Patients are increasingly recognised as a source of innovation and this led Pedro Oliveira and colleagues to establish a network of such user innovators. On this website you can find an introductory video about the principles and also an extensive library of case examples
social innovation
Anil Gupta and the Honey Bee network
Anil Gupta is the founder of a network supporting entrepreneurs in India and encouraging them to develop ideas for solving some of the major social challenges facing the country. In this TED talk he explains his approach.
Grameen Bank
Muhammad Yunis won the Nobel Prize for his work in developing the concept of ‘microfinance’. This video clip explains the basic idea behind the Grameen bank, the venture he established to implement the idea.
Samasource
This is a case example of social innovation in the humanitarian context. Samasource was an idea developed to enable refugees to participate in the wider economic system using mobile technology and earn money to support themselves. The basic idea is explained in this clip….. ….. and this clip has a users perspective
Eastville Community Shop
Eastville community shop This is an example of social entrepreneurship in action and explores the motivations and experiences of a group who set up a local community shop. There is also an activity linked to this case
NEKA – a case study in social entrepreneurship
This is a talk by Jeff Church, founder of NEKA, a social enterprise which supports clean water projects in impoverished countries. It highlights his own motivations as well as describing some of the challenges in creating social ventures.
Suzana Moreira
This is an interview with Suzana Moreira of Mowoza.com Originally set up as a way of connecting migrant workers with their families back home and allowing cash transfers to support purchase of food, books and other needs, the business has developed into a a simple-to-use mobile commerce service; conveniently and efficiently giving informal cross-border traders instant access
Simon Tucker
A transcript of this interview appears here.
Freeplay Energy
Freeplay Radio This is a case study of a social enterprise originally aiming to provide radios to improve education and communication amongst disadvantaged populations. It has subsequently grown into a major provider of a wide range of support and has renamed itself Lifeline Energy – follow this link for the case. See their website for more

Activities
- Using the 4Ps approach to explore innovation space
- Uses for ….
- Uses for …
- TRIZ
- The Way We Do Things Around Here
- Success and Failure in Innovation
- Strategic planning for implementation
- Strategic advantage through knowledge
- Strategic advantage through innovation
- SPOTS – an audit framework for new product or service development

Cases

Deeper Dives
