Platform for Social Innovation

The establishment of the Social Innovation Platform is intended to provide an initial basis for an essential contribution to comprehensively informing, networking and empowering social innovators, public and private supporters and representatives from academia about the respective current status in the topic area of social innovations. Through extensive research, collection and processing of information on a digital platform, we want to create a basis for transparency for the various stakeholders of the ecosystem of social innovations and give them a sound basis for their own actions. Building on this or complementing and deepening the first networking of the various players should be prepared. In this way, a basis is to be created through (curated) digital offerings, on the basis of which the framework conditions for the development and dissemination of social innovations can be improved in order to contribute to a comprehensive and well-functioning ecosystem for social innovations in Germany.

• Social Impact (Coordination)
• SEND
• TU Dortmund University (Department of Social Sciences, Social Research Center)

Inform

• Research, collection and preparation of funding, financing and support opportunities as well as various tools, e.g. for impact measurement, - with the aim of providing information for social innovators.
• Research and provision of information for public and private supporters, especially regarding best practices in the field of funding opportunities for social innovations.
• Research and provision of an information highlight for scientists on current research results, projects and events, published on the platform's website. This publication would be compatible with monthly highlights.
• Explorative research of current university activities in the field of social innovation to identify potential network members for a possible university network in the field of social innovation, furthermore foundation of an overview of activities for a possible analysis and preparation following the project duration for the target group of universities and the entire ecosystem of social innovation.

Networking

• Identify and establish an advisory board to fund/support social innovation.
• Approach to build a community of innovator:s, public and private supporters, and higher education actors.
• Basic exploration of possibilities for the establishment of a university network, based on existing networks and by approaching first potential network partners. On this basis, the establishment of a university network in the field of social innovation is possible in perspective. In the long term, such a network could also provide a central instrument for empowering new university actors in the field of social innovation.

Empower

• Overview of impact measurement tools on the digital platform.
• First overview of best practices in different fields.
• First overview of current developments in German and international research on social innovation.

Parallel to setting up the digital infrastructure, the Social Research Center team will research and identify higher education institutions that are already active in the field of social innovation in research and teaching as well as in transferring and assuming social responsibility. In addition, current developments in international research on social innovation will be monitored and key findings will be prepared for presentation on the website. These include, in particular, publications, research projects and conferences.