Social Innovation

Sir Geoff Mulgan is Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London (UCL). Previously he was Chief Executive of Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation, Director of the government's Strategy Unit and Head of Policy in the Prime Minister's office, Chief Executive of The Young Foundation, Director of the think-tank Demos and Chief Adviser to Gordon Brown MP and a reporter on BBC TV and radio. He is a senior visiting scholar at Harvard University and advises governments around the world. He is the author of many books including Good and Bad Power (Penguin) and Big Mind (Princeton University Press).

Introduction: the great imbalances
I MAKING SENSE OF SOCIAL INNOVATION
What is social innovation and how is it done?
The roots of social innovation and the fragile springs of social generativity
II. CHALLENGES, ROADBLOCKS AND SYSTEMS
The political context for social innovation now: thesis, antithesis and synthesis
Structural change and new social contracts: how innovation in welfare can address changing needs
Social production systems: what is the best unit for analysis and action?
Place-based systems change: how can governments, funders and civil society achieve more together?
III. SOURCES, IDEAS AND WAYS OF SEEING
The theoretical foundations of social innovation: sources, ideas and future directions
Social science and intelligence design
Observation, interpretation and activism: sociology's role in social change
Understanding how cultures change
A theory of belonging: how do we feel at home?
The interpretation of social change
IV GOOD AND BAD SOCIAL INNOVATION
Know Your Impact (and in praise of better borrowing)
The evolution of measures that matter: how do we know if social innovation is working?
Good and bad innovation: what theory and practice do we need to distinguish them?
V SOCIAL INNOVATION AND THE FUTURE
Social innovation in the 2020s
Thinking about the future
VI FRESH THINKING