Background

Here’s how we got to where we are:

2008

Original core partners….

In 2008, SIX launched in Sydney, Australia.  With the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, we announced our intention to connect a global community of social innovators. We then coordinated two international conferences in Lisbon, Portugal, and Adelaide, Australia, bringing together participants from the private, public, and third sectors, to discuss how social innovations could address unmet social needs, how innovations could be successfully replicated across different national contexts, and how to best research social innovations.

In 2008, SIX also organized its first Summer School in San Sebastian, Spain, in partnership with the Mondragón Ikerketa Kudeaketan and the University of the BasqueCountry. This event brought together a community of people and organizations involved in practical social innovation to share skills, methods and insights.

SIX also began fruitful relationships with the Hope Institute, Cisco, and the European Commission through events in South Korea and, Brussels, respectively.

2009

In 2009, SIX gained momentum, coordinating our second International Summer School in Lisbon, Portugal – this event focussed on ‘Recovery through Innovation’. 125 people from 24 countries – both social innovation experts and those who are new to the field came together to share experiences and discuss the challenges and possible solutions to the current global financial crisis.

This year also saw the beginning of our TelePresence series. Using Cisco TelePresence technologies, the growing SIX community was able to come together around the same virtual table to discuss a range of topics--Fixing the Future; Micro-financing: Social Investment and Enterprise; Social Innovation in Cities; as well as Design and Social Innovation.

2010

In 2010, SIX and the Young Foundation delivered a Study on Social Innovation to the Bureau of European Policy Advisors at the European Commission—an overview study of social innovation in Europe, and a list of priorities for action. This work would soon grow into the Social Innovation Europe initiative.

In addition to this year’s Summer School on social innovation in Cities—organized in collaboration with the Lien Centre—SIX also coordinated a Spring School on ‘Innovation and Opportunity in an Ageing Society.’ This event, sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Cisco, focused on accelerating innovation to meet the needs of an aging society, particularly in the fields of care, technology, and housing and where these intersect.

TelePresence discussions in 2010 revolved around ‘Challenges, Opportunities, and the Future of Innovation Policy in Europe,’ ‘Youth Leadership and Digital Technology,’ and the rapidly developing financial instrument ‘Social Impact Bonds.’

2011

In 2011, SIX was commissioned by the European Commission DG Enterprise to deliver the Social Innovation Europe (SIE) Initiative in collaboration with the Euclid Network and the Danish Technological Institute. The initiative was designed to take the core work of the SIX network—supporting, connecting, and inspiring social innovators—and to apply them to a European context. In March, SIX launched SIE in Brussels, Belgium at a high-level event featuring participants from across sectors and a keynote speech from European President Barroso.

Early in the year, SIX coordinated a Spring School on ‘Citizen Driven Innovation in the Digital Age’– this gathering gave participants the opportunity to explore how new digital tools are shaping the participation of citizens at a national and international level.

The on-going TelePresence series covered topics ranging from funding for social innovation to the theoretical foundations of the field.

On July 8^th 2011, SIX’s Chairman Diogo Vasconcelos suddenly and tragically passed away leaving the social innovation community mourning his loss, remembering his foundational contribution, and resolved to continue his work to nourish and grow the field of social innovation across sectors.