Ponencia impartida por Geoffrey Whittam, investigador de la Glasgow Caledonian University, el 3 de julio de 2013 en la II European Summer School of Social Innovation

1. Geoffrey.Whittam@gcu.ac.uk
Investing in our common future

2. •Definition
•Example 1 the community of Gigha
•Example 2 Fife holiday Home and the
Simon Community
•Example 3 Self-Directed Support (SDS)
• Discussion
•Conclusion

4.  “The financial and economic crisis makes
creativity and innovation in general and social
innovation in particular even more important
to foster sustainable growth, secure jobs and
boost competitiveness”
EU President Borroso
2009
Investing in our common future

5.  Employers
 Employees (and their representatives)
 Tax payers?
 Clients/community
 Funders

8.  Scottish Land Fund (financed from the
national lottery) administered by state
regional development agencies.
 Aims to contribute to sustainable
development in rural Scotland by assisting
communities to acquire, develop and
manage local land or land assets.
Pioneering in stimulating investment in
community development

9. From ‘feudal’ rights to ‘common ownership’
 Limited economic and community
development
 Tied houses
 Control by the Laird
Avoiding ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’
Hardin (1968)

10.  Peripherality and remoteness: rural areas
 Social capital
 Population
 Housing
 Enterprise
 SMEs

11.  “First of all there is a burst of energy, [the buy
out] creates a lot of energy, which is pulled
together suddenly…as a result from that
energy comes a lot of ideas… It’s not all
about physically owning the land. It’s about
what it does to you and I think that’s really,
really important.”

13.  Community- they own the assets, more
control over their lives, increase in
population, better housing, more
opportunities
 Funders- loans being paid back
 Tax Payers?
 Employees
 Employers
A Good example of Social Innovation

14.  Provides a week away for School children
 Full order book
 Losing money, subsidised by Local
Municipalities
 Recession, need to cut budgets
 No longer viable- therefore threatened with
closure

15.  Local retired business man and friends take
over the centre
 Remains open
 Employees now voluntary
 Breaking even

16.  Community Benefit- maybe, the resource is
still open
 Tax Payers- yes no longer subsiding the
centre
 Employees- from well paid employment to
volunteering?
 Employers- psychic income?
Social Innovation?

17.  Works with people who are homeless
 Worked in conjunction with a mental health
charity
 Majority of funding from Local Authority
 In Glasgow the service went out to tender-
the Simon Community lost the contract, went
to the mental health charity

18.  Within 3 months the mental health charity
realised it did not have the expertise
 Went to the Simon Community
 Tax Payers saved money
 Employees?
 Funders, Local Authorities ‘happy’
 Uncertainty for the clients
 Community?- social capital
 Social Innovation?

19.  Legislation going through Scottish Parliament
 ‘Parental Choice’ for services such as respite
care
 Just completed a study for an organisation
having to adapt to the change- confidentiality
 Clients, majority of staff, Local Authorities
don’t want it

20.  90% of funding from Local Authorities
 Monopoly provider in some local areas
 Clients 100% happy- “too much to do without
having to spend time sorting out a care
package”
 Personal Assistants a potential solution?
 Is it about choice or cost-cutting?
Social Innovation ?

21.  Provided an example of positive social
innovation
 Need to be careful with concepts such as
‘social innovation’
 ‘Social innovation’ for whom?
 ‘Social innovation’ for what?
 What of ‘social innovation’ that none of the
key stakeholders necessarily wants?

22.  Perhaps the examples of questionable social
innovation it is too early to say?
 Innovation means change
 With change ‘winners’ and ‘losers’
 Needs to be analysed with the backdrop of
the changing nature and function of the state
and society.

23. Investing in our common future