It’s currently estimated that 27 million people are unemployed across member states of the European Union, not including those who are under-employed, in unsustainable employment, and economically inactive – not in work nor seeking employment.

The competition was launched for the first time in October 2012 and was the idea of Diogo Vasconcelos, a visionary whose span of work entailed bringing people together to tackle societal challenges and create a better future.  Vasconcelos was the chairman of Social Innovation Exchange before he passed away in 2011.  He wanted to incentivize people to come up with radical solutions to problems and this competition was created in his memory.

Three winners, chosen from over 600 ideas, were named in March 2013 from last year’s competition with a similar theme of job creation.  Community Catalysts from the UK came up with an idea to create employment through micro-enterprises that would offer social care and health services to people, including the elderly and people with disability.  Economy App from Germany aims to facilitate a barter economy through a platform where people would offer their services and products.  MITWIN.NET from Spain proposes an intergenerational professional network allowing older workers to share a job with younger people.

Similar to last year, each of the three winners will receive €20,000 as financial support.  Applicants have until December 11, 2013 to submit their entries.  The competition is open to anyone – individuals, for-profits, nonprofits – legally established or a resident in the European Union member states.  Ten finalists will be invited to an award ceremony in May 2014 where the winners will be announced.

Social Good Lab is an initiative between Paris Incubateurs, a Paris-based incubator network of over 400 startups, and Le Comptoir de l’Innovation, an impact investment and consultancy firm.

The City of Paris and Bpifrance, the country’s public bank for assisting and financially supporting French micro to small and medium enterprises, are backing the incubator through their “Paris Innovation Amorçage” fund, which is designed to finance innovative pre-seed or seed stage projects.

Although incubators and tech firms are a familiar couple, Social Good Lab purposely focuses on technologically innovative social enterprises in hopes that the tech sector can become more inclined to benefit society with their innovations.  Likewise, Nicolas Hazard, the president of Le Comptoir de l’Innovation, is counting on the possibility that Social Good Lab can influence other businesses to draw inspiration from social ventures in their ability to balance operations while creating positive impact to society.

What remains to be seen is the extent of their impact, but for now these are the eight startups to follow:

1. Arizuka

Arizuka, meaning anthill in Japanese, is a crowdfunding platform for organizations developing socially, economically, and environmentally innovative projects.

2. Cine Apps

Described as a young enterprise, Cine Apps has developed digital cinema “smart glasses” and “smartphone” services, such as personalized subtitles, last-minute bookings, alerts, and public transport information, for people with sensory impairment.

3. Eqosphere

Eqosphere is a collaborative web platform that facilitates the redistribution of end-of-life products and items that are unsold to reduce food and non-food waste.

4. microDON

microDON aims to revolutionize how donations are made by creating a service that allows people to round up the bill on their everyday purchases, so that anything from a few cents to a few euros would be donated to a specific cause.

5 and 6. Planète Langue des Signes and Egonocast

Planète Langue des Signes, professionals in sign language for audiovisual purposes, and Egonocast, a multimedia software company, have partnered to create a sign language translation service for television.

7. Power:On

Power:On developed a software capable of determining which hybrid of power supplies (solar, diesel generator, etc.) costs the least in a given situation, so that they can assemble sustainable and innovative solutions for rural communities that do not have access to electricity.

8. Social Club

Social Club aims to address the digital divide in France and around the world by creating a search engine that runs without access to the Internet, but uses interactive voice response to parse spoken queries and redirect the user to the person most suitable to respond.

Most cages are no bigger than the size of a standard North American bathtub.  Cubicle dwellings are seldom any more spacious.  A 450-square-foot apartment could be partitioned and shared by 22 men.  Residents in these cramped spaces include low-income workers, refugees, and people with mental illness, and they often share their scarce living area with cockroaches, lizards, and other creatures that decide to move in.

Among those without a home, Oxfam Hong Kong reported this year that over 70 percent of poor, private tenant households not under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme have not received any offer of public rental housing after four years on the waiting list.

Poverty and the effects of income inequality are recognized issues by the government, but those working in the social innovation sector believe more can be done to create a bigger impact.

Kevin Au, professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and member of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIEDF) Task Force, one of six task forces set up by the government in November of 2012 to address poverty, penned an article demanding funding to encourage social innovation rather than allocating money directly to the poor or nonprofits.      

“The public does not fully understand the spillover effects of social innovation and thus is skeptical of its benefits,” writes Au.  He explains that social innovation has not progressed much in Hong Kong because the public is worried that private individuals are not capable of creating “trickle-down” benefits to greater society, as they have witnessed many using their freedom to solely profit personally.  As a result, social innovators fear receiving government support, causing the sector to remain nascent.

The government has allocated HK$500 million for the SIEDF to develop an ecosystem for addressing Hong Kong’s social problems, but at this time that money is yet to be spent.  It’s estimated that 20 percent will be spent in its first year of implementation.

As of late, Au sees that more people understand the concept of innovation to address deep-rooted problems, but he hopes to witness broken barriers and additional progress to social innovation, such as more ideas, talent, knowledge, and capital mobilized.  “Given the potential benefits, it’s worth taking a risk by spending a limited amount of public money to spur social innovation,” he said.

“I broadly agree with his views but implementation will be slow and we need to be patient,” said the co-founder of Asia Community Ventures, Ming Wong, responding to Au’s article.

Following 18 months of research, Wong, who spent over 20 years in investment banking before becoming a financial consultant for impact investing, co-authored the report EngageHK to map Hong Kong’s social ecosystem.

The report, not unlike Au’s views, reveals significant hindrances to the progress of social innovation.  Namely, there is a lack of cross-sector collaboration, funding, awareness, legal and policy framework, and shared goals.  The authors report that Hong Kong lacks a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration, and there is no real leader in pushing any agenda forward.

Meanwhile, although collaboration does not resonate well in the culture, competition does, and it seems to be a selling point for supporting social innovation in Hong Kong.  For instance, Au writes that social enterprises have become a “potential strength for Hong Kong” and wishes to “take the competitiveness of Hong Kong to another dimension”.  The authors of EngageHK emphasize the “need to move quickly forward” otherwise “Hong Kong will risk losing its competitiveness, falling behind other global cities.”

Despite experts calling to forge ahead, there are a number of ongoing initiatives that paint a not-so-bleak picture.  Last Friday, the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (JCDISI) of the The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which is one of the city’s several social innovation hubs in academia, kicked off a 10-day Social Innovation Festival.

“As a powerhouse of research with impact, PolyU positions itself in the community to promote positive social change and help those whose quality of life could be improved.  I hope you will be as excited as I am about this Social Innovation Festival – a unique ten days for conversation, exchange of knowledge and celebration,” said Timothy W. Tong, the university’s president.

Through workshops, exhibitions, concerts, and movie screenings, to name a few, the free festival gives visitors a chance to familiarize with social innovation activities and projects.

“It is important for Hong Kong to nurture creative young talents who can be inspired to develop innovational solutions to tackle the challenges the city faces, and I am confident the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation will provide inspiration and prove to be a great asset in this regard,” said T. Brian Stevenson, Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.  JCDISI was set up thanks to a HK$249 million donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

While some advocate to dump the prizes or at least the bad ones, there is still a lack of funding for early-stage social enterprises and many remain reliant on competitions to build up raw ideas.  The Asia Social Innovation Award is one of these competitions.  Based in Hong Kong, the competition is currently seeking social enterprise solutions from all across Asia that address common issues in the region, specifically aging population, poverty, and improving parent-child relationships.

Whether to enhance competitiveness, avoid falling behind, or address pressing issues, notably poverty, social innovation initiatives in Hong Kong are alive and well.  If not completely to Au or Wong’s liking, the surface has at minimum been scratched, albeit slowly.  As Wong urges, patience will be required.

Described as Ontario’s “Social Impact and Leadership Academy”, Studio Y was an idea that began in June, and Hamoon Ekhtiari was brought on to lead the project as director.

Ekhtiari explains that the mission is to support young, emerging talent so that they can pursue a life of purpose, realize their full potential, put their ideas into action, and create a better future for both themselves and their communities.

He calls the program an “inflection point”, where young adults can look closely at what they’ve been doing and what they want to do next.

What is Studio Y exactly?  Open to youth ages 18 to 29 residing in Ontario, this 8-month residential fellowship program nurtures leaders and change-makers of tomorrow.  Participants will spend their time pursuing a personal endeavor that they’re passionate about, working on projects across the province with MaRS as well as its partner organizations, and becoming champions for leaders and change-makers through movement building.

“The program is focused on people who have a couple years of experience but are looking to find a way to amplify the impact they’re having and taking their work to the next level,” said Ekhtiari.

Speaking with Ekhtiari, there’s a sense that such a program is needed.  Youth think about their future juggling work to have food to eat and a place to live, and about the ideas and projects they want to pursue.  Often there is much going on.  Studio Y provides an experience of clarity and growth with coaching, mentorship, space (literally and figuratively), and a $20,000 living stipend.

“At the core, Studio Y is about making the better reality,” said Ekhtiari.  He adds that by providing space, youth can look at “where am I at and where do I want to be, and how can I not only realize my full potential for myself but also contribute to building a better society around us.”

Whether an artist, entrepreneur, or scientist, Studio Y seeks three things in participants: character – what’s their story, where do they come from, and what they’ve been working on; contribution – what experience they have in leading and change-making already; and fit – whether they are a fit with the program at this moment.

Interested participants can begin applying online on October 1st for one of 25 spots.  Applications close on October 21st and the program will start January 2014.

“Our ultimate focus [is] on how do we do everything we can to support each participant to be able to realize their full potential and go to the next stage in their journey, whatever that stage may be,” said Ekhtiari.

“The program is designed so that you can also choose your own pathway.  So you may choose to start your own venture or business, you may choose to go inside an existing organization and work in there to help create change, you may decide to pursue further education.”

Despite being a third of the size of the previous year, the fifth International Social Innovation Research Conference (ISIRC) still pulled together almost 50 papers, all offering international perspectives on topics such as social investment, social impact measurement, and organisational hybridity.

Held within the Said Business School, this year’s conference was open to the same criticisms the Skoll World Forum faces, in the respect that it discusses real world problems such as poverty in the contradictory setting of a glamorous and historical university.  But despite sharing the same location, the conference carried nowhere near the same price tag, enabling researchers from academia, policy, and practice to attend and present their latest work.  All set out to provide an overview of social innovation in their respective countries, based upon empirical evidence rather than political rhetoric.

The conference started with a paper looking at the barriers to, and potential of, impact investing in Germany.  Based upon a literature review and their own empirical research, Gunnar Glanzel and Thomas Scheuerle of the University of Heidelberg highlighted how impact investing remains an emerging and under-resourced area in Europe’s largest economy.  Yet, as it continues to develop, there are increasing tensions between the language, culture, and personality traits of investors and investees, which are jeopardising the likelihood of social innovators accessing the finance they require.

Their analysis also suggests that the increased emphasis being placed upon impact measurement in Germany and elsewhere could actually undermine impact investment opportunities in the long-term, as it takes away the scarce resources social innovators have for creating social impact in the short-term.

This paper, and many others that followed, served to challenge the political rhetoric coming out of many countries with regards to how social innovation should be supported and financed.  In particular, several tenets of neoliberalism came under attack throughout the conference with regards to their role in social innovation – such as the role of competition, deregulation, and the role of the individual.

For instance, a team of Finnish researchers from Lappeenranta University of Technology examined Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data from across the world to show that the more egalitarian a country is, the greater levels it has of entrepreneurship.  Greater individualism was more likely to produce negative effects.

With cuts to public spending feted as an opportunity for social innovators across Western economies, research from the University of Northampton challenged the reality of public service spin-outs in the UK, and in particular the rationale that spin-outs lead to public services more responsive to their user’s needs.

The research found the reason most services spun-out was because existing staff wanted to retain control of their service, and that private sector consultancies were heavily involved in shaping what these services looked like after they had been spun-out.  When looking at the main sources of income for these spin-outs, for most, the majority of their income is made from the public agency they span out from.

The growing interest amongst policymakers and financiers in innovative solutions to social problems continues to be welcomed across the world, though the general consensus at ISIRC is that research can hold such power to account, ensuring the developing policy framework in this area reflects the reality experienced and lived by practitioners worldwide.

Horatio Yuxin Han has developed one solution to ensure that shoes can be affordable for everyone.  Together with Kevin Crowley of the Pratt Institute, they’ve created an origami-inspired shoe that would be cheaper, easier to store and ship, and recyclable – the Unifold.

Made from ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) material, a lightweight foam rubber commonly used in sports equipment, the Unifold is folded like origami around the foot.  It doesn’t require complicated shoe-making processes such as molding and lacing, which makes it cheaper to produce.  Printed on a sheet of foam rubber, the shoe doesn’t need much storage space either, cutting the costs of distribution.

At the moment there are two designs of the Unifold – one a slipper and the other a sandal.

Currently the project is still conceptual, but Han suggests that the design has great potential to reach a large number of people, as anyone who has a copy of the design could get it printed at a local shop. Han and a team at Pratt are working to bring the shoe to market.

Using the “butterstick”, you could make toast without ever dirtying another knife.  Or eating with the “noodle eater’s hair guard”, you could protect an expensive coiffure.

Stanford professor Tina Seelig believes the practice of combining and connecting ideas is an innovator’s tool to increase imagination.  Since ideas rarely come out of the blue, Seelig says that it’s by paying attention to one’s surroundings and then putting the pieces together that open up opportunities to solve problems.

Designer Rochus Jacob demonstrates with the Murakami Chair.  It combines a rocking chair with a lamp that lights up from the energy generated by the back-and-forth movement of the chair.  During the day, the energy gets stored in a battery pack.  At night, that energy is used to turn on the attached lamp.  If this design isn’t green enough already, no light bulb is required because the lampshade acts as the light source.

Photo credit: designboom

Jacob’s design was the first prize winner of designboom’s Green Life competition in 2009.  Social Enterprise Buzz contacted Jacob to ask whether the product is being sold and is waiting on a reply.

Update 2013-09-09 – a reply from Jacob:

I only build one prototype of the chair the components are still [too] expensive in order to mass produce the chair.  Unfortunately right now I don’t have enough time to further develop it but it is constantly in the back of my head to take a break and push it to the next level.

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Jillian Buriak, a chemistry professor and senior research officer of the university’s National Institute for Nanotechnology, led a team comprising of post-doctoral fellows Erik Luber from the Faculty of Engineering and Hosnay Mobarok from the Faculty of Science.

“Half the world already lives off the grid, and with demand for electrical power expected to double by the year 2050, it is important that renewable energy sources like solar power are made more affordable by lowering the costs of manufacturing,” said Buriak.

Mobarok was responsible for discovering a way to dissolve the particles to form ink so that it can be used to literally paint or print solar panels.  Luber tackled the task of making the material responsive to light.

What does this mean for the average consumer?  “My goal is that a store like Ikea could sell rolls of these things with simple instructions and baggies of screws and do-dads and you could install them yourself,” explains Buriak.

Before then, the team is currently experimenting with the nanoparticles by spray-coating them onto large solar cells to test their efficiency. They have applied for a provisional patent and have secured funding to scale.

Photo credit: University of Alberta.

A key component of this equation is to fund programs that work.  More specifically, it is about funding intervention programs that prevent ailment to communities before it happens.  The goal for young offenders is to proactively prevent recidivism rather than spend on remediation services.

To formulate ideas that work, innovation to social services is needed as much as financial innovation.  Recognizing the need to identify, develop, and debate on the potential of innovative services, the European Union has funded the INNOSERV project, a platform that presents the types of innovation in today’s social services sector.

Beginning with innovations for people with disabilities, BlueAssist is a mobile application created by nonprofit organization Ithaka to enable users to act independently.  For some with intellectual disabilities, they are capable of participating in society autonomously with some help from passersby, but often can’t ask the right question.  For passersby, it is often intimidating or difficult to understand the question.

BlueAssist makes communication between the two parties possible.  Questions can be prepared in advance and entered in the app on the smartphone.  Users can show the questions from the app to someone else.  For more difficult inquiries, users can reach their caregivers or “coach” through a call function on the app to help them sort things out.

The app originated from Belgium and is spreading across Europe and beyond.

For senior citizens, Ammerudhjemmet is an “open nursing home” originating from Norway.  As an open nursing home, the facility offers a place where people across generations and cultures can meet.  There’s a café, library, swimming pool, hair dresser, and pedicure service on site.  Parties, concerts, and other events are organized weekly.  Who said nursing homes were only for seniors?

Five years ago it was extremely rare that retail banks in Canada would open on Sundays and longer on weekdays.  Today it would be difficult to find one that doesn’t.  In the current economy with parents working longer hours, children often have no place to go after school.  The Môm’artre network from France started providing after-school care for children since 2001.

For low-income families it offers a variable fee structure.  At the same time, it employs difficult-to-employ who may not always be recognized by the economy for their work, such as artists, and develops job training and employment opportunities for parents.  Today, there are 7 associations that follow the same model.

Want to see more?  The INNOSERV website features other projects addressing areas such as poverty, health, education, and financial literacy.

There’s a conscious effort to help consumers identify these businesses.  In the UK, the Social Enterprise Mark was created to make social enterprises more visible and credible through certification.  For shopping on the go, developers have created mobile apps to pinpoint the location of social enterprises.

All this is to ensure that the consumer knows where they are putting their money, because this is what consumers are asking.

In May, Forbes reported on a new app that lets users scan the barcode of a product which will in turn show a corporate family tree that points back to the parent company.  Buycott was created by 26-year-old programmer Ivan Pardo to “provide a platform that empowers consumers to make well-informed purchasing decisions.”

The response for the app was so high that the servers weren’t prepared to handle all the traffic.  Pardo had to pull the Android app from the store.

Regarding his inspiration for creating the app, he tells Forbes, “I saw how a friend was following a boycott by reading a blog and trying to remember what brands she was supposed to be avoiding.  I figured that there should be an app to help people shop more consciously, and Buycott was our solution.”

While Pardo says that he doesn’t think Buycott’s role is to tell people what to buy, there is nonetheless a discussion highlighted through Forbes that it targets big corporations like Koch Industries or Monsanto.  If a consumer scanned the barcode of Brawny paper towels or Angel Soft toilet paper, they would know that purchasing the product would mean sales for Koch Industries.

There’s also a function that allows users to create or join campaigns, so that when they scan a product, the app will check to see if the product conflicts with or supports campaign commitments.  For example, there’s a campaign called Demand GMO Labeling that is a list of 36 companies who have donated more than $150,000 to oppose GMO labeling in California.  There’s another that supports bicycle friendly businesses that have pro-bicycling measures.  The app cross-checks products against campaigns that the user has joined.

When all is said and done, the flaw with tracking these companies on mobile apps is that corporate ownership is always changing.  The challenge for Buycott is to maintain an updated and accurate database.

Buycott can be found in the iTunes and Google Play stores for free.