Innovation Collaborations

Introduction to Innovation Collaborations

These are collaborations set up to transform systems. They experiment with doing things differently to ensure all people, places and planet thrive.

The key attributes of Innovation Collaboration learning communities are that they:

• Emerge around a complex challenge and focus on a bold goal.
• Include innovations that centre equity in sector policy, practice and leadership.
• Engage a variety of diverse actors to create breakthrough ideas and new practices.
• Involve bottom-up, top-down and side-to-side innovation that spans organisational and sectoral boundaries.
• Question dominant assumptions and challenge us to see and be differently.
• Focus on learning in action and experimentation.
• Learn and practice equity, humility and shared responsibility for a just and regenerative future.
• Learn and practice healing-centred systems change in recognition that individual, intergenerational, collective, historical and systemic traumas are present in all social justice and change work.

Questions to consider

If you are keen to establish or evolve an Innovation Collaboration learning community:

• What big idea might an innovation collaboration learning community in the social enterprise space seek to explore or test?
• How might an innovation collaboration learning community challenge ‘the way we’ve always done things’ to positively impact on people and planet?

Examples

Some global examples of innovation collaboration learning communities include:

• Griffith Centre for Systems Innovation
• Just2ce: A just transition to circular economy
• Regen Melbourne
• Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab
• The Southern Initiative
• School of Systems Change Field and Practice