ubus gmbh documentation social innovation conference
DESCRIPTION
http://berlin-transfer.net/attachments/article/842/ubus_GmbH_Documentation_Social_Innovation_Conference.pdfTRANSCRIPT
“Social Innovation in the Metropolitan Regions of Vienna,
Stockholm and Berlin: Insights and Outlook”
Berlin, June 10th
u.bus - Regional Development and European Project Management - Gormannstr. 14 -
10119 Berlin - phone +49 30 61629640 - fax +49 30 61629643
www.berlin-transfer.net - www.ubus.net
Editor of this report: Nina Roßmann
Table of Content Editorial ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Keynotes Speeches .................................................................................................................................. 3
Social Innovation and the Labour Market (Peter Ramsden) ............................................................... 3
The European Commission’s perspective (Aurelio Fernández López) ................................................. 8
Project Presentations during our discussion rounds ............................................................................. 12
Creation of Social Innovation ............................................................................................................ 12
Graefewirtschaft e.V. ..................................................................................................................... 12
RUFFBOARDS ................................................................................................................................. 13
Social Impact GmbH ...................................................................................................................... 14
Networking Europe ........................................................................................................................ 15
abz*kompetent und gesund (abz*austria) .................................................................................... 16
Internet café ZwischenSchritt (Samariterbund Austria) ................................................................ 17
Implementation of Social Innovation ................................................................................................ 18
Vienna’s Vocational Training Guarantee and the project spacelab ............................................... 18
JOBLINGE ....................................................................................................................................... 20
Volkshilfe Österreich: THARA (Verena Fabris und Gordana Djordjevic) ........................................ 21
Transfer of Social Innovation ............................................................................................................. 22
Blixtjobb ......................................................................................................................................... 22
Schülerpaten .................................................................................................................................. 23
Jobbtorg ......................................................................................................................................... 24
Panel Discussion: How do we become social innovators and what is the role of transnational
exchange? .............................................................................................................................................. 25
Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................ 27
Annex: List of Participants ..................................................................................................................... 29
Editorial
Youth and long term unemployment, social exclusion or demographic
change: We are today facing challenges that demand new responses.
The European Commission has made social innovation an essential
ingredient of the new programming period and considers “the
development of new ideas, (products, services and models) to meet
social needs” key to supporting a smart, sustainable and inclusive
growth in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy. Such social innovation can “create new social
relationships or collaborations [which are] not only good for society but also enhance individuals’
capacity to act.”1
Staffan Carlsson, Swedish Ambassador to Germany, emphasised in his welcome address that the
different European countries have different experiences in tackling societal challenges deriving from
the crisis. This provides the opportunity to “learn from each other”, as Mr. Carlsson invited the
audience to do in his welcome address. This was the aim of our conference: Often, innovation arises
from the melting of different ideas and perspectives. We wanted to build on this potential, bringing
together ideas from three different cities and discuss these with the different stakeholders involved
from the public and private sector as well as civil society. Also Boris Velter, State Secretary at the
Berlin Senate Department for Labour, Integration and Women’s Affairs highlighted the importance
of transnational exchange in tackling the challenges of metropolitan areas: Problems like youth
unemployment or social exclusion often manifest themselves and concentrate in big cities. On the
other hand, the strong interconnection in cities like Stockholm, Vienna and Berlin also provides a
favourable environment for social innovation, which Mr. Velter called “a catalyst for development”.
Our two keynote speakers, Peter Ramsden from URBACT and Freiss Ltd and Aurelio Fernández López
from the General Directorate for Employment gave insights into the scope and strategic embedding
of social innovation. In the subsequent discussion rounds, 12 projects from the three different
regions presented their work. From a big labour market administration which has made social
innovation an integral part of its way of working to small social enterprises exploring new ways of
socially responsible production and service delivery, they reflected the broad range of social
innovation.
In this documentation we have assembled the most important insights from our conference and
compiled a collection of innovative practice from the three cities. We hope that you enjoy reading it
and receive one or more ideas and inspirations for your work.
Our special thanks go to the Swedish Embassy and the Berlin Senate Department of Labour,
Integration and Women’s Affairs and all the contributors of our conference who were ready to share
their knowledge and experience.
Best regards,
Klaus-Dieter Paul, Managing Director, u.bus GmbH
1 EU Guide to Social Innovation, http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/newsroom/detail.cfm?LAN=DE&id=597&lang=de
Keynotes Speeches
Social Innovation and the Labour Market (Peter Ramsden)
Peter Ramsden is a Pole Manager for the EU URBACT programme helping cities to exchange and learn from good practices, as well as managing director of the micro-consultancy Freiss ltd, also focusing on social innovation and local development. He has worked in the European Commission, in the Regional Development Agency movement, in the public and private sectors and various think tanks. He co-wrote the EU Guide to Social Innovation2 and the guidance for Community-Led Local Development CLLD3 in Europe and was the lead author of the OECD paper “Innovative Financing and Delivery Mechanisms for Getting the Unemployed into Work”4.
Peter Ramsden gave an overview on the process and scope of social innovation. He pointed out the essential role of the public sector and emphasised the need to involve all the stakeholders – above all the target group – and to focus on results. Part of his presentation also focused on the chances of innovative financing.
He started his presentation with a photo of the first job center or „Labour Exchange“ set up by Winston Churchill in 1909. Since then, much has changed: flexibility increases at the expense of security, the “necessity entrepreneur” is by now a common phenomenon and some make ends meet only by patching a portfolio of different jobs and projects, especially in the creative sector, and also many university graduates are unemployed.
However, there are certain groups who are disproportionally hit by these labour market problems: Migrants, lone parents, especially single mothers, young people and the disabled are struggling especially hard to gain a foothold in the labour market. Social innovation is a method to tackle these challenges to be applied now. For as it is now “the problems are still innovating faster than the solutions“, as Peter Ramsden put it, who wishes we would return to the stream of ambition and optimism we had in the post war 1940s to 1960s when the welfare state was invented. It now has to be re-invented and social innovation is a part of this.
What is social innovation?
Social innovations are new ideas (products, services and models) that simultaneously meet social needs (more effectively than alternatives) and create new social relationships and collaborations. However, social innovations also need to be “innovations that are not only good for society but also enhance the individual’s capacity to act“ – which is something, the labour market policy of the past has been failing at. Hence, the challenge now lies in empowering the users of social services. Addressing the audience, he emphasized that “all of you are social innovators” and that innovation is “not just a thing for google and facebook.” Instead, “it can be a deliberate thing to do when people decide to innovate.”
2
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/presenta/social_innovation/social_innovation_2013.pdf 3 http://www.aeidl.eu/en/news/latest-news/822-guide-du-clld-pour-les-acteurs-locaux.html
4 http://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/New%20financial%20approaches%20FINAL.pdf
Social entrepreneurship plays an important role as social enterprises can be more nimble than the public sector and make change happen. Still, social innovation is not all about social entrepreneurship. It is the public sector that “holds the ring” and enables social innovation by creating the space in which it can happen.
The role of the Public Sector
What is needed therefore is a dynamic transformation in how the Public Sector works. Instead of
merely managing human resources, public authorities should be shifting to building capacity for
innovation. What is needed is a shift from random innovation to a conscious and systematic approach
to public sector renewal. Along the whole chain of governance, from the EU level to municipalities,
authorities need to understand what social innovation is and how they can contribute to it. Instead of
running tasks and projects they should be conductors “orchestrating processes” of co-creation as
they are the ones who can promote social innovation in a systematic manner across and beyond the
public sector.
Peter Ramsden led the audience through the different stages of creating and scaling innovation: After
the idea creation in the prototyping phase, it is important to adopt a design thinking process and
adjust an idea until it really works. If necessary, things have to be tried out 20 times before they are
ready to be sustained. Especially in the prototyping phase, mutual learning is important. Accordingly,
Peter Ramsden pleaded for the creation of networks and “a free movement of ideas” across Europe.
Transparency is key to achieve the transfer of ideas: In order to spread a good idea it needs to be
known. Open source is important to foster innovation – a precondition that is especially relevant in
social economy running on public sector money.
He indicated that scaling can be hugely controversial as not
every idea can be implemented at a larger scale. Sometimes
spreading might be more appropriate. Systemic change might
not be the answer to every question. Sometimes, gradual
incrementalism is the road to take. “Tweaking” or improving
many small things at various points in the sense of the marginal
gains theory can make the system a little bit better.
Tailored solutions
Tailored, more personalised solutions are needed. Peter Ramsden emphasised the need to break the
supplier market, which many labour market services are. The first step to innovate is to know what
the clients need: Users are key sources of information to make innovation happen. Especially with
groups far away from the labour market, however, it is not always easy to assess what their needs
are. This is where innovators need to think like product designers developing tailored solutions
adapted to local labour markets.
To illuminate how the rules of product design can be applied to service design Mr. Ramsden gave the
example of the Copenhagen youth jobcenter. It was found that the jobcenter’s young customers
disengaged from the services and repeatedly missed appointments. To understand why these young
people were not satisfied with the services provided, the jobcenter engaged anthropologists who
spent time with the young people and developed ideas how the jobcenter could become more
welcoming. They found that the jobcenter was perceived as “unfriendly” with too much bureaucracy
and that the language used was confusing to the young people. The result of the anthropologists’
findings was the introduction of a host welcoming the young people into the jobcenter and giving
them directions and information on where to turn to, as well as information leaflets, posters and
more visual “maps” guiding the people through the different services.
The Copenhagen jobcenter’s approach shows how innovation develops in a co-production process –
which in this case means listening to the customers of services and tapping into the knowledge of the
users of a specific service. Doing so, services can be designed and delivered that meet users’ needs
more effectively. However, such a co-production requires trust, which, in the case of the Copenhagen
young unemployed, first needed to be established through a neutral third party, i.e. the
anthropologists5.
Innovative products in labour market services could include apps indicating new job openings or an
app to cancel appointments. If people do not show up for job center appointments for whatever
personal reasons they may have, time and resources are wasted (and job center customers usually be
punished for this). If there were an app to cancel missed appointments, the job center customers’
situations could be better taken into consideration and freed capacities used more effectively.
Financing social innovation
After explaining pre-conditions and different ways of social innovation, Peter Ramsden also gave a
brief overview on ways of financing social innovation:
micro finance, micro credit and peer-to-peer lending (e.g. Kiva): Kiva distributes money lent
by private lenders to a particular cause promoted by people without access to banking
institutions via microfinance institutions on five continents.
diaspora finance: The money migrants send back to development countries has become
more important than overall development aid.
Alternative currencies – time banks, air miles, LETS local exchange trading systems, point
money, internet money. Alternative currencies can also create social capital. Time banks,
which can help people know each other and share different tasks, have proved to be very
important in the context of health and care for the elderly. They can reactivate elderly people
and contribute to foster active aging where people risk of becoming too passive. Alternative
currencies, especially LETS schemes might also help those who have been away from the
labour market in regaining confidence by contributing to local trade on a small scale.
55More on the Copenhagen youth job center’s approach:
http://www.philasocialinnovations.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=548:ge
nerating-innovation-listening-involving-and-co-producing-with-unusual-suspects&catid=21:featured-
social-innovations&Itemid=35
Impact investing and Social Impact Bonds6: Impact investing describes socially responsible
investment, in which the social gain is more important than the financial. The aim is the
biggest possible societal benefit while ensuring asset preservation or even a moderate
financial return. Social Impact Bonds (also known as “Pay For Success bonds”) are a public
private financial instrument, in which bond holders (private investors) get a return – that is
are paid back by the state – only if they achieve target social impacts. In such a multi-
stakeholder approach, social service providers agree to achieve measurable social impact.
The intervention is financed by private investment capital. If the desired impact is achieved,
the private investors are paid back not by the social service provider but the state. As an
example, Peter Ramsden referred to the Peterborough Prison Bond scheme which aimed to
reduce recidivism of short term inmates which lies at 70%. Reduction needs to be by 7.5%
p.a. over 5 years to achieve return.
Crowd funding: On crowdfunding platforms like kickstarter money is collected through
individual contributors who do not receive any returns but just want to support a certain
project. Crowdfunding is usually seen as a new concept and has undoubtedly received a
major boost through internet platforms like kickstart or indiego but, as Peter Ramsden
pointed out, the concept is actually quite old: An early crowdfunding project is the Statue of
Liberty: In 1884, the Americans had to build a pedestal to accommodate the gift of the
French but initially couldn’t collect enough money for the construction. Only through a
crowdfunding campaign gathering 100,000 dollars through micro donations of mostly less
than a dollar could the Statue be finally installed. Peter Ramsden estimates the impact
crowdfunding can have on the creative sector as very important. Regarding fighting social
exclusion and poverty, however, he is “not convinced”.
Challenges (e.g. Bloomberg challenge): In challenges ideas for solving local problems may be
awarded. For creating apps for example hackathons have proved to be very efficient.
Summarising the new financial models, Mr. Ramsden called the innovation of financing social services
a major area, where we are only at the edges. However, finance is also “where the dragons lie”: Many
of the financing options are quite risky and often bring only mixed results as for example the ERDF
initiative JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas).
Social Impact Bonds are currently seen as a silver bullet but might turn out to be a Faustian Pact as
they are very complex and might lack transparency and accountability. Mr. Ramsden’s advice
therefore is to test and pilot them first and to closely examine the results based on control groups.
For more on innovative financing of social innovation please refer to Mr. Ramsden paper for the
OECD “Innovative Financing and Delivery Mechanisms for Getting the Unemployed into Work”:
http://www.oecd.org/site/leedforumsite/publications/FPLD-handbook7.pdf
6 On SIBs in Germany: http://www.betterplace-lab.org/de/blog/erster-social-impact-bond-in-
deutschland
Conclusion
Summing up his presentation, Peter Ramsden pointed out that for really achieving systemic change
one has to:
reframe the question
move away from “end of the pipe” solutions and
focus on results
Most approaches in the labour market are what Peter Ramsden refers to “end of the pipe solutions”:
Instead of fixing the problem many labour market projects are just cleaning up the mess of problems
that happened years earlier when someone didn’t get proper education in school, got into drugs or in
short, when something in some person’s live went wrong that we haven’t been able to fix. This is
what he means with “reframing the question”, i.e. getting away from solving “end of the pipe”
problems and improving what gets into the pipe.
Mr. Ramsden pointed out that most of the examples mentioned so far are “tweaks”, little
adjustments making the system a little bit better in the sense of the marginal gains idea that changing
many small things in different places can have an impact.
However, he suggested that sometimes it is the system itself that has needs re-thinking. One way of
doing this is to look at results but this is also where “the dragons lie”. One should acknowledge when
the system is not working. For example is despite multiple interventions no progress is made as in the
case of a family in Swinden: Mr. Ramsden showed a slide with a photo of a long wall with many post-
its, each post-it representing a local authority or other public agency intervention with a single family
over years. The cost of this family for the public purse is 250 000 EUR per year and despite all these
interventions, the well-being of this family has now improved.
For Peter Ramsden, one solution lies in bringing together results and finance. As it is now, the
financial system does not reward the people who actually make the change. In general, investment
for social interventions (like the nursery provision or training schemes) comes from a local authority
but the saving is accrued by the national governments. The problem then arises of how to make this
finance circuit “virtuous”, i.e. rewarding the people who make the change happen, results and
finance flowing together. This is where the above mentioned finance solutions come in. Social
Investment Bonds are one way of doing this as they incentivize positive behavior. But the question,
Mr. Ramsden raises at the end, is if the private sector loop is really needed or if a stronger focus on
results might be enough. Therefore measurement, social experiments with randomised control
groups, value for money and measurement of social returns on investment is key.
Finance, according to Mr. Ramsden, can be part of systemic change but “only if the other cogs are
working as well”. He concluded his speech with a warning on technocratic solutionism. Some systems
fail for the same reason banks have failed: The banking system worked for the bankers, not for us,
and also other systems are at risk of being run by vested interests.
Peter Ramsden’s PowerPoint presentation is available at our website here.
The European Commission’s perspective (Aurelio Fernández López)
Social innovation for more effective social services and evidence based policy making
Aurelio Fernández López is Policy Officer at the European Commission's
DG for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, Unit Social Policies
Innovation and Governance. His previous EU positions include Chairman
of the EU Social Protection Committee and Counselor Coordinator for
Employment and Social Security of the Permanent Representation of
Spain to the EU. Before this, he was Chairman of the United Nations
Commission for Social Development in New York and Adviser of the
Secretary of State for the Social Security Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs in Spain.
In his speech, Aurelio Fernández López gave an outlook on the strategic embedding of social
innovation, highlighting how social innovation can be used as a tool for social policy making at local,
regional, national and European level.
He describes social innovation as a tool to be used in social policy making at all levels in order to
render social policies and services more efficient and effective, mobilise local actors and integrate
various stakeholders – all with the overall objective to find answers to complex social challenges and
reach the targets set in the Strategy Europe 2020. He emphasized the role of public authorities in
achieving greater sustainability and systemic change by scaling up social innovation in cooperation
with partners and stakeholders and highlighted the importance of measuring results in order to
achieve more evidence based and socially more effective policies.
Three Perspectives of Social Innovation
Mr. Fernández López started with describing the current challenges that require a new approach:
Youth and long term unemployment have been rising as have inequality, child poverty and
homelessness. The European Commission's response to the crisis are the Employment Package, the
Youth Guarantee and the Social Investment Package – drafted with the overall objective of reaching
the targets of the strategy Europe 2020, that is to lift at least 20 million people out of poverty and
social exclusion by 2020. However, the EU is not making enough progress on this target. To sustain
our social protection systems and to move closer to the Europe 2020 target, national welfare systems
must be modernised. These reforms need to take into account structural trends, such as increased
ageing, changing family structures and changing labour market patterns in the 21st century. To
achieve this, social innovation is needed and should be understood as a tool to be connected to the
different policies.
Social policy innovation therefore means that social innovation is connected to the process of
updating and reforming social and employment policies. Together with the modernisation of
employment and social sector public administrations and services and the support to social
economy and social entrepreneurship7 these are the three perspectives of social innovation.
7 see also Declaration following the conference "Social Entrepreneurs: Have your Say!
The Social Investment Package (SIP)
The Social Investment Package (SIP) gives guidance to Member States on how to render their social
policies more efficient and effective in response to the significant challenges they currently face. It
provides a strategic social investment approach to the modernisation of social policies and the
reforms of social welfare systems. The SIP is an EU level response to counter the increasing inequality
in the EU and the impact of the crisis that led to an increase in social exclusion and poverty. Social
Investment means investing in people’s skills and capacities. It means to address people’s different
needs, develop personalised responses to activate their skills at the different stages of people’s lives
and put a stronger emphasis on prevention. For tackling inequalities and disadvantages early is one of
the best ways to overcome education inequality and help children live up to their full potential.
To find these solutions, social innovation is needed and should be embedded in policy making and
connected to social priorities, such as implementing country specific recommendations (including
through the use of the European Social Fund).
In short, the SIP is an EU level response to:
foster social protection systems that prevent against risks, respond as early as possible and
respond to people's needs throughout their lives
activate and enable benefits and services to support people's inclusion in society and the
labour market
contribute to more effective and efficient spending to ensure adequate and sustainable social
protection
The SIP has a clear focus on social policy innovation: It aims at embedding innovation in evidence-
based policy making (with regard to the transfer and scaling of social innovation) and supporting and
creating an enabling environment for innovators and social entrepreneurs.
What is needed for social innovation and the implementation of the SIP?
Like Peter Ramsden, Mr. Fernández López highlighted the need of offering people tailored benefits
and solutions in order to capacitate them. There’s also a need for joining up quality education,
training, lifelong learning opportunities and job search assistance, along with housing support, health
services and adequate social assistance. Thirdly, public spending can become more effective and
efficient; simplifying benefit administration can save time, money, and make accessing support easier.
Improving the targeting of some benefits and services can also be helpful in ensuring that those most
in need receive adequate support.
A key point, Mr. Fernández López emphasized is the role of public authorities. Only with the
involvement of public authorities can sustainability and systemic change be reached. Other lessons
learned include the need to develop broader partnerships and to adjust methodologies for measuring
social outcomes.
A stronger focus on returns and results is needed to promote evidence based policies and make
public spending more effective. In the Progress axis of the new EaSI programme, social
experimentation is promoted. Using a control group methodology it is tested if a certain project has a
significant impact or not.
The reason behind this is that, as it is put in the EU Guide to Social Innovation,
“what Europe lacks is not only social innovation, but also its scaling-up and capacity to influence the
policy frameworks. On the other end, policy reforms are insufficiently based on evidence as well as
evaluation of their impacts.”
The focus on measurement and results allows to assess what has worked and what has not as a pre-
condition for the transferability and scaling-up of social innovation and evidence based policies. He
also emphasized the importance of supporting and creating an enabling environment for innovators
and social entrepreneurs.
The Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI)
The aim of EaSI is to support Member States with their social policy innovation and reform of social
services and will help them with measuring social outputs. Besides, training and capacity building
activities will be provided.
The umbrella programme combines the three programmes Progress (61% of the budget), EURES
(18% of the budget) as well as a Microfinance and Entrepreneurship axis (21% of the budget).
Progress aims to develop and disseminate analytical knowledge, promote mutual learning and will
also support NGOs while the objective of EURES is to foster a closer cooperation between the EU
Commission and Member States’ public employment services in order to encourage mobility (for
more information see: programme brochure (also available in German and Swedish).
EaSI also provides funding for helping the creation and scaling-up of social enterprises. The Social
Enterprise axis in the EaSI programme will help social enterprises access finance via public and private
bodies which provide loans and other financial instruments to social enterprises. It will not directly
provide loans to social enterprises.
Mr. Fernández López emphasized the role of social entrepreneurs who contribute to widening the
supply of social goods and services and creating inclusive new employment. They also tend to bring
together different actors and adopt participatory organisational forms enhancing the co-production
process.
The European Commission in cooperation with MS will ensure that the programme is consistent with
other Union action such as the European structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) in particular the
ESF. Equally, synergies should be pursued with other research and innovation programmes such as
Horizon 2020.
Social Innovation and the ESF
The scope for innovation has been enhanced for the ESF in the programming period 2014-2020 with
the regulation stipulating that “Member States shall promote social innovation”. Member States are
responsible for identifying the themes for social innovation corresponding to their specific needs in
their Operational Programmes and/or during implementation (Art 9 ESF regulation). Since social
innovation is intended to increase the effectiveness/efficiency of social policies, DG EMPL expects the
regional authorities to select their most pressing social challenges, which should be addressed by the
ESF investment priorities. There is also the possibility of a priority axis devoted to social innovation
and of an increasing of 10% in the co-financing rate.
Conclusion
Mr. Fernández López described social innovation as a tool to be applied to policy themes identified by
Member States. The framework for social innovation is there, now it is the responsibility of the
Member States to implement it part of their reforms in line with the Social investment package.
Special attention should be given to pursue broad partnerships between public authorities, the
private sector and civil society to deliver better results. Social innovation is needed to tackle today's
challenges and sustain our social protection systems. The important thing therefore is to connect
social innovation to all social and employment policies and to focus on results in order to achieve
more evidence based policies and a more systemic implementation of social innovations. Social
innovation should not be seen as a punctual commitment but a systemic task. Therefore public
authorities are needed as they are the ones who can make the change happen and initiate broader
partnerships among the various stakeholders.
Aurelio Fernández López presentation is available at our website here.
Project Presentations during our discussion rounds
The PowerPoint slides of our presenters can be accessed online at: http://berlin-
transfer.net/index.php/de/themen/soziale-innovationen/conference-documentation
Creation of Social Innovation
Graefewirtschaft e.V.
Graefewirtschaft e.V. is a social enterprise creating jobs for
migrants and refugees in the borough of Berlin-Kreuzberg.
Graefewirtschaft runs different businesses:
a restaurant, “die Weltküche”
a catering service
kitchens catering for schools, kindergartens and daycare centres
a canteen kitchen in the Berlin district of Marienfelde
household services and und care for the elderly
The different businesses employ 50 people and produce 90% of Graefewirtschaft’s income. The
remaining 10% come from public funding as currently for the project SoJung in the framework of the
ESF.
Graefewirtschaft was founded in 2009 by long-term unemployed migrants and Germans. Migrants
and asylum seekers are often denied access to the German labour market because of difficulties with
the recognition of qualifications acquired abroad or an unclear residence status. This is the gap where
Graefewirtschaft comes in, empowering migrants and refugees through secure jobs, in which they
can bring in and develop their competences. At the same time, services are created that reflect the
culturally diverse district with the different businesses having been developed based on local needs in
the neighborhood and the skills and capacities of the migrants.
Heike Birkhölzer is Chairperson of Technologie-Netzwerk Berlin e.V.; Director of Graefewirtschaft e.V.
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
RUFFBOARDS
Under the slogan “second chance for people and boards”, the
social start up RUFFBOARDS produces uniquely designed, high-
end longboards by upcycling used snowboards in a highly
integrative production process: Employing ex-offenders in the
manufacturing process, social impact is maximized.
Relapse figures in Austria resemble those in most other countries
with around 40% committing another crime offense; among the 14-17-year-olds this figure is even
higher with close to 70%. The first production round has been produced in cooperation with the
association NEUSTART offering re-socialisation aid to ex-offenders – in the long term, however,
RUFFBOARDS wants to employ the ex-offenders directly.
Combining ecological and social consciousness, Ruffboard found a gap in the market, appealing to the
LOHAs segment (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability). In her presentation, Melanie Ruff describes
RUFFBOARD’s concept but also the obstacles that she and her co-founder Simone Melda had to face
during the prototyping phase. For as Peter Ramsden explained in his keynote address, social
innovators need to be prepared to test and adjust their ideas “20 times if necessary”.
When it was clear that they needed to outsource their production, they decided to add a social
component to their ecological consciousness. The first idea was to foster women in technical work.
Their ideal cooperation partner for this was a production company led by a woman – which they
couldn’t find. Their next choice was to have their longboards produced by a socially disadvantaged
group. The choice fell on former prisoners, who, as explains Melanie, “are probably the
disadvantaged group with the smallest lobby”. Ruffboards first tried to have their boards produced
directly in prison workshops. But the right partner for this could not be found and they had to find a
new solution. The result was that they now produce with ex-offenders in cooperation with NEUSTART,
an organisation with more than 50-year experience with the integration of ex-offenders. However,
the plan is to directly employ more than 50 ex-offenders until 2016.
RUFFBOARDS was among the finalists of the European Social Innovation Competition:
http://socialinnovationcompetition.eu/410/
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
Social Impact GmbH
Nobert Kunz, Managing Director of the Social Impact GmbH, gave a
presentation on how the creation, implementation and scaling up of
innovative ideas can be supported.
Building on networks, crowdfunding and the exchange of ideas and design
thinking processes, Social Impact GmbH provides various support mechanisms
for social entrepreneurs. In the start-up phase, social entrepreneurs are
offered financial consulting and are provided with an idea finding as well as
crowdfunding platform and can be supported in establishing partnerships
with welfare organisations.
To guarantee a lasting impact, coaching is also provided in the stabilising and scaling up phase.
Networking and the sharing of ideas are fostered in co-working labs and special support is offered of
social start-ups in rural areas.
The non-profit Social Impact GmbH was founded in 1994 – under the name of iq consult – as an
organisation for innovative qualification. Since then they have developed products and services that
aim to contribute to ensuring sustainability and social exchange.
Since 2011, Social Impact offers support to social entrepreneurs from the business idea up to the
scaling of successful projects in the framework of the Social Impact programme consisting of:
Social Impact Start: a scholarship programme supporting social entrepreneurs in their
start-up phase (in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Leipzig; in Vienna, Zurich & Munich
hosted by IMPACT HUB
Social Impact Lab: a co-working space providing a platform for social entrpreneurs
consulting & qualification offers, shared services, networking, events and co-working space
(currently Berlin and Hamburg)
Social Impact Consult: consulting on spreading and scaling up social businesses
Social Impact Finance: a crowdfunding platform
Social Impact Net: an online platform with tools to develop a conclusive concept
Social Impact Local; support for projects for regional development in the rural area.
Social impact GmbH offers numerous services (e.g. consulting, co-working and network) in all aspects
of social entrepreneurship, promoting the creation of products or services for disadvantaged groups
(49% of scholarship holders), of empowerment/donation or aid projects (15% of scholarship holders)
or web 2.0 based solutions (36% of scholarship holders).
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
Norbert Kunz, Managing
Director
Networking Europe
Peter Ramsden, in his keynote speech, argued for a “free
movement of ideas”, highlighting the importance of mutual
learning. The aim of the Stockholm based, ESF-funded project
Networking Europe (conducted from March 2012-June 2014 by
the Sensus Study Association, represented by Maria Fladvad)
was exactly this: Innovation not always develops out of
something completely new. Often, new solutions come about
through the melting of different ideas.
The project has built on this potential and aimed to develop various skills through increased
cooperation with other EU Member States, especially those in the Baltic Sea region. A special focus
was on enhancing skills that help creating a more inclusive labour market. To achieve this, networks
were built, in particular around the Baltic Sea region in some of the areas prioritized by the EU
Commission for the upcoming Structural Funds period (2014-2020).
Networking Europe comprised the following networks:
Entrepreneurship and social innovation
Employment and labour mobility
Fight against Poverty and social exclusion
Stockholm Roma Network
The networks aimed to identify and link organizations and already existing networks in the Baltic Sea
region possessing real knowledge in the areas concerned, or alternatively to create new such
networks where they may still be missing. The purpose was to maximize the spread of new
knowledge and expertise, and to lay the groundwork for the launch of fresh projects - all in time for
the above Structural Funds period.
Networking Europe not only connected stakeholders across countries but also across sectors: In the
study visit across the Baltic Sea Regions representatives from municipalities, local and national
authorities took part alongside representatives from NGOs and social businesses.
Networking Europe was financed by the European Social Fund (ESF).
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
abz*kompetent und gesund (abz*austria)
The project abz*kompetent und gesund (translation:
abz*competent and healthy) by abz*austria started in 2011 with
the aim of enhancing the conditions and work satisfaction of
female mobile care workers aged 35 and older.
The care sector is largely female and low paid while requirements
are complex and societal recognition low. Conditions can be
improved and women employed in the mobile care services strengthened only through a joint effort
of the different stakeholders. With abz*kompetent und gesund this is achieved through a close
cooperation with companies in the mobile care sector and the integration of stakeholders in the field
of health, social and employment policies.
The success factor, as Daniela Schallert, Managing Director of abz*austria explains, is to “involve as
many perspectives and actors as possible”. Some of the burdens in the care sector are due to
information, communication and coordination deficits with other relevant systems influencing the
general working conditions. Consequently, the involvement of aspects like preventive health care,
burn out prevention and further education and training is essential. Another important success factor
is the involvement of stakeholders from all the different staff levels and professional backgrounds.
Exchange within and across organisations was proven to be highly appreciated and successful.
A lesson learned from the first project round was for example that impact can be increased by
addressing and empowering employees at lower managerial level as they hold a key position when it
comes to preserving employability and motivation of mobile employees. Another focus of the project
lies on researching and discussing international best practice in human resources and competence
development. abz*kompetent und gesund (abz*competent and healthy) is funded by the ESF
(European Social Fund) and WAFF (Vienna Employment Promotion Fund).
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
Internet café ZwischenSchritt (Samariterbund Austria)
Founded in April 2013, the internet café ZwischenSchritt is a day
centre for formerly homeless persons aiming at closing the digital
gap for the target group and counter exclusion. The project’s
primary target group are formerly homeless people; it does not
matter, however, if they live in one of Vienna’s homeless shelters
or already have their own apartments. ZwischenSchritt is based
on a peer-to-peer approach: The people who run the internet
café are formerly homeless persons themselves.
Claiming different services like benefits or allowances increasingly requires written or online requests.
At the same time, there are fewer social facilities which can take over this task for formerly homeless
people. This is where ZwischenSchritt comes in, empowering the target group in several ways, as
explained Gertrud Unterasinger, responsible for the management of the internet café
ZwischenSchritt: They broaden their computer and online skills and – especially the team members,
i.e. those formerly homeless persons who teach the internet skills – learn how to re-integrate into a
regular daily structure and acquire and develop competences. As a consequence, they might be able
to gain a foothold on the first or second labour market – allowing for a fluctuation that lets one of the
internet café’s visitors take over their role as team member. In this way, people who struggle with
their everyday life receive help for self-help as they recognise that they can take charge of their lives
again.
ZwischenSchritt was nominated for the SozialMarie prize in 2014.
Gertrud Unterasinger
picture credit: www.samariterbund.net
Implementation of Social Innovation
Vienna’s Vocational Training Guarantee and the project spacelab
Austria is a pioneer in tackling youth unemployment: Like
Finland, it already has adopted a vocational training guarantee
that serves as a model for the European wide Youth Guarantee.
Young people in Austria who cannot find a regular job or
vocational training offer within three months can start
vocational training in state funded training workshops – and
later change to vocational training in companies if possible.
Vienna has its own Vocational Training Guarantee, which puts special emphasis on a cooperative
strategy providing an example of how the problem of youth unemployment can be tackled in a joint
effort by the different actors involved from schools, public authorities and social partners to the
Public Employment Service. In order to guarantee a smooth collaboration between the different
stakeholders, a coordination unit was set up. For, as explains Dr. Eva Krennbauer, responsible for
municipal labour market policy at waff (Vienna Employment Promotion Fund) and member of the
coordination unit, conflicts of interests or systems often reveal themselves through quarrels on the
project level. These disagreements are solved by the steering group who tries to establish if the
problem lies on the concept, target or also system level and to find solutions in the best interest of
the target group. This coordinated approach, which is top-down as well as bottom-up, allows to
detect “system errors” and to evolve the system at all levels – a “laborious path”, according to Dr. Eva
Krennbauer, which, however “very well makes sense”.
Vienna's Vocational Training Guarantee, launched in 2010 provides an extensive offer for young
people on Vienna's labour market aiming at training and qualifying young people beyond compulsory
school level. The target group includes all young people in Vienna between 14/15 (when they
complete compulsory school, i. e. grade 9) and 21 (completed 20th year of age). as a model for the
European Youth guarantee
For further information on Vienna’s Vocational Training Guarantee please refer to:
http://www.waff.at/html/en/index.aspx?page_url=Wiener_Ausbildungsgarantie&mid=369
The project spacelab
The main objective of spacelab is to create professional perspectives for young people. A central part
of the project is open youth work where social workers reach out for the youth in public places. The
project, which was awarded the Austrian ESF innovation award in 2013, shows convincing results with
36% of the participants having started a scholar career, an apprenticeship, other qualification
programmes or got employed in 2013. 95% of the young people who have participated in the project
for more than three months stated that they got a vocational perspective.
In “spacelab” different institutions that provide training, information and advice and/or support for
young people work together under a cooperative strategy. Namely, these are: the Vienna Board of
Education, the Public Employment Service Vienna, the Federal Social Welfare Department for Vienna,
the Vienna Employment Promotion Fund, the MA 13 – Education and extracurricular youth support,
and the social partners.
Activation, career orientation, planning the future: spacelab – production school Vienna (PS Wien),
spacelab for short, constitutes a modular offer for youth and young adults aged 15 to 25, who are not
in education, employment or training (NEET). Based on many years of experience in this field, the
project represents a low-threshold institution within the framework of Vienna‘s Vocational Training
Guarantee and has several locations in Vienna.
The project is implemented in a modular approach:
open youth work: young people are contacted by youth workers in public places, shopping
malls or parks
‘developing perspectives’: with coaches young people develop plans for their future
Daily training: in the different spacelabs (environment, creative and spacelab girls); partici-
pants get a pocket money of 10 EUR per day or, if they take part for six months in the frame-
work of a ‘workshop training’, an allowance by the Public Employment Service
Spacelab is funded by waff, the Vienna Employment Promotion Fund (Wiener ArbeitnehmerInnen
Förderungsfonds), and by AMS Vienna, the Public Employment Service (Arbeitsmarktservice), with a
budget of 3.5 million euros. Furthermore, the project is supported by Vienna’s Municipal Department
13 (MA 13: Education and Youth Work), which provides infrastructure and personnel from its
Association of Youth Centres in Vienna.
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
JOBLINGE
About 8% of young people in Germany have problems entering the
labour market. JOBLINGE – initiated by The Boston Consulting
Group GmbH und die Eberhard von Kuenheim Stiftung der BMW
AG – brings together stakeholders from the public and the private
sector as well as civil society in order to help these young people to
integrate into the labour market. In the six months JOBLINGE
programme, young people acquire key competences in on-the- job
trainings. They are accompanied by the JOBLINGE staff and
voluntary trained mentors. 65 % of the young people find an
employment or enter an unsubsidized vocational training programme within a company after they
finish the JOBLINGE programme. JOBLINGE is organised through local charitable limited companies
(gemeinnützige Aktiengesellschaften – gAGs). Shareholders are companies, the public sector,
foundations and individuals. The local charitable company (gAG) is managed by a social entrepreneur
and controlled by the Supervisory Board members of the participating companies. All those involved
use their networks in order to establish cooperations with companies which are ready to take on
JOBLINGE participants as apprentices or employees.
Richard Gaul, Honorary Board of Joblinge, is the owner of Zehle-Gaul-Communications. Between
1985 and 2006, he was head of communications and head of public affairs at BMW.
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
Richard Gaul
Volkshilfe Österreich: THARA (Verena Fabris und Gordana Djordjevic)
In 2005 the Volkshilfe Österreich started the initiative THARA
aimed at integrating Roma and Romnija into the labour market.
THARA’s aim is the integration of Roma and Sinti into the labour
market in order to improve the socio-economic situation of the
target group in Vienna and to create awareness in society for the
existing inequalities and discriminatory practices Roma and Sinti
are faced with.
Fostering the concept of upward mobility through education and vocational qualification in
Roma/Sinti communities Roma/Sinti are empowered by means of education and qualification in
order to improve their chances of gaining employment and/or creating other means of income.
Community work is an important element of THARA, allowing for communication with the various
Roma groups in order to gather information about the needs of the communities. Great importance is
also given to networking with other associations, projects and NGOs working in a similar field. Other
staples of the project are counselling services for Roma and awareness raising workshops mostly for
NGOs, labour market institutions and projects and organisations in the health sector which are run by
THARA employees and the Roma themselves.
Created in the framework of an EU project and since then funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of
Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection, THARA has developed and implemented a series of
successful labour integration measures for Roma and Romnja. What makes THARA special is the self-
understanding of its work that regards labour market integration and ethnic identity not as separate
but connected fields. With this integrative approach THARA aims at contributing to a fruitful co-
existence between Roma and non-Roma in the world of work.
In their presentation, Verena Fabris und Gordana Djordjevic put a special focus on the project Thara
Biznis (2013-14) aimed at fostering Roma entrepreneurship, reflecting the interest of the Roma
population – who have traditionally been engaged in trade – in self-employment. The project focused
on empowering the target group through small business coaching workshops and connecting,
enhancing the visibility and supporting Roma and Sinti founders and entrepreneurs.
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
Klaus-Dieter Paul, Gordana Djordjevic and
Verena Fabris (from left to right)
Transfer of Social Innovation
Blixtjobb
The aim of Blixtjobb is to empower and reintegrate
homeless and/or people living with substance abuse into
society by procuring them occasional jobs like easy
construction work, gardening, painting or cleaning. The
idea is to integrate the target group through
entrepreneurship instead of social work. They get a
regular pay for their work. 30% of customers are
individual households and 70% companies, many of
whom regard this commitment as part of their corporate
social responsibility. The project is financed through the
customers buying the services that Blixtjobb provides.
Blixtjobb can be seen as a method that creates empowerment, reduces substance abuse as well as
marginalisation and exclusion. On a national economic level it has the effect of moving people from
receiving benefits to contributing to society by the payment of personal taxes (taxes are deducted
from wages by Blixtjobb) as well as empowering the individual.
In their presentation, Johanna Nordenskjöld, Operational manager, and Victoria Engman-Broadley,
Development Manager, explained how the idea for Blixtjobb was transferred from Oslo. The concept
was tailored to the needs of the target group expressed by the individuals in interviews during field
studies, conducted by Kirkens Bymisjon (The Church City Mission) in Oslo. As in Oslo, the team
leaders supervising the Blixtjobb workers have a background with dependency problems themselves.
Unlike the Oslo project, Blixtjobb, however, was not able to procure public funding, which is why they
started small in 2011, from the start project costs have been covered by companies who are ready to
pay a little more for the services delivered, financing Blixtjobb’s work on top of the regular wage for
the workers. The project was able to produce very positive results: Substance abuse among the
Blixtjobb workers decreases as their empowerment and sense of belonging and meaning increases.
An obstacle the project leaders encountered is that the target group is largely seen as not being
capable of working. At least they are not encouraged to do so by welfare regulations that do not
”promote” earning: like in Germany, extra money earned is largely deducted from welfare benefits.
Blixtjobb is conducted by Stockholm City Mission (Stockholms Stadsmission), a 160 year old social
institution that aims to help children and young people in need of adult support; families in crisis;
young single parents with financial difficulties; young adults with psychological problems; young
parents needing support and advice; elderly people living in solitude; homeless men and women
struggling with substance abuse and/or psychological problems. Stockholm City mission runs several
assistance and therapy centres as well as social enterprises such as second-hand shops, production of
handicrafts and a restaurant and bakery allowing people outside the labour market to acquire skills
and earn some money; they are supported by a job integration program. Besides, Stockholm City
Johanna Nordenskjöld
Mission manages schools and educational institutions as well as Swedish language courses for
immigrants.
The PowerPoint slides of the presentation can be accessed here.
Schülerpaten
Schülerpaten Dachverband e.V. organises one on one tutoring
between mentors and mentees. Mentors, usually university and
doctorate students, are matched with children from families with
migrant backgrounds. Sherief El-Helaifi, Co-Founder, Board
Member, Head of Public Relations at Schülerpaten and student at
Technische Universität Berlin, explained how, unlike most other
mentoring projects, Schülerpaten focuses on the family and peer
environment instead of schools. The reason behind this is that the
migrant families’ relationships with the schools are often not
conducive to establishing meaningful mentoring relationships. Tutoring takes place in the privacy of
the mentee’s home, opening up a whole new world to the mentor and facilitating intercultural
education of both mentor and mentee. Thus, the concept of Schülerpaten is based on encouraging
contact between people with higher education and children with different cultural backgrounds and
fewer educational opportunities. People with different social and cultural backgrounds meet and
learn from one another, which leads to increased respect and a potent reduction in prejudices.
Through increased civil volunteering, social isolation is defeated. As a result, these otherwise partly
parallel societies grow into one of cooperation and benevolence.
The concept of Schülerpaten has already been transferred to Frankfurt am Main and the Ruhr region.
Further locations are planned. In order to spread the concept across Germany Schülerpaten builds on
its network. For instance, mentors or mentees who leave Berlin to study or work in other German
cities transplant the concept to these new locations. Success has proven them right: the project is
very well received by the altogether almost 400 mentees and their families and well recognised by
the specialist community as illustrated by the various awards Schülerpaten already has received.
Rudolf Netzelmann, Sherief El Helaifi and
Camilla Näslund
Jobbtorg
Jobbtorg is an initiative of the Stockholm Labour Market Administration introduced In 2008 to
activate and bring back into work unemployed people who are dependent on social welfare benefits.
Part of Jobbtorg’s mission of working is to test initiatives trying out
new ways of working for different projects and single out the best
ones to develop regular activities at Jobbtorg. Camilla Näslund,
Coordinator Labour Market Administration at Jobbtorg Stockholm,
gave a presentation on Jobbtorg’s approach to foster innovation:
Jobbtorg is conducting different projects with the aim to try out
new methods and ways of working, the best of which are then
adopted as regular activities at Jobbtorg. Two of these singled
out projects that were implemented on a larger scale as regular Jobbtorg activities are FILUR and
Merit:
FILUR is a project aimed at young unemployed people with special difficulties integrating into the
labour market. FILUR combines a self-strengthening method with the module “Try out a job”.
The basic idea with Merit was to work as a bridge between young people and the regular activities at
Jobbtorg in form of preparatory initiatives and try-it-out activities.
Further information on Jobbtorg, FILUR and Merit can be found in the brochure “Jobbtorg Stockholm
– The Stockholm Model reduces unemployment among young people”.
Camilla Näslund
Panel Discussion: How do we become social innovators and what is the role of
transnational exchange?
The panel discussion centered around the chances of transnational exchange, the importance of
the involvement of different actors and the organisational and cultural requirements needed to
foster innovation. The social challenges we are facing today – demographic change, migration or
youth unemployment to name but a few – have a transnational dimension. Besides, barriers to but
also potential risks of the concept of social innovation are the same for the different European
countries and are worth the exchange of best practice.
Our moderator Klaus-Dieter Paul launched the panel by addressing Dr. Peter Schloegl, Managing
Director of the Austrian Institute for Research on Vocational Training (öibf) on the potential risks of
social innovation. Mr. Schlögl referred to Peter Ramsden’s keynote speech highlighting the need to
“reframe the question”. Social problems such as youth unemployment always need to be put into the
wider context. Instead of focusing on the single factor of the unemployed youth, we should ask
ourselves: “What is the situation that produces the problem?” or even: “Who benefits from youth
unemployment?” Projects – innovative as they may be – can produce only selective effects. In order
to achieve a systemic perspective one has to be able to close the loop back to the system that
produces the problem. Like Peter Ramsden, Peter Schloegl warns of a too technocratic approach. The
risk is that scalable projects remain in the prototyping phase when the relevant actors miss the bigger
picture shying back from introducing revolutionary components.
Another question directed at Peter Schloegl was “Does social innovation always start in the gaps of
a system?” Drawing the comparison to the health area Peter Schloegl suggested to ask the question if
“social innovation is meant as first aid or general health policy” or rather: “Are we helping a bunch of
people or are we solving a social problem?” Again, he drew the line to the ‘bigger picture’ or the
From left to right: Robert Nyholm, EU Fund Coordinator, Arbetsförmedlingen; Antje Knuth, Senate Department for Labour,
Integration and Women’s Affairs, Vocational Qualification Unit; Maria Fladvad, project manager of “Networking Europe”; Dr.
Peter Schloegl, Managing Director of the Austrian Institute for Research on Vocational Training; Andreas Scholz-Fleischmann,
Executive Board of Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR) and Chairman of Leadership Berlin – Netzwerk Verantwortung e.V.
importance of the societal backing needed to turn a small into a big movement. What must not be
forgotten is that an innovation is only an innovation when it is accepted by the market; only if it is
accepted by the target group does it have social impact as Norbert Kunz, Managing Director of the
Social Impact Lab GmbH contributed from the audience.
What is essential for this – and this was later picked up by contributors from the audience – is a
certain mindset, the readiness to take risks or at least to try out something new, daring to take
unconventional decisions. This might imply a change of culture or even a “break the rules” culture, as
Victoria Engman-Broadly from the Stockholm City Mission put it. This applies for the public sector as
well as companies, where the term “social intrapreneurship” receives more and more attention as
Peter Kromminga, Managing Director of UPJ, pointed out. Or as Mathias Kuhlmann from the Berlin
ESF administration put it: “How innovation and bureaucracy can fit together is a discussion we still
have to have.”
How companies can bring in their knowledge and contribute to fostering social innovation is shown in
initiatives like Leadership Berlin – Netzwerk Verantwortung e.V. The initiative’s chairman, our panelist
Andreas-Scholz Fleischmann, Executive Board of Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR), illuminated
the role of companies in promoting social innovation. Bringing in private sector know-how and
networks, projects can be implemented and processes triggered that would not be possible in the
same scope otherwise. Networking initiatives like Leadership Berlin or JOBLINGE, represented at our
conference by honorary board and former head of public relations at BMW, Richard Gaul have the
flexibility and low level of bureaucracy that fosters innovation and allow for the mobilisation of the
know-how of the involved stakeholders in the social innovation process. Contributing from the
audience, Mr. Gaul highlighted the chances that lie in the cooperation of public and private sector
and the civil society as well as the need for individual, tailored services (as is the case with JOBLINGE,
where there is one voluntary mentor per mentee). Besides, the different stakeholder networks may
also serve as testbeds for the modernisation of organizational cultures. Accordingly, a stronger
involvement of funders might also prove beneficial.
More often than not innovation is created through the combination of different perspectives.
Chances for the latter lie not only in the cooperation of the different stakeholders but also in
transnational cooperation as Maria Fladvad, coordinator of the project “Networking Europe”
highlighted. The aim of this project was to exchange knowledge and experience. The moderated
exchange through projects like Networking Europe also allows for laying the groundwork for
developing new project ideas through the exchange with other European countries. This project
brought together not only stakeholders from different European countries but also from different
sectors. Maria Fladvad highlighted that the involvement of all stakeholders from the beginning is
essential. She still sees room for improvement regarding the involvement of NGOs whose knowledge
is needed to build capacity. Still, Ms Fladvad perceives a resistance to let them take part from the
beginning.
Regarding cooperation and exchange, also Antje Knuth from the Senate Department for Labour,
Integration and Women’s Affair, Vocational Qualification Unit, considers further action to be
necessary in the field of vocational education and training to promote a closer cooperation between
the single actors. This means that in project funding, priority should be given to collaborative and
cross-sectoral approaches.
Addressing Robert Nyholm, EU Fund Coordinator, Arbetsförmedlingen, moderator Klaus-Dieter Paul
directed the discussion towards funding opportunities for social innovation within the European
Social Fund (ESF) and EU programmes. Arbetsförmedlingen, together with Försäkringskassan, is
responsible for distributing the ESF in Sweden and will have an important role in the new funding
period of the ESF in Sweden. What Robert Nyholm wishes for in the new funding period are more
interdisciplinary, inter-ministerial approaches, more research and dialogue as well as a strong
commitment to integrating companies. Furthermore, the knowledge of small creative projects should
be used in further developing policy approaches. He pleads for more transnationality and European
mobility, for which adjustments in the assurance law might be necessary in order to prevent pitfalls.
Conclusions
Social innovation is facilitated by cross-sectoral cooperation, i.e. the systematic interconnection of the
public and private sector, companies, social economy and civil society organisations – with the result
of such a ‘co-creation’ process being bigger than the contribution of each individual partner.
Sometimes, incentives for new solutions come from within society itself – as it is the case with
Graefewirtschaft, which was founded by both refugees and native Germans. But even if a project is
implemented “top down”, it has become clear that the target group is the most important source of
information in developing a successful approach. The latter was shown by several of our presenting
projects: For the development of Blixtjobb an idea finding workshop with the target group and other
stakeholders was organised and the Roma project THARA works very closely with Roma community
organisations. Also Vienna’s Vocational Training Guarantee is based on a close coordination and
constant feedback loop between the operational and coordination level, showing that processes need
to be not solely top-down but also bottom-up.
To solve today’s complex social challenges different levers need to be pulled which requires the
involvement of the different stakeholders.
Fulfilling this potential might require a re-think, as our keynote speaker Peter Ramsden highlighted.
We need to move away from “end of the pipe solutions”, as he called it, and change what gets into
the pipe: Preventive measures – as promoted in the Social Investment Package – are needed. To
assess which of these have an impact, a stronger focus on results is necessary. The latter is
incorporated in various EU programmes, in particular EaSI, and the ESF which aim at supporting
public authorities to create and up-scale social innovation by “orchestrating processes of co-creation,
creating new solutions with people, not for them”8.
The EaSI/Progress programme provides the possibility of social experimentation, that is, to test
innovative solutions, measure them and then upscale the best ones with the help of the ESF.
Public sector authorities are encouraged to use these mechanisms to test and upscale innovative
measures and to facilitate systemic change.
8 EU Guide to Social Innovation, p. 14
However, not every innovation can be up-scaled, as Peter Ramsden pointed out. Sometimes
spreading is more appropriate in order to achieve improvements in different parts of the system,
thereby also improving the system as a whole in the sense of the marginal gains theory.
With such a broad approach, social challenges can be tackled, bringing Europe closer to the
objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. And most importantly: Ideas for social innovation come from
a great variety of stakeholders. Every one of us can be a social innovator. It only needs the courage to
go new ways, allowing for changing social relationships and new forms of collaborations that can
tackle old problems in a new way.
Changing perspectives can promote such a re-think. Understanding different perspectives through
transnational exchange can help trigger the development of new ideas. Also, as Peter Ramsden
highlighted, good practice should be spread in the process of transnational exchange and mutual
learning, allowing for innovative ideas to be applied elsewhere. This was the case with the project
Blixtjobb, which was transferred from Oslo.
Participants and contributors at our conference agreed that the cooperation between the three
regions Stockholm, Vienna and Berlin should be continued and deepened in the future. Their
motivation for this wish? All three regions face comparable challenges but may have found different
solutions for tackling them.
We hope that our conference has also contributed to the creation and spreading of new ideas and
further cooperation!
Annex: List of Participants
Conference “Social Innovation in the Metropolitan Regions of Vienna, Stockholm and Berlin:
Insights and Outlook”
date: 10.06.2014, time: 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m
Contact data of the participants
Name Email Company Project/ Department Position / responsible for…
Christiane Arndt c.arndt@ziz-
berlin.de
zukunft im zentrum
GmbH „QSInova“ Project Manager
Dr. Reiner Aster Reiner.Aster@gsub.
de
gsub - Gesellschaft für
soziale
Unternehmensberatung
mbH
Society for Social
Business Consultancy
Managing Director
Jörgen Bergwall jorgen@valideringsf
orum.se
Nordiskt
Valideringsforum AB Development Manager
Jean-Christophe Binetti [email protected] CONVIS Consult &
Marketing GmbH
Heike Birkhölzer h.birkhoelzer@tech
net-berlin.de Graefewirtschaft e.V.
Berliner
Entwicklungsagentu
r für Soziale
Unternehmen und
Stadtteilökonomie
BEST
Berlin Development
Agency for Social
Enterprises and
Neighbourhood
Economy BEST
Chairperson of the Board
Kathrin Brandt kathrin.brandt@lv-
bb.brandenburg.de
Vertretung des Landes
Brandenburg beim Bund
Representation of the
Land Brandenburg to
the Federal Government
Teresa Carlsson-Szlezak teresa.carlsson-
Schwedische Botschaft
in Berlin
Swedish Embassy in
Berlin
Erste Botschaftssekretärin
Förste ambassadsekreterare
Name Email Company Project/ Department Position / responsible for…
Jennie Dau [email protected]
Quintessenz
Konferenzdolmetschen
GbR
Interpreter
Gordana Djordjevic gordana.djordjevic
@volkshilfe.at Volkshilfe Österreich „THARA“
Career Guidance and
Information
Charlott Edselius
charlott.edselius@a
rbetsformedlingen.s
e
Arbetsförmedlingen
Swedish Public
Employment Service
Employment Adviser
Sherief El-Helaifi info@schuelerpaten
-berlin.de Schülerpaten e.V. Co-Founder
Victoria Engman-
Broadley
victoria.engman-
broadley@stadsmiss
ionen.se
Stockholms
Stadsmission
Stockholm City Mission
„Blixtjobb” Development Manager
Verena Fabris verena.fabris@volks
hilfe.at Volkshilfe Österreich “THARA” Head of Unit Social Policy
Aurelio Fernández López European Commission
DG for Employment,
Social Affairs and
Inclusion, Unit Social
Policies Innovation
and Governance
Policy Officer
Maria Flavad maria.fladvad@sens
us.se Sensus
„Networking
Europe“ Project Manager
Henrik Flor henrik.flor@buerger
mut.de Stiftung Bürgermut
OpenTransfer Camp,
Enter Magazin
Head Senior Editor &
Concept Developer
Richard Gaul [email protected]
e Joblinge gAG Berlin
honorary Board of Directors
and Mentor
Eva-Maria Henckel [email protected]
om
ABUplus International
GmbH Managing Director
Stefan Hermansson
stefan.hermansson
@arbetsformedlinge
n.se
Arbetsförmedlingen
Swedish Public
Employment Service
Maria Kiczka-Halit maria.kiczka-
[email protected] LOK e.V. Managing Director
Antje Knuth Antje.Knuth@senaif.
berlin.de
Senatsverwaltung für
Arbeit, Integration und
Frauen
Senate Department for
Labour, Integration and
Women's Affairs
Bereich Arbeit und
berufliche Bildung
Vocational
Qualification Unit
Name Email Company Project/ Department Position / responsible for…
Michael Kraft michael.kraft@sued
ost-ev.de südost e.V.
„Junge Roma in
Berlin“
„young roma in
Berlin“
Managing Director
Dr. Eva Krennbauer eva_krennbauer@w
aff.at
Wiener
ArbeitnehmerInnen
Förderungsfonds (waff)
Vienna Employment
Promotion Fund
“spacelab”
Network Coordinator
municipal employment
policy
Vera Krick [email protected] u.bus GmbH XENOS Panorama
Bund
Project Manager;
Moderator of the
Conference
Peter Kromminga peter.kromminga@u
pj.de UPJ e.V. Managing Director
Mathias Kuhlmann mathias.kuhlmann@
senwtf.berlin.de
Senatsverwaltung für
Wirtschaft, Technik und
Forschung
Senate Department for
Economics, Technology
and Research
Norbert Kunz Kunz@socialimpact.
de Social Impact Lab GmbH Managing Director
Susanne Landgren [email protected]
m
CONVIS Consult &
Marketing GmbH Communication and Design
Dr. Anja Lietzmann a.lietzmann@kos-
qualitaet.de k.o.s GmbH Project Coordinator
Camilla Näslund camilla.naslund@sto
ckholm.se Jobbtorg Stockholm
Coordinator Labour Market
Administration
Rudolf Netzelmann rnetzelmann@ubus.
net
u.bus GmbH
u.bus GmbH – Regional
Development and
European Project
Management in Berlin
„XENOS Panorama
Bund“
Project Manager “XENOS
Panorama Bund”
Moderator of the „Transfer“
discussion rounds
Johanna Nordenskiöld
Johanna.Nordenskjo
ld@stadsmissionen.
se
Stockholms
Stadsmission
Stockholm City Mission
“Blixtjobb” Operational Manager
Robert Nyholm robert.nyholm@arb
etsformedlingen.se
Arbetsförmedlingen
Swedish Public
Employment Service
EU Fund Coordinator
Brigitte Oberhoff
Brigitte.oberhoff@in
ternationaler-
bund.de
Internationaler Bund
e.V. Wohnungslosenhilfe
Name Email Company Project/ Department Position / responsible for…
Karin Oster [email protected] BBJ Consult AG General Manager
Klaus-Dieter Paul [email protected]
u.bus GmbH
u.bus GmbH – Regional
Development and
European Project
Management in Berlin
„Berlin Transfer“
Managing Director
Moderator of the panel and
the discussion rounds on
“creation of social
innovation”
Karin Paulsson karin.paulsson@sigt
una.se Sigtuna municipality
Dr. Diana Peitel [email protected]
e
gsub – Gesellschaft für
soziale
Unternehmensberatung
mbH
gsub- Society for Social
Management Consulting
Project Manager gsub
Europe
Peter Ramsden Peterramsden2@gm
ail.com
Freiss Ltd
URBACT
Thematic Pole
Manager Economic
Development at
URBACT
Nina Roßmann nina_rossmann@ub
us.net
u.bus GmbH
u.bus GmbH – Regional
Development and
European Project
Management in Berlin
„Berlin Transfer“
Online Editor Berlin Transfer
Moderator of the discussion
rounds on “creation of social
innovation”
Melanie Ruff [email protected]
om RUFFBOARDS Co-Founder and CEO
Daniela Schallert daniela.schallert@a
bzaustria.at abz* austria
„kompetent und
gesund“
„competent and
healthy”
Managing Director
Dr. Peter Schlögl peter.schloegl@oeib
f.at
öibf - Österreichisches Institut für Berufsbildungs forschung Austrian Institute for Research on Vocational Training Vienna
Managing Director
Name Email Company Project/ Department Position / responsible for…
Bente Schmiade bente.schmiade@dg
b.de
Deutscher
Gewerkschaftsbund
(DGB)
German Trade Union Confederation
Kontakt- und
Beratungsstelle
(KBS) zur
sozialpartnerschaftli
chen Begleitung der
Umsetzung des ESF
in Brandenburg
2007-2013
(an information and
contact service for
the ESF
implementation in
Brandenburg 2007-
2013, involving the
social partners)
Project Manager
Regina Schmidt-
Roßleben
rrossleben@bildung
smarkt.org Bildungsmarkt e.V.
Project Manager;
Moderator of the discussion
rounds on “creation of social
innovation”
Andreas Scholz-
Fleischmann
Andreas.Scholz-
e
Berliner
Stadtreinigungsbetriebe
(BSR)
Berlin City cleaning company
Netzwerk
Verantwortung e.V.
network
responsibility
Frank Schröder f.schroeder@kos-
qualitaet.de k.o.s GmbH Managing Director
Bianca Schulz [email protected] Interpreter
Bijan Sellahi [email protected]
u.bus GmbH
u.bus GmbH – Regional
Development and
European Project
Management in Berlin
CSR Regio.Net
Project manager “CSR Regio.
Net”; Moderator of the
„Transfer“ discussion rounds
Cordula Simon
Cordula.Simon@bez
irksamt-
neukoelln.de
Bezirksamt Neukölln
District Office Neukölln Advisor on Europe
Gertrud Unterasinger gertrud.unterasinger
@samariterwien.at
Arbeiter-Samariter-
Bund Wien
Workers' Samaritan Federation Vienna
Internetcafé
"Zwischenschritt" Manager
Name Email Company Project/ Department Position / responsible for…
Boris Velter
Senatsverwaltung für
Arbeit, Integration und
Frauen
Senate Department for
Labour, Integration and
Women's Affairs
State Secretary for Labour at
the Berlin Senate
Department for Labour,
Integration and Women's
Affairs
Ellen Wölk ew@woelkundwoel
k.de wölkundwölk
Margrit Zauner Margrit.Zauner@se
naif.berlin.de
Senatsverwaltung für
Arbeit, Integration und
Frauen
Senate Department for
Labour, Integration and
Women's Affairs
Bereich Arbeit und
berufliche Bildung
Vocational
Qualification Unit
Head of Vocational
Qualification Unit