Andrew Wolk

Around the World Part II: Citizens & Communities

Posted on 20. Jul, 2009 in Role of Government, Social Innovation

I am leaving Portugal with great inspiration and practical knowledge about how to further advance a social innovation agenda in the United States.

Friday, I sat on a panel with Christian Bason from MindLab in Denmark, who has been leading a citizen-based agenda for the Danish government for over eight years – and there is much we can learn from him. In his presentation, Christian put forth that 50% of Denmark’s GDP is from the government. The comparable statistic in the United States is approximately 37% (not including the nonprofit sector that often works on behalf of government). Recession or not, he argues, we must strive to make the best use of those resources, and ‘engaging citizens in solutions’ can help maximize those resources. As social problems arise, we cannot rely on raising that government percentage. Instead, we must rely on citizen-based innovation.

The other interesting theme that began to emerge throughout the Portugal convening was to bring forth a greater emphasis on place-based change – where communities engage in their own future. (Certainly there is some of this in the Harlem Children’s Zone model.) Though it remains to be seen how easily a place-based change model can spread, there is something compelling about attempting to develop the “technology” that would allow communities to engage in their own solutions as a matter of our everyday lives. Within each community is a large set of untapped resources in people, space, and money – if it can be unleashed. This begins to crystallize for me as I consider how the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation might create synergy among its focus areas of service, new media, and public-private partnerships. Such an approach advances a broader way of thinking beyond just finding what works and moving toward institutionalizing the ability to innovate as new issues arise within a community.

Tags: global, harlem children's zone, mindlab, office of social innovation, portugal, white house