The Young Foundation has always been involved in work outside the UK. We recognise that the more we know about the best solutions globally, the better we will be able to achieve results. And experience suggests that some of our own ideas will work best in other parts of the world.

Today our international work mainly focuses on developing and spreading skills in social innovation. Specifically our work includes orchestrating networks, advising governments internationally, influencing policy and launching global ventures that promote social innovation. In recent years we have helped to run events in China, Spain, Portugal, the USA, Singapore, Australia - and we work with dozens of like-minded organisations across the world.

• Four years ago, the Young Foundation and a group of partners from around the world launched the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX) to build the emerging field of social innovation. SIX is now a global community of over 3000 individuals and organisations - including small NGOs and global firms, governments, public agencies, entrepreneurs, trade unions and academics - committed to promoting social innovation.  SIX is one of the key players shaping the EU's innovation agenda. Work with the European Commission's Bureau of Policy Advisors helped design Europe's social innovation strategy and SIX is leading a pilot Social Innovation Initiative for Europe to network policies and programmes in the field of social innovation across the EU.

• The Global Innovation Academy is a new initiative the Young Foundation is launching in collaboration with leaders in the social innovation field across the world (with primary support from the Rockefeller Foundation in the US). Its aim is to provide practical learning and training to thousands of practitioners and policy makers working on the front lines in government, industry and the third sector.

• Social Innovation Europe, funded by the European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry, and run by a group of partners led by the Social Innovation eXchange (SIX) at the Young Foundation, will bring social innovators together from across countries and sectors to streamline the process of innovation, and propel Europe to lead the practice of social innovation globally.
  

• The Young Foundation has advised governments around the world on issues ranging from how we measure happiness to designing new financial tools to fund the social sector. We work with international partners to export some of our most promising projects and advise on implementing the best ideas in the local context. The Future Communities programme, for example, explores practical ways in which new and existing housing developments can succeed as places where people want to live. After successful programmes in the UK, we now lead international projects on Future Communities in Sweden and Australia, drawing on local and international ideas from architects, designers, and the academic community.

• In the area of justice, we are working with the Center for Court Innovation, a New York based research centre that creates demonstration projects to test new ideas in the fields of justice, to launch a Centre for Justice Innovation, an independent agency designed to improve the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

• The Young Foundation has also worked with the Centre for Social Impact to support the design of Australia's first Social Impact Bond, which will act to strengthen work to prevent social problems such as re-offending and youth unemployment rather than requiring later, more expensive interventions. The feasibility study published in February 2011 has concluded that New South Wales is ready to pilot Social Impact Bonds.

• We also partner with research institutions and policy centres internationally on a range of projects. Most recently we worked with the Center for American Progress on a series of reports on how to promote innovation in the public sector.

Key reading

• A study on social innovation in Europe - prepared for the European Commission's Bureau of European Policy Advisors (BEPA).

• The Open Book of Social Innovation - a shared resource for the global community to use, develop and improve.

• Scaling New Heights and Capital Ideas - joint publications between the Young Foundation and the Center for American Progress.

• The Social innovator website - The Young Foundation and SIX completed a major exercise (backed by Nesta) to survey, map and improve the many methods being used for social innovation around the world.

SIX

SIX aims to develop a global network of networks to promote social innovation and facilitate the exchange of ideas, knowledge and best practice.

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World

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The Young foundation's work spans the length of the UK and, increasingly, across the globe to find out more click on the pins or use the zoom to focus in on a specific area.

Guide:

Practical

Research

Venture

Advisory