Centre for Social Innovation - Where Change Happens!

Have you ever wondered just how we might build a culture of action in our communities? what might our cities look like if they were designed to foster citizen innovation? how might we generate more social entrepreneurship? these are questions explored in "Creating the Conditions for Social Innovation Emergence" - a Social Innovation Thought Piece.

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A great article in the Economist about the evolution of social entrepreneurship as a way to address pubic challenges. It is worth a read.

http://www.economist.com/node/16789766?story_id=16789766&CFID=145057759&...

CSI staff claimed we were going to throw the mother of all parties, and boy did we ever!

We drew a crowd of almost 700 people (!!). There were mothers, fathers, designers, accountants, lawyers, familiar and unfamiliar faces, and even a few unborn babies in attendance! Most accurately, there were people from all aspects of the community who came together to dance, raise a glass for social change, and help us celebrate the purchase of CSI Annex.

A pioneering social innovator, Peter Nares created SEDI in 1986, an organization that has been instrumental in developing financial tools that improve the lives of people living in poverty. Peter's work bridges the gap between what works in communities to effective policy development and ultimately, large scale results. Learn more about Peter and SEDI in the press release below!

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Yesterday, at exactly 4:59pm, the Centre for Social Innovation became the official owner of 720 Bathurst. We are ecstatic! We can’t wait to be able to bring even more social change to the city of Toronto!

Catherine Porter wrote a great article about CSI in the Toronto Star last Thursday titled "Matchmaking for a Better City." The article talks about the folks working at CSI, our weekly salad club, the concept of community bonds, and CSI's new building project.

Check it out here.

SEE Change Magazine launches in Canada. It is great to start getting some coverage of social enterprise, social innovation and more. I was delighted to be invited to write about Trends in Social Innovation for SEE Change's inaugural issue... Check out the article on their site.  It's also posted below ... I would love your thoughts.

Some time ago, Doug Kerr wrote this great e-mail with a list web sites for social change... it has been sitting in my inbox waiting for something to happen... this  list is by no means complete, but it is pretty awesome... Thanks Doug...

This Friday October 16, over lunch, I will be launching the first in our Sandbox Series - Trends in Social Innovation. Here at CSI, we have been engaging, watching, dialoguing, catalyzing and pushing this concept of social innovation... but what does it look like? what do we really know about social innovation - the new buzz word and how can we get more of it?

Most importantly, what does it mean for your work? I hope that you can join us to be a part of the conversation as we explore, probe and experiment with new ideas that are changing the world.

The CSI Sandbox Series kicks off with three events at the Centre for Social Innovation through the fall of 2009. Each event is meant to provoke and engage, as we investigate what social innovation looks like. We have been doing, thinking, convening and collaborating around social innovation, but haven't had a lot of time for reflection and sharing... The Sandbox Series is our first foray into some of the ideas that are changing the world.