The SIKE project brings together eleven European partners: five higher education institutions, five SMEs and an NGO from the UK, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Croatia.
The partners have both shared and individual experience in developing, supporting and implementing social innovation projects across the globe, including Europe, Asia, South Africa and Latin America. The SIKE project partners will learn from and build on these networks to demonstrate the potential of universities to apply knowledge in order to affect social change in a direct and meaningful way.
Find out more about who works on SIKE under ‘Our people’.
Glasgow Caledonian University is one of the largest universities in Scotland with nearly 17,000 students. The University’s commitment to social innovation is reflected in and inspired by its motto, For the Common Good, – especially by the University’s Chancellor and Nobel Laureate, Professor Muhammad Yunus, who set up the University’s leading research centre for the social sciences, the Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health. The university is the most successful in UK in terms of involvement of Erasmus+ CBHE and Strategic Partnership projects.
Glasgow Caledonian University will be leading on the management WP9 of the SIKE project ensuring proper implementation of the action and the achievement of general and specific objectives. They will also be applying their experience in Q-methodology to measure the impact of the social innovation projects developed within the project as part of WP6.
The Melting Pot stimulates and supports social innovation by providing dynamic resources for social change makers. They are the pioneers of co-working in Scotland, and their space and programmes supports the next generation of social innovators with timely resources, connection and support – independent of government agendas and resources. The Melting Pot wish to enable people to respond imaginatively and effectively to the economic, social environmental and cultural problems we face and to improve our collective well-being.
The Melting Pot’s unrivalled experience in the development of co-working makes them invaluable in the definition of SI spaces as part of the needs analysis (WP1) and the identification of case studies (WP2). They will also be contributing to the development of tools (WP5).
The University of Aveiro is a young university, founded in 1973, with over 12000 full-time students (Graduation and Post-graduation). The University has a strong research profile, a unique model of governance (17 Departments, 4 Polytechnic Schools and various training centres), acting as a regional network for education and training promoting strong links with the surrounding community.
University of Aveiro will be leading WP1 on the needs of the local community; identifying existing tools and social innovation projects and defining relevant stakeholders. They will also be contributing their specific knowledge in Design for social innovation to the development of tools (WP5).
Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) is the largest Portuguese non-profit organization with around 5000 workers and 500 years of history. Over the years, it has been working to improve the life quality and welfare of the population in Lisbon and its underprivileged and vulnerable citizens in particular. Best known for its social welfare action. Since 2011, SCML has developed inclusive and social entrepreneurship programs that covered 302 entrepreneurs and 93 projects, innovation empowerment workshops and competitions and a digital social innovation competition.
In 2013, SCML has established BIS- Social Innovation Bank, the first network in the country that promotes and gives comprehensive support to the social innovation ecosystem. It aggregates assets of various nature from 27 public entities, universities, enterprises and social organizations.
SCML has unique experience in the promotion, empowerment and support of social entrepreneurs and SI projects which will be essential in the identification of case studies (WP2) and development of appropriate design of the SIKE units (WP3) as well as in the evaluation methodologies (WP6).
TU Dortmund University (TUDO) is the fourth largest Technical University in Germany with around 27,000 students, 300 professors and 6,700 employees. Sozialforschungsstelle (sfs) “Social Research Centre” is a central scientific institute of TUDO. Founded in 1946, sfs is one of the oldest and one of the largest German research institutes in social sciences. Since the mid 1980s, sfs has carried out or participated in more than 100 European projects in cooperation with partners in nearly all countries of the European Union. TUDO / sfs is currently involved in several EU-funded projects on social innovation.
TU Dortmund University will be leading on WP2 to identify and exchange best practice cases at each participating institution, representing each stage of the Social Innovation Spiral. They will also be helping to define work-based SI and other specific initiatives as part of WP1.
For over 20 years, Social Impact has been developing products and services that contribute towards securing future viability and social equity. Social Impact GmbH is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1994 under the name ‘iq consult’. Since then, Social Impact has been instrumental in designing and implementing innovative qualifications and start-up support for socially disadvantaged groups.
Social Impact will lead on the central WP3, overseeing partners’ design and establishment of spaces where knowledge exchange for social innovation can take place. Each unit will a space for dialogue, for innovation and co-design, a hub for connecting people. Their experience of Public sector SI will be vital in the dissemination and exploitation of the project (WP8).
The University of Deusto (UD) is the one of the oldest universities in Spain, over 125 years old, non-profit university with 15% international students. It is known for its educational and research excellence, but has has also focused on gaining significant international leadership levels during the last few decades through the execution and coordination of academic and institutional cooperation within the frame of international programmes, actively participating in numerous calls. As part of its institutional policy, a big effort has been made to create International Networks and Projects that have increased the visibility and prestige of the university. This has numerous advantages as the value of sharing experiences and finding synergies in the fields of research, teaching and management, facilitating the exchange of students, teachers and administration and services staff, boosting the task of initiating and executing international projects.
Deusto Social Innovation unit has the main goal to observe the processes of globalization, innovation and social change through people’s eyes, analysing the impact of those processes in their lives, in customs and value changes, in the transformations of coexistence frameworks and in cultural transformations.
University of Deusto will be leading WP4, working with the other partners to develop training materials that will include supporting materials for individual workshops, workshop plans and training notes, active learning sets, external training notes, embedded equality and diversity simulation. They will work actively on the dissemination activities aimed at changing cultures in the participating regions and beyond.
Business Innovation Brokers S. Coop is a private not for profit cooperative devoted to develop and apply innovation related methodologies, identify strategic social projects and training and consultancy on innovation issues. BiB was setup in 2008 by a highly-experienced group of professionals previously managing the Innovation Research Centre of MCC – Mondragon Cooperative Corporation (80.000 employees around the globe).
BiB aims to promote comprehensive approaches towards social innovation by identifying emerging social needs and generating new business opportunities incorporating public and private companies, entrepreneurs and civil society. Related to the specific proposal of SIKE, BiB has developed methodologies and tools to support social innovation covering the whole cycle “From the idea to the Market”, starting from identifying new innovative approaches to social needs, conceptualize business ideas and check their feasibility, both from the social and economical point of view, design a self-sustained business model, prototype the new service or product and finally train the new entrepreneurs and/or companies to materialize the product / service to launch the new initiative into the real market.
Business Innovation Brokers, with their unique experience in establishing SI Parks, will lead WP5, overseeing a robust and transferable set of online tools that, as well as supporting the programme’s needs throughout its duration, provide substantial outputs to inform and educate external parties. They will also lend their unique insights in entrepreneurial SI to contribute to the development of face-to-face training materials (WP4).
VERN’ University of Applied Sciences started operating as a higher-educational institution in 2000. Today it is the oldest and the biggest private higher institution in Croatia with 2100 students and 4000 alumni; around 200 lecturers; 13 study programs: 7 undergraduate and 6 specialist professional graduate study programs. VERN leads the work on Evaluation (WP6), will establish and oversee an Advisory and Evaluation Committee which will be responsible for assessing the appropriateness and viability of actions carried out during the course of the project. They will also use their wide experience of SI among students to contribute actively to the development of training materials (WP4).
Social Innovation Lab (SIL) is a regional research/policy and educational/capacity building organisation working in the area of social innovation in the Western Balkans and Turkey. SIL collaborates with multiple target groups and sector representatives to promote social innovation as a means to address complex socio-economic problems and contribute to improving the life quality of individuals, groups and communities.
SIL lead on WP7 Quality Monitoring which will establish a series of measures to ensure quality management throughout the project. Their wide experience in understanding the role of civil society in SI will contribute to a clear definition of needs and best practices (WPs 1 and 2).
Social Innovation Exchange (SIX) is a social innovation exchange built on value, relationships and knowledge. We believe that the exchange of experiences and knowledge drives positive social change. SIX works globally to facilitate purposeful cross sector conversations. Through the three main activities of convening, capacity building, and developing knowledge and learning, SIX challenge and inspire people to use innovation to increase social impact.
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