Centre for Social Innovation - Where Change Happens!

For some crazy reason The Globe and Mail rejected this proposed Comment piece, which I wrote this morning after reading about how the Feds are going to prioritize innovation in this week's Throne Speech and Budget. Anyway...I will crack that nut yet! In the meanwhile, for your reading pleasure....

Innovating Innovation: It’s time for the Canadian Government to show real leadership in innovation

Well, our first ever Discover CSI Month has come to a close, and we are still trying to recover from the intensity of it all. This was an experiemnt for us at CSI - we had never before tried something quite like this. Basically, our objective was to introduce the space to people who hadn't been here before. Our goal was to reach out to folks who weren;t familiar with CSI and give them a chance to see what we're all about.

Well, we've decided that opening a new building isn't quite enough to keep us occupied. So we're exploring the development of a Creativity Lab within the new Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre. Working in partnership with Artscape, The Creativity Lab will be a 10,000 square foot workspace hub that supports a dynamic community of entrepreneurs, artists, and arts and cultural organizations.

Recently released by philanthrocapitalism.net, this posting is a call-to-arms for policy change and renewed public sector attention to the intersections of business, government and philanthropy in the UK. Thanks to Tim Draimin of SiG for passing it along.... original posting here and pasted below.

The Philanthrocapitalist Manifesto

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Well, it may have an American bias but I have to admit that this list - while not comprehensive - is a pretty energizing read. It's amazing how much has been accomplished in the past ten years... i don't think there are many among us who could claim active awareness and participation in the field of social entrepreneurship in 1999 or earlier.

Congress Allocates $50 Million for Social Innovation Fund, Cuts Funding for Other Nonprofit Programs (12/20/09)

Congressional negotiators have agreed to allocate the $50 million requested by the White House for the new Social Innovation Fund but will trim spending on two other programs designed to help nonprofits, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Can social enterprise be a path to sustainability to nonprofit organizations? Check out this article (pdf) written by Ruth Armstrong and Sandi Trillo of VISION Management Services. It is a great overview and analysis of the field...

I read today an editorial in the Globe & Mail about charitable giving in Canada. The summary: Canadians don't give very much; giving is down; 12% of Canadians are responsible for the majority of charitable donations; many charities are threatened due to declining support from Foundations, which have lost funding in the economic 'downturn'.

Don't worry. I haven't gone all evangelical on you. But I have been thinking about forgiveness over the last little while. It came up in our SIX TelePresence session on City Innovation. And then again during a session last week with the federal "Social Trends, Policies and Institutions Committee". Basically, it boils down to the fact that there is no longer any room to make mistakes. There's no tolerance for uncertainty. This presents a pretty formidable barrier to creativity and innovation - if you can't make mistakes, you can't innovate.