Social Innovation

Living Guide to Social Innovation Labs

MaRS Solutions Lab

A living compilation of social innovation lab theory, templates, and tools to help address complex system problems and design a social innovation lab. This web-based resource includes sections Seeing, Doing, and Being, each with links to additional guidance, tools, and videos.

Creating City Portraits: A methodological guide from The Thriving Cities Initiative

Doughnut Economics Action Lab

Biomimicry 3.8

C40 Cities

Circle Economy

KR Foundation

Creating City Portraits is a methodological guide for downscaling the Doughnut, and Doughnut Economics (based on the book and model of the same name), to the city and turning it into a tool for transformative action. This guide describes the methodology and introduces principles to consider at the city level as well as the interconnections between different scales, from household to global, to transform a city to a thriving and also ecologically and socially responsible one. The guide focuses on Amsterdam as an example and covers how the model translates into targets and performance indicators.

Challenge-led system mapping, A knowledge management approach

EIT Climate-KIC

The handbook follows a co-design logic in terms of process, principles and practical tools to support practitioners in the design and implementation of system mapping processes by highlighting the knowledge management component. This resource provides rationale and guidance on the challenge-led system mapping approach, including facilitation guidance for running mapping workshops.
This resource helps mapping practitioners:
• visualise the diversity of innovation projects as a manageable set of clusters;
• mediate and facilitate a dialogue on priority setting and opportunities for innovation amongst multiple stakeholders;
• identify priorities for financial and political support;
• replicate projects in new contexts or connect them with other innovation initiatives;
• embed projects in a wider system to then scale up and foster transformation;
• create a space protected from external pressures and biases
The resource includes tips and tricks as well as examples of how this method has been used in practice.

Sustainable Livelihoods Approach: A Toolkit for Wales

Oxfam

The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) is a method of analysing and changing the lives of people experiencing poverty and disadvantage. It is a participatory approach based on the recognition that all people have abilities and assets that can be developed to help them improve their lives.
The SLA Toolkit For Wales provides practical tools to help people with participatory community development. The toolkit describes what the SLA approach is and how it can be used. The appendices then contain all the specific tools for undertaking SLA work, as well as a range of monitoring templates that can be used to track an individual or family progress using the approach.

We Rise Toolkit

The Partnerships Analysis Tool

VicHealth

The resource was designed to help organisations: develop a clearer understanding of the range of purposes of collaborations, reflect on the partnerships they have established, and focus on ways to strengthen new and existing partnerships by engaging in discussion about issues and ways forward. The resource contains guidance as well as an interactive partnership assessment tool.
Although it was created with the health sector in mind, it is relevant for other sectors as well.
For innovation projects, Part 2: Choosing Partners may be problematic to assess since partners, approaches, and core business may be unknown.