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Tim Draimin

Social Innovation Europe Initiative Launched in Brussels :: wbc-inco.net - 0 views

  • On March 16 and 17, 2011, Social Innovation Europe was launched in Brussels. Funded by the European Commission, Social Innovation Europe will create a dynamic, entrepreneurial and innovative new Europe. The time has come for Europe to embrace the broad concept of innovation and set an example globally. By 2014, Social Innovation Europe will have become the meeting place - virtual and real - for social innovators, entrepreneurs, non-profit organisations, policy makers and anyone else who is inspired by social innovation in Europe. Through a series of gatherings, and a new online resource, Social Innovation Europe will: connect projects and people who can share experiences and learn from each other; develop an easily accessible resource bank - so you can find about other projects, organisations and ways of working; develop a resource bank of up to date policies at local and national levels and provide information on funding opportunities; facilitate new relationships between civil society, governments, public sector institutions and relevant private sector bodies develop concrete recommendations in financing and in upscaling/mainstreaming of social innovation in Europe Download the conference report.
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    Social Innovation goes mainstream in Europe as European Union launches SI Europe March 2011 conference with presentations by Geoff Mulgan, Vickie Cammack of Tyze, many others including José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission. His speech included: SPEECH/11/190 José Manuel Durão Barroso President of the European Commission Europe leading social innovation Social Innovation Europe initiative Brussels, 17 March 2011 Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be here and see all of you around this very important issue - how to pursue our dialogue on social innovation. I would like to thank Geoff Mulgan and Diogo Vasconcelos for their kind invitation and also to congratulate them together with Louise Pulford for having won the call to set up the pilot initiative "Social innovation Europe". I also would like to thank DG enterprise for having organised this launch event today. As you know the Commission is fully involved. Lázsló Andor was with you yesterday. Máire Geoghegan-Quinn will be with you today, so this idea of innovation is indeed a major issue for the Commission I am proud to lead. Europe has a long and strong tradition of social innovation: from the workplace to hospices, and from the cooperative movement to microfinance. We have always been a continent of creative social entrepreneurs who have designed systems to enhance education, health, social inclusion and the well-being of citizens. By nature social innovation is an ever-evolving field to keep pace with fast-changing challenges in society. But what concretely do we mean by social innovation? I think it is important to recognise that this concept is not yet fully accepted in the political debate. I think social innovation is about meeting the unmet social needs and improving social outcomes. It is about tapping into the creativity of charities, associations and social entrepreneurs to find new ways of meeting pressing social needs, which are not adequately met
Nabeel Ahmed

Explaining the Long-term Single Bottom Line (June 24, 2011) | Opinion Blog | Stanford S... - 0 views

  • As the United Nations Global Compact and other development organizations have recognized, big companies can play a pivotal role in raising living standards around the world. Given that their largest shareholders often expect these companies to generate the highest possible rates of return, what’s the best way for them to benefit society as well? Our new working paper offers an answer that may seem counterintuitive at first: Publicly owned companies will be most effective in creating social benefit when they 1) plan for a long time horizon and 2) focus on a single bottom line. The long time horizon is the key here, since several years may pass before the effects of social initiatives feed back into profits. But we’ve found that they do feed back in so many important ways that profit-maximizing companies have an obligation to take investments in social initiatives seriously.
  • One might also argue that double- and triple-bottom lines help to promote transparency and accountability for social benefits, especially in emerging economies. Yet investments that satisfy double- and triple-bottom lines in the short term may not be built for long-term sustainability. Moreover, evaluating and reporting social investments with the same criteria as other investments offers a kind of transparency that we think shareholders will value in any economy.  For most large public companies, we believe that targeting the long-term single bottom line offers clear benefits for executives, shareholders, and, most importantly, for society as a whole.
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