Andrew Wolk

What’s hot in New Orleans?

Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 in Public Innovation, Role of Government, Social Innovation

No, it’s not just that the Saints are going to the Super Bowl − it’s Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu’s candidacy for the mayor of New Orleans.

This Saturday’s election in New Orleans features the latest in a string of campaigns in which a candidate’s core messages include social innovation or civic engagement. Lt. Gov. Landrieu, for whom this is a third attempt at New Orleans’ top spot, established Louisiana’s Office of Social Entrepreneurship – the first such office in the nation. When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck, they revealed the existence of successful approaches that that people of Louisiana had already been testing, as well as a need to bring successful models from elsewhere to fill in gaps. The lieutenant governor realized, however, that there was currently no good way for the government to facilitate the efficient spread of these ideas, efforts, and resources. Having the foresight to see that government could play a major role in effectively channeling these efforts and giving social entrepreneurs the skills they needed to give their ideas the best chance at having significant impact, the lieutenant governor founded the Office – and it has served as an example to many similar efforts around the country as more and more officials realize their own potential to facilitate the spread of enduring social impact. To learn more about the lt. governor’s social innovation agenda in Louisiana, you can watch him speak about the work at an event at the Aspen Institute and listen to a discussion between the two of us at the 2009 Social Enterprise Summit.

But Mitch Landrieu is not the only one who has put social innovation front and center. Paul Thissen, a state representative who is running for governor of Minnesota, has just introduced legislation that supports “innovation and multi-sector collaboration,” potentially opening new doors for cross-sector partnerships to accelerate social problem solving in that state. Alan Khazei, who ran for the senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts, ran on the platform of “Big Citizenship” and was significantly buoyed by supporters of his work at City Year and the example it has set for national service. And Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello has been recognized for his focus on social entrepreneurship and lists “service” squarely on his Issues and Legislation page.

I’ve been excited to notice that this message is being repeated more and more frequently as many of us work together to spread a social innovation agenda across sectors and social issues. Candidates are beginning to use it as a differentiating message that has the potential to cut through the clutter and win elections because they know that citizens are disillusioned by the gridlock and stagnation they are used to seeing at all levels of government. As candidates search for ways to resonate with voters that are practical and solution-oriented, they increasingly see social innovation as part of that story.

Tags: alan khazei, louisiana, massachusetts, minnesota, mitch landrieu, new orleans, paul thissen, tom perriello, virginia