It is one of the frustrations of our society that for all of our knowledge and progress, we can not seem to fix the entrenched disadvantage that permeates much of our community.

Last weekend, 50 people came together looking for ways to address this anomaly, at the third annual Social Innovation Summit held in the Hunter Valley.  Previous Summits, held in 2006 and in London in 2007, raised the need for more creative ways to combat long-term disadvantage...

In 2008, the Summit focused at ways to encourage that creative approach, to deliver real change at a local community level.

Participants represented the government, business and not-for-profit sectors, all of them leaders in their chosen fields.  What was unique about this gathering was the focus on collaboration between the three sectors to overcome long-term social problems. This collaboration lies at the heart of social innovation.

Professor Tony Vinson’s opening presentation highlighted the magnitude of the task at hand. His ‘postcodes of disadvantage’ work shows that disadvantaged areas in Australia have been largely unchanged since his research began more than 30 years ago. They also have similar inter-linking characteristics.

We heard some of the success stories. Lord Andrew Mawson from Bromley on Bow in the UK outlined the work being done to transform communities in London’s East End. He spoke of the importance of local ownership and engagement, rather than forcing solutions on to local communities. Through “learning by doing’, as he called it, local residents can have a real impact on their community.

John Prendergast from the Southland Community Trust in New Zealand outlined how in NZ and Canada, “place-based” community development and funding can make a huge difference to communities in crisis, rather than the issues-based approach that is often employed.

Significantly, these success stories are based on collaboration between the business, government and not-for-profit sectors, with strong community consultation and local engagement. This appears to be a way forward, utilising the skills and expertise in all sectors to deliver positive social outcomes for the broader community.

Much of the deliberations of Summit participants focused on how to better use social innovation.  There was a concern expressed by some that social innovation focuses on the “new” and that we can often disregard what is already being done in communities in favour of a new approach, when in fact a more long-term and sustainable approach is needed.

According to Professor Tony Vinson long-term problems require long-term solutions, with a funding timeframe of at least eight years. At the core of this, therefore, is patience and persistence - patience and persistence to find innovation; patience and persistence to fund innovation.

Presently, the issues inhibiting social innovation and social entrepreneurs in Australia are many. They include an over-dependency on government funding, complex regulation that prevents collaboration, lack of transparency, constant focus on the short term, limited capacity to tolerate risk and a lack of rigorous outcomes.

However, none are insurmountable and Summit participants acknowledged priority areas for action, which will be presented to the Federal Government for further consideration as part of the development of a strong social inclusion agenda.

The first thing we need to do is establish a shared vision and common goal between business, Government and the community sectors on how to best support social innovation, through robust systems, evaluation and measurement.

Financing and regulation is a top agenda item and one that interestingly concerns large, established not-for-profits looking to upscale, as well as the social entrepreneurs with novel, yet unproven, solutions. A simple, efficient and nationally consistent regulatory framework will positively contribute to social innovation and the long-term sustainability of communities, enabling them to spend more time on delivering services to those in need.

The idea of a social innovation fund was discussed at length at the Summit. This fund would exist with the provision of corpus funds from government to create a pool of money to help grow and support innovation. With that said, the group acknowledged that there is also a very important role for strategic corporate foundations to provide a reliable, long-term source of ongoing support and that unique categories like capacity building funding would allow not-for-profit organisations to thrive by achieving strategic growth. With such funding, the not-for-profit also benefits from a skills transfer and strategic expertise offered by the benefactor.

Furthermore, a commitment to an ongoing and candid analysis of what works and what doesn’t between the three sectors is necessary to ensure we are doing the best job possible. This means sharing of knowledge and best practice via a simple and streamlined process that then guides future decision making and investment.

It is very clear that when Government, the not-for-profit sector and the business community join forces, we can expect positive and practical solutions to some of our most pressing social challenges. And at the heart of it, is the need to engender social innovation, patiently, yet persistently.

The Social Innovation Summit was hosted by the Macquarie Group Foundation in partnership with Mission Australia, Centre for Social Impact and Social Ventures Australia.