Pitch up for social innovation camp

Paul Miller, Dan McQuillan and Christian Albert have given us first news of their plans for Social Innovation Camp in London, when ideas people, geeks, mentors and sponsors will gather for a weekend of intensive co-creation on April 4-6:

Innovation happens when diverse groups of people get together - individuals who can bring something different to the mix and help each other to look at problems in a new light.
We’re interested in creating unexpected collaborations between people, organizations and networks. The Social Innovation Camp will be an opportunity for all participants to meet people who think about things differently to them.
The weekend will be designed with this principle in mind. Social Innovation Camp will bring some of the best of the UK’s web designers and developers together with those at the sharp end of social problems. Throw in some people with the business and organisational knowledge needed to make things happen and we’re hoping to come out with some innovative solutions to enable social change.

Ideas for your innovative project have to be in by March 7, and you are told by March 17 whether you are successful. These projects are then developed collaboratively over the weekend:

Pitch your prototype. We’re hoping that by the end of the weekend you’ll be part of a group with a basic working model for a new venture. The event will close with a pitching process which will include some prizes for the winning pitches.
Start your venture. Social Innovation Camp is all about creating the relationships needed to start new projects and we hope your ideas won’t end with the weekend. We’re currently thinking about the best way to help you pursue your venture – or if it’s more appropriate, find someone to take it on for you. More on how this will work coming soon.

I think we are now seeing several different approaches emerging on how nonprofit organisations may use social technology (building on old structures) ... or how we can collaborate to do good stuff using new stuff (which is likely to mean developing new structures).
These different - maybe complementary - approaches were evident last year at the Newman Arms get together which I reported here. Some people were interested in enhancing the capability of existing community and voluntary sector organisations, others felt a new direction was needed. Dan McQillan - of the social innovation camp team - made it clear he felt charities are broken and later trailed the innovation camp idea.
Meanwhile there's still a lot to do helping existing organisation deal with the basics of computer and internet use. I'll be hearing more about that when I run a workshop with Laura Whitehead, Nick Booth and others at the UK Circuits Riders conference at the end of this month. Circuit Riders provide tech support to small organisations.
Earlier this week I went to a new Forum for Circuit Riders in London organised by London Champion Miles Maier. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the whole session, but from the interesting stories of what life is like on the front line I got confirmation that there is a big stretch between the visions emerging from Web 2.0 social innovators, and groups still struggling to network their office computers. Are they left to struggle on their own as funding for technical support from Circuit Riders becomes more problematic - as seems likely? Should they just budget tech costs in with phones, print, rent and other overheads - and concentrate on convincing funders of the need for this in core costs? Should Circuit Riders pitch some innovative ideas to social innovation camp? Maybe time for a Newman Arms session.

Technorati Tags: nptech, nptechuk, sic

Comments

[Laura Whitehead]

Hi David, this is all interesting and I'll see if I can get to the April event. If not, a Newman Arms session sounds good. (or for a change from the London scene, you're all welcome to visit our wee village pub here in Devon!)
In my workshop earlier this week, with supporting organisations with getting going with a website, the web 2.0 / social media interactive conversations via the web was too much for some to handle.
Oddly enough, it was the newest smallest fledgling groups who were the most receptive to this new way of working and connecting with members and potential stakeholders. For the larger well established organisations it would mean a seismic shift in behaviour and approach to communications but willing to allocate capacity to develop their own approach if they could encourage wider involvement and acceptance across the organisation, and the small - medium sized organisations running and growing steadily for a couple of years were the ones, that most probably have always had issues with their ICT controlling them, rather than them being in control. It was that section of my workshop participants that found modern fangled media too much to take on board instantly, although all said they would consider it and seek to implement those forms that could be relevant and purposeful practices with it in future strategies.

As a 'circuit rider' and freelance web dev, I can enthuse and show examples of social media good practice, but if it's to an organisation that in it's everyday existence hasn't the capacity to take part in extra communications and struggles with it's day to day existence which many if not most do, we have to be mindful of that. And also to be there for them being ready to support if and when they are ready. Like they say about addiction, you can only be helped when you are ready to be helped! Very much the same at times when taking on experiences new ways of using technologies which could potentially have a big impact on their way of working.

[David Wilcox]

Laura - great reality checks! Maybe organisations need baby steps from where they are to where they might get with social media.
In the social media game - here at last year's CR conference - we asked people to invent a scenario, then jump to tools they might use. The scenario may be the organisation and its communication needs/challenges. It is then a big jump to introduce a whole package of social media. Maybe the priority should be - within a broader vision - to identify the needs that could be most easily fulfilled by some social media adoption. Then people get the confidence to move further. I'm probably describing what you do anyway ...:-)

[Laura Whitehead]

Like in the discussions we've been having on this, it's identifying the need, purpose and also relevance (much needed especially in mid sized organisation to enable full involvement of all,rather than being left to one person to fulfil), then finding the right tools to help them to achieve their goals.
Think we can pull some of this into our presentation at the CR event coming up soon.

[mae collins]

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[Steve Bridger]

I second Laura's desire to see a Devon retreat / meetup :)

[Laura Whitehead]

re Steve's comment - Bristol is a good location too for many - unless everyone (and really welcomed too) would like to come down to lovely Devon! I'd really like to see more events taking place out of the Londonsphere to enable wider participation and involvement. New ideas, new inspiration, new conversations...