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EN members setting up the 'New Social Silicon Valley'
21 January 2010
EN member Gorka Espiau from DenokInn has just secured a €6million grant to create Europe's first Social Innovation Park, dubbed 'The New Social Silicon Valley'.
Social leaders have a long tradition of collaborative projects but a business park fully dedicated to third sector innovation. The Social Innovation Park (SI Park) in the greater Bilbao area of Northern Spain, will consolidate third sector initiatives and emerging innovation projects aiming to create the new "Social Silicon Valley".
Euclid Network (EN) will be primarily involved in the Social Innovation Academy, offering training for third sector leaders.
Gorka Espiau will present the project to EN and ACEVO members in London on 12 February.
This is a great opportunity to be involved in a project that will lead the way in social innovation in Europe and an inspiration for governments on how solutions to social problems can be achieved.
Summary of the Social Innovation Park
We are living fascinating times. The whole social welfare system is reinventing itself with new paradigms. DenokInn offers a sustainable and equitable approach to the structure and management of social innovation ventures. SI Park offers a great opportunity to participate in advancing the process of social innovation from a totally new perspective.
The new resources incorporated in this initiative will include the
- Social Innovation Laboratory (G-Lab)
Identifying emerging social tendencies applying participatory democracy methodologies - Social Innovation Academy
on-site and on-line training to bring fresh ideas to services provided by third sector institutions, organizations and enterprises. The Academy will collaborate with EN and Social Innovation Exchange (SIX) - Social Enterprise Generator
Incubating new social enterprises and encouraging SI Park members to launch new projects
SI Park is a pioneering infrastructure promoted by DenokInn, the Basque Centre for Social and Corporate Innovation, which provides the best environment for third sector entities to cooperate, learn from each other and to build new shared enterprises.
Why the Basque region?
The Basque region of Spain has a long tradition of a vibrant economy powered by a deep social approach. This is the homeland of Mondragon Cooperative Corporation and the Guggenheim Museum, promoted and funded by the local authorities. The Basque area has also demonstrated a successful history in terms of socio-economic regeneration. This is one of the few international cases which overcame the steel and shipbuilding crisis of the 80s, transforming itself into a new economy employing 100,000 workers around the globe. In addition, the Basque region is leading renewal energy enterprises. In addition, the Basque region is leading renewal energy enterprises by birthing transnationals corporations such as Gamesa and Iberdrola.
Partnerships
DenokInn has signed a collaboration agreement with the London School of Economics Enterprise. The new innovation entrepreneurs will be trained, mentored, and evaluated by SI Park staff, incorporating the know-how present in a privileged social environment.
SI Park will also host a pilot project, led by DenokInn, to generate social and cooperative enterprises under an innovative approach. The DenokInn pilot will allow a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises to be located in the park, integrating related experiences successfully tested in Sweden and France.
DenokInn will design, conceptualize services and coordinate the international programmes established at the park. DenokInn´s strategic leadership is a timely call for foundations, charities, social enterprises, NGOs, social economy enterprises, cooperatives, financial community programmes, businesses offering social services and products, living labs, think-tanks, entrepreneurial schools, social innovation and third sector networks to explore the possibility of benefiting from the SI Park.
Further information
Download the Social Innovation Park article (PDF, 91kb)
Contact Gorka Espiau at gespiau@denokinn.euis. Gorka is the International Programmes Senior Manager at DenokInn.