We'll work on the messy, complex social issues that are in desperate need of both new approaches & new solutions. The Safari is a methodology for developing our collective problem-solving capabilities and skills. Imagine joining an inter-disciplinary dream team, and discovering new ways to prompt social change!
Period
09-07-2013 - 19-07-2013 (2 weeks)
Target group
Social innovation is realized by bringing different minds and skills together: different sectors and disciplines, different cultures and different ages. That is why we want the Safari to be as diverse as possible. Social innovators can come from any sector: designers, consultants, social workers, entrepreneurs, governmental officials, academics, students, professionals, etc. You can be at undergraduate level, PhD level, or post doc level. However, the Safari is not for the faint of heart. It is intensive. It is high-pressure. You will be pushed outside your comfort zone, asked to realize the impossible. We will transform your thinking (we promise), and you will change the world. Are you up for the challenge? Then the Safari is for you!
Course aim
At the Safari we learn by doing. We learn from each other, from leaders in the field, and from faculty - but most of all we learn by working on real life challenges. We believe that the best way to learn comes from blending different ways of knowing and acting. In working on real challenges you will get acquainted with different types of methodologies that combine creative and analytical approaches, and demand deep collaboration across disciplines. An important pillar of the Safari is the process of design thinking which draws on methods from engineering and design and combines them with ideas from the arts, theories from the social sciences, and insights from the business world. The focus is not on solving problems from the outside, but on understanding who is involved, what the problem is, and how to facilitate the co-design of new possibilities and unexpected solutions. Solutions that enable sustainable social change.
So the Safari consists of a mix of:
- Creativity and analysis
- Design and social science
- Bottom-up and top-down
- People and systems
- Reflection and delivery
- Immersion and critical distance
- Public, private, and civil sectors
- Building Blocks: core content ingredients
- Framing a problem: Who defines the problem? What is the problem behind the problem?
- Stakeholder outreach & engagement: how do you identify all the different actors, and see the world from their perspective?
- Measurement, accountability, and impact evaluation: judging the results and the outputs of our actions. When and why is a success a success?
- Cultural diversity and value based differences: how do we differ and what do we share?
- Change management, dealing with resistance, conflict management, power dynamics: how do we keep moving when we get stuck?
- Storytelling: how do we make the case for change?
Over the last few years the field of social innovation which is in nature practice based- has been getting more and more attention from policymakers, foundations, researchers and academic institutions. However, the field is still ill-defined, vague and lacks a coherent body of knowledge. This is partly because social innovation is a practice led field, that is cross-disciplinary and that has many different manifestations in different situations and places. This lack of clarity also has clear advantages and makes it an interesting topic to study during a summer programme: it is multi interpretable; it stimulates independent thinking and provokes debate and discussion. As with solving wicked problems the understanding comes from action (on which we reflect) instead of from analysis (after which we act).
As social innovation draws upon and makes use of lots of other existing theories and approaches the Safari will bring participants in touch with the following themes:
- Ethnographic research
- Design thinking
- System thinking
- Behavioural studies
- Public sector innovation.
At the Safari we learn from real life social challenges. Challenges like educational disengagement and unemployment, which effect real people. First we identify the challenge: for whom is it a problem, what are the various definitions and versions of the problem? We will also focus on the role of the institutions & systems involved. In an environment of financial constraints, but a growing need for tailor-made solutions, how are we to act? What is even the role of formal institutions and systems? Indeed our starting point will not be these formal institutions and systems, but on different ways of organising to meet social needs and achieve real, measurable impact. The aim is not to solve social problems. The aim is to create new perspectives, new insights and new methods for problem solving.
For this reason we partner with organisations in Amsterdam. They can be from the corporate, non-profit, cultural and the government sector and they are involved in the social challenge. This way we create a learning loop: the participants get a better understanding of what it means to be a social innovator and the partner organizations deepen their own innovation capacity, other stakeholders have a voice and can improve their problem solving capabilities as well.In the coming weeks the challenges will be identified. We are looking into challenges like youth employment, aging society, unpayable healthcare, and urban vancancy & sustainability.
For examples of former challenges, take a look here: www.socialsafari.orgLearning goals After participating the Safari participants will have experienced these main objectives:
- Greater awareness and knowledge of complex social problems and 'good' solutions;
- Realise new directions for real life challenges;
- Increased problem solving capabilities & skills;
- Understand how to apply methods and solutions to your own work context;
- Be part of a global community of social innovators.
At the Safari we tackle social challenges for Amsterdam organizations. Real world problems, constraints and commitments accelerate learning more than hypothetical classroom exercises. We will pay extensive visits to all the partner organizations during the Safari.
Credits
6.0 ECTS credits
As a Summer Institute student you will either receivean official certificate (non-credit)or both a certificate and a transcript (credit)with an official seal from the Universiteit van Amsterdam, provided of course that you meet all requirements.Students who wish to earn credits receive, upon successful completion of the programme, an official transcript stating the courses taken, credits earned and grades obtained.For more information on the credit transfer, you should contact your home university.
Course fee
EUR 2000: The tuition fee includes:Welcome dinnerlunch on class daysall reading materialsaccess to course materialssite visitscertificate of attendancecredit students also receive a transcriptclosing event with client organizations and public
The tuition fee does not include travel to and from Amsterdam nor housing. If you decide to take the course for credit, the total tuition rises to 2300.
EUR 375: This is an optional housing fee for students who wish to be placed in the university's student housing during the programme.
Course leader
Richard Gerritsen, and others TBA
University of Amsterdam Graduate School of Social Sciences
Address: P.O. Box 26
Postal code: 1000 AA
City: Amsterdam
Country: Netherlands
Website: http://www.gsss.uva.nl/summerprogrammes
E-mail: SummerInstitute-ishss@uva.nl
Phone: +31 20 525 3776
