than services. It starts by seeing the world through their eyes, recognising the resources and capacities they can offer, and also the nature of the needs, hopes and desires they have.

Research suggests that this kind of innovation is most likely to flow from the frontline – those moments of interaction between services and users. US study – 85% of innovations come from frontline

Also new movement around ‘open innovation’ – see for example Eric von Hippel at MIT – that argues innovation comes from collaboration, cross-fertilisation and juxtaposition of different worlds and perspectives. Far cry from the lonely inventor in his ivory tower or shed.

Finally social innovation works with the grain of what people can bring to the table themselves. It sees the human and social fabric of public services.


Who is pioneering this?

Although government is investing in it a lot, often social innovation emerges from ‘in between’ spaces – new partnerships, social enterprises, third sector and community organisations.

2.5 Making the case


2.6 How has KCC respondedOur context at KCC

This quote is taken from KCC’s 2009 annual plan.

Social innovation is something that is already at the forefront of KCC’s agenda and KCC is acknowledge as a leader in this type of work. There have already been a number of socially innovative projects that have take place within Kent.

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The aim is quite clear, improve services by involving users in the design of services and ensure that the results are implemented successfully.


2.7 How KCC has respondedWhat’s going on?

Here are just a few examples of socially innovative projects that have taken place in Kent

GatewayThe Gateway is a new model for providing citizen-centred services under one roof. Gateways exist is Margate, Ashford, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone, and others will be opening this year.

In each Gateway, customer service advisors provide a range of services to residents; everything from benefits to registration of births and deaths, from housing to library loans, dog poo bags to citizen advice bureau and occupational therapy.

ActivmobsThe department of public health teamed up with the design council to create Activmobs - a scheme that set to encourage residents of a housing estate to get active. A co-design team was formed including a local community support officer and youth club leader. They spent time with local residents to find out what they did in a day, using timelines and flashcards as prompts. One insight was that there were many barriers to activity for a lot of residents.

Activmobs allows people to self-organise activities on their own terms, building the service around what suits them best. Activities vary from dog walking to ballroom dancing, aerobics to allotment mob in Ashford, shown here in this photo.


2.8 Group exercise - barriers to innovationSocial innovation happens all over Kent, and there are lots of other great examples of innovative projects, some of which you might have been part of.

Think about the barriers you have or potentially face when innovating.

People • Funding• Internal politics• Politics• Time• Objectives• Technology• Communications• Knowledge • Experience• Space• Politics•

Get into pairs/groups of three.

Part oneUsing the prompt cards provided, think about what are the barriers that stop us from being more innovative at KCC?

Write down your thoughts on GREEN post its and cluster them around the prompt cards.

Allow 15 mins. for discussion.

NEXT SLIDE - Part twoNow think about what could be put in place or changed to make social innovation easier in Kent.

Try and think creatively about how you would tackle some of the issues raised in the first part of the exercise.

Using PINK post its, note down some ideas.

After 15 mins. ask everyone to relay three of their barriers and proposed enablers to the group. Allow an additional 15 mins. for feedback.


3.0 Explaining SILKWhat is SILK

When SILK was established in 2007 it sought to provide KCC with a new way to tackle some of the issues we just mentioned.

It would provide a platform for • collaboration to solve complex problems, by inviting people from different departments, at different levels to collaborate

It would provide space to think • strategically and creatively about services; and this space is about allocating time for people to come together and work in ways that are new, challenging and inspiring.

And it would provide tools to better • understand and engage with residents and stakeholders.


3.1 Explaining SILKSILK aims

A year later, SILK was written into KCC’s corporate plan, with two stated aims:

1. To provide a ‘safe space’ where intractable problems can be tackled, using people-centred approaches

2. To build the capacity and skills of staff to focus on citizens and experiences, rather than services and organisations


3.2 Explaining SILKThe principles that define SILK

There are a few core principles that we’ve put at the heart of what SILK is. For example:

Insights and ideas come from • anywhere and everywhere. We need to get out from behind our desks and go talk to people, observe, reflect. Conventional market research is important, but it often reaffirms what we think, rather than challenge us to think differently.

People are usually the experts of • their own lives, their families and their communities. Fundamentally, we believe that the best solutions come from those people who are closest to the problem. And this means both residents and frontline staff.

Get people engaged. The more • people we involve the greater the chance of making change stick. But working in partnerships and across departments is often slow and tedious, with many meetings and consensus building making it difficult to get anything done. Which is why we emphasise the need for:

Platforms and tools for collaborative • working. We believe that by adopting a design-led process that focuses on improving residents’ lives we can overcome many of the differences that exist between different service providers.


3.3 Explaining SILKSo, what does SILK do?

ProjectsEvery year we will collaborate on a number of projects, that combine research and engagement to come up with new solutions and insights. I will tell you more about these in a moment.

WorkshopsBut we also run workshops, like this one, where we engage groups of people to explore new issues, share new methods and tools that we’ve learnt and learn from participants about how they do things. It’s always a dialogue.

PublishingIn order to reach as many people as possible we spend time writing, capturing and publishing case studies, project reports and films.

We publish everything either in hardcopy or on our website, usually both, so that anyone working in Kent, or indeed outside Kent, can access this knowledge.

Tools and supportFinally, a large part of what we do is offer advice to people. This usually isn’t part of any formal process, but we maintain an open door policy and are always happy

to broker relationships, find experts or help plan projects so that they are more innovative and people-centred.

We have developed a Method Deck and have a range of materials that can support you at every stage of your project.


3.4 Explaining SILKOur recent project work

Just CopingWe worked with a multidisciplinary team of partners from across KCC, as well as partner organisations, and we used professional ethnographic researchers who spent time with families in Kent who are ‘just coping’ (i.e. living in challenging circumstances such as material deprivation or mental health).

The research then formed the Just Coping report, which is available for download from our website or in hard back form from the SILK team.

Engaging fathersSeashells, a Sure Start centre in Sheerness, initiated a project to look at what kind of support fathers require and how they could provide it. Up to that point only a dozen or so dads were engaged in activities at the centre, while over 800 mothers were doing so. And as the Just Coping project revealed, one of the key barriers to children developing and meeting their full potential is the issue of family breakup and an absence of fathers in their upbringing.

We worked with a co-design team of dads to better understand the barriers that fathers face with spending quality time with their children. We then co-

designed a range of services that would support them - the end result was the concept for the Go Community card - a discount card that gives reduced rates to attractions and activities around the island and links them to the Sure Start centre.

GatewayPeter Brook, Gateway’s development officer sought SILK’s help in building the capacity of frontline staff to deliver services in a holistic, customer-focused way. Using SILK’s collaborative methodology, we worked with a small group of committed staff members to co-design a staff training toolkit, ‘Insight to Idea’, which used customer journey mapping as a method to unpack customer issues, generate and prioritise creative solutions.

BetteshangerThe Activmobs project was started in Betteshanger to encourage residents to get more active. During the project, there was an obvious divide between the older and younger residents - both groups had issues but where unsure about how to communicate them.

We used participatory filming to communicate to the older residents of Betteshanger how the younger people felt about living in the area and the disconnect between the generations.


3.5 Explaining SILKCurrent projects

Food projectProgramme manager Emma Barrett is currently working with a group of young mums at the YWCA in Tonbridge on the Food for Families project.

Bulk buyingThe SILK team is currently working in Parkwood to set up a bulk buying scheme. This project was chosen by Parkwood residents as their favourite idea taken from the Digital Inclusion project that took place last year.

Houses as homesWe are working collaboratively with a range of

Would anyone like to share their projects with the group?


3.6 Summary and closing of workshopSummary

Recap the key points that were covered in the workshop to remind participants of the overall narrative. This helps people to connect what SILK is, what it does, why it does this and crucially, how.

Remind participants of SILK’s key functions and invite them to ask questions and stay in touch by joining our mailing list.

Collecting feedback from participants is always important. Be sure to either collect feedback at the end of the session (better for maintaining anonymity), or email participants with a form immediately after the session.

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