SIL

Applied research and policy analysis

Innovation Labs - “Places” to create, test and apply new tools, methods, practices and ideas

Promotion of social innovation

• Good timing – economic crisis, new concepts of cooperation (labs, discussion cafes, incubators for entrepreneurs, networking through social media)

• Open road for mapping and promoting SI – SIL is a pioneer in this area

• SI events are popping up around the region

• People are talking about it and area intrigued

• Croatia entering EU within a year from today – building a road for other countries

• Need for capacity building in SI on all levels

Social Innovation in the Western Balkans: Challenges and Outlooks

Social Innovation Assembly,

Mirna Karzen, Social Innovation Lab (SIL)

Amsterdam, November 26-27, 2013

About us

SIL is a regional hybrid organisation working in the area of social innovation in the Western Balkans

It is a platform where knowledge, ideas and practices meet to find solutions for development challenges in the regional socio-economic context.

Why SIL

What is social innovation

SIL was established in January 2011 as a response to the

following needs:

• Social innovation includes new strategies, concepts, ideas, processes, services, targets, business models, tools and methodologies or a combination of all that meet social needs.

• It is also a change in the relationship between service providers and users, public authorities and other stakeholders and between human and physical capital.

Planned activities

Technical

Assistance

• Current methodologies, concepts and practices for socio-economic development have struggled to achieve real results and benefits for targeted groups. They generally have failed in the most important goal - improvement in the quality of daily life.

• There is a need for re-examination from different perspectives, as well as for the creation and implementation of new practices, (use of innovative technological and scientific as well as business model methods).

Education, Training, Lifelong Learning

• Regional networks exist but are not yet functioning for broader development benefits.

• Increase awareness and implementation of social innovation

• Provide policy recommendations to decision-makers on innovative processes, methodologies, and solutions

What do we want

to achieve

research and

policy analysis

testing tools and

methodologies

• Create and promote new or improved tools, concepts and ideas for socio-economic challenges

• Promote new models of cross-cutting partnerships

partnerships

knowledge

skills

Why are we different?

SIL structure in brief

context

people

SIL

Who are we

• Co-founders : Karzen i Karzen l.l.c., Mirna Karzen (Croatia), Bizz l.l.c., Aleksandra Vladisavljević (Serbia) and NGO Deside, Afërdita Haxhijaha Imeri (Macedonia)
• Regional Advisory Board - planning and advise on priorities, issues, innovative solutions, tools and methodologies (15 members from 7 countries in SEE)
• International Advisory Board – experts from EU, USA, Australia, Canada etc.
• LAB members – partner organizations, including think- tank organizations, NGO’s, businesses, regional development agencies, institutes, universities etc. from the region and international
• Regional fellows (a pool of researchers from different universities and institutes)

universities

and

think tanks

private sector

civil society organizations

SIL in brief

experts

lab

members

cofounders

Challenges in WB

Where do we work

• Nascent concept

• Lack of cooperation among different sectors

• Lack of understanding about what SI really is and how can it help make change

• Lack of documented examples

• People take your ideas and do not involve you or give you credit for it – ethics issues

• Difficulty to network (much easier outside of the region)

network

of social innovators

regional

board

change

Croatia

for effective

and sustainable policies & actions to regional development challenges

Serbia

Bosnia and

Herzegovina

Montenegro

Kosovo

Macedonia

Albania

Outcomes

“Others solve short term problems, we create long term solutions”