Innovation for Citizenshipinspiration and development

Talk by Simon Duffy at the University of Vaasa on 23rd May 2014

1. Where do innovations come from?

2. Why are they important?

3. How do innovations grow & develop?

4. What kinds of innovations do we need?

We innovate because we do not believe everything is okay

We need a certain kind of humility

We innovate because we believe we can help make things better

We need a certain kind of belief

The best innovations of the past 50 years for people with intellectual disabilities have been inspired by a vision of equal citizenship

The best innovations are rooted in the idea that we are all citizens

We are all equal

We can all have our unique gifts

Citizenship for all is a practical and

achievable goal for a decent

society

It is achieved, not by spending money, but by growing our real wealth. The resources we use to support ourselves and each other.

The best innovations are not expensive additions of services or models

They are transformations of community

They are build upon and sustain our shared citizenship

Innovations are important because they help us solve social problems

And the best innovations help us understand society in a better way

Will we have a crisis because there will be too many old people?

Or do we have an opportunity to respect and value our elders?

Innovations seek to put the right people in charge of the right problems.

Many solutions cannot be developed because the wrong people are in control.

The transformations we need to make often demand us solving problems ‘upstream’

This creates a significant challenge to how things are organised now

Innovations are achieved at a number of different levels.

Leadership means allowing others to innovate.

Too often we naively expect innovations to come from government

That is nearly impossible

Government doesn’t think like that

As innovations they develop they must change.

They cannot be imposed until very late in their life-cycle.

There are four stages to developing an innovation:

1. Making the innovation happen

2. Making the innovation sexy

3. Making the innovation easier

4. Making the innovation normal

Government policy is very important - but it should create a framework for innovation

It can define bad practice

But not good practice

Here are four interesting innovations that help us explore future possibilities

1. Personal budgets

2. Peer support

3. WomenCentre

4. C2 Community Development

Power

How families and young people can take charge of their own destinies

How people with very complex disabilities can be supported to be full citizens.

Peer

How people with mental health problems in Doncaster took back control and showed how to reform mental health services.

People

How women in Halifax tackle the most vicious social problems - together - and far more efficiently and effectively than public services on their own.

Place

C2 Model of Community Development

How to embed social workers in communities to develop partnerships and avoid crisis.

Innovation for Citizenship © Simon Duffy 2014 Published by The Centre for Welfare Reform http://www.www.centreforwelfarereform.orgOn Twitter follow:@simonjduffy and @cforwrFor more information about citizenship join our Citizenship for All project. Just go to:http://www.keystocitizenship.com