Social Innovation in Action

You are approaching your destination. Your bags are packed and you have prepared yourself for an adventurous journey into the field of social innovation.

In reading this first part of the travel guide, you have experienced many perspectives that have probably inspired you to think about what kind of actions you could take to create social innovation in your community. We will now present some tools to be utilized to gain clarity, provide inspiration and raise questions that will help you in your pursuit of this goal. This will be done in a playful manner. Although the great social innovators have surely overcome incredible challenges, they have also been passionate about their work and have experienced great joy along the way. Pioneering in the field of social innovation is meaningful and therefore quite exciting.

The structure of this chapter we will be formed around a few suggested areas to explore when kicking off a socially innovative project. It is important to emphasize that the tools provided are not to be used in any particular order. It is up to you to follow your motivation and need and work with what you feel for at the given moment. Remember, use them while taking action, and not as an excuse to postpone it!

In each section, a template will be provided to visualize a certain aspect of your project. Each template will be accompanied with instructions on how it can be used as well as tips to support you in your work. It is a general rule that these tools and tips are meant as suggestions and can be altered or built upon as needed.

The visual tools will be provided in small format in this publication. Larger versions for printing are available on our website – www.socialinnovation.biz

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes – Art is knowing which ones to keep” - Scott Adams