Charles Leadbeater

Learning from the Extremes:Strategies for radical social innovation

Charles Leadbeater, Social Innovation Slut

A guide to the world in four crude diagrams

Huge challenges and unmet needs

But our preferred means: human scale

Learning from the Extremes:

where need is greatest and resources least there’s radical innovation

Diagram One: The Innovation Grid

Sustaining

Disruptive

OutsideInside

Sustaining

Disruptive

OutsideInside

Same goal and same but improved means

Teach First

City Year

Sustaining

Disruptive

OutsideInside

Revised goals, different institutional means

Ada’s School

Big Picture Schools

High Tech High

Sustaining

Disruptive

OutsideInside

Same goals different mix of means

Friendship

Harlem Children’s Zone

Pratham

Sustaining

Disruptive

OutsideInside

Different goals allow very different means

Barefoot College

Rubanisation

We need a mix of all four

Sometimes they conflict

Criminal Justice

Sustaining

Disruptive

OutsideInside

Better prisons

Learning prisons

Singaporevocational

rehabilitation

Relationalrestorative

justice

Death and Dying

Sustaining

Disruptive

OutsideInside

Better hospitalsPalliative Care

Maggie’s CentresHospices

Hospice @ Home

Kerala San Sebastian

Transformation : reframing challenges and resources is political, requires advocacy, communication and mobilisation

How is the mobile and the web changing social innovation?

Diagram Two: How we talk and engage

Low Volume

High Volume

High Engage

Low Engage

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Traditional politicsMass marketing Industrial media

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Detached elites

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

French wine

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Australian wine

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Populist elites

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Fox News + Talk Radio +

Tea Party

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

CelebrityCharisma

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

CelebrityCharisma

Crisis

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Social mediaMumsNet

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Networked models:Mothers2Mothers

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Niranjan: half of Sri Lankans have mobile phones

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Socially isolated anddisconnected

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Silence

Chanting

Buzz

Lecture

Changing communications alters how we innovate

Diagram Three: Mass Innovation

Many contributors

Few contributors

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

BespokeNiche

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

MassScale

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Tim Berners Lee

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Traditional policymaking

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Nudge: liberal paternalism

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Design thinking for social problems?

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Corporate open innovation

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

CommunityOpen Source

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Massmicro-credit

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Anab: city = space for collective

imagination

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

BespokeNiche

MassScale

Corporate open innovation

CommunityOpen Source

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

Community Social Entrepreneurs

Scaling social technologies

Social innovation movements

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

ScaleSpread

Stay small

All of that has an impact on how social change comes about

Diagram Four: The Logic of Social Change

Big Impact

Small Impact

Small stuff

Big Stuff

Small stuff

Big Stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Small stuff

Big Stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Everyday life

Small stuff

Big Stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Social innovation means creating new

ways to live

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

All innovation ends here: make the new

normal

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Government IT programmes

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Physical regeneration

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Legacy public services: families in crisis,

hospital at end of life

Big Impact

Small Impact

Infrastructure platforms for mass

engagement: the post

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Chris Drew’s huge energy positive

buildings

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Gorker: Bilbao Guggenheim

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

BilbaoGuggenheim

Copies of Bilbao

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Word of mouthViral change

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

PiggybackConnect small

packets

Small stuff

Big stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

ModularRubanisation

Small stuff

Big stuff

Small stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Florida’sChristian Taliban

Big stuff

The Four Diagrams

Four strategies for social innovation

High Engage

Low Engage

Low Volume

High Volume

Silence

Chanting

Buzz

Lecture

Few Benefit

Many benefit

Many contributors

Few contributors

BespokeNiche

Elite policymakingMass scale

Corporate open innovation

CommunityOpen Source

Small stuff

Big Impact

Small Impact

Viral, modular, people centric

Platforms for high engagement

Ineffective high cost systems

Everyday life

Big stuff

The lessons for transformational social innovation:

Transformational social innovation is:

highly engaged but often low volume

Transformational social innovation is:

increasingly many to many

Transformational social innovation:

seeks big impacts from small stuff

Transformational social innovation:

mixture of the very old and new

Transformational social innovation:

needs a different economics of value and ownership to make these modular, human, “with” systems work

And don’t forget, it’s always about power