FUTURES Social Innovation Forum

FUTURES is a platform for social innovation which brings together the private sector, public sector, not-for-profit organisations and community groups to develop innovative ideas for products, services and business models that address social issues and needs. Social Innovation Creating new ideas for products, services and business models that simultaneously meet social needs and create new social relationships Aging Access to Healthcare War Energy Crisis Unemployment Malnutrition Access to Education Water Crisis Climate change Poverty Involve multiple stakeholders from the private sector, public sector, the not-for-profit organisations and consumers Build relationships through dialogue Inspire creativity and innovation Build futuristic scenarios and innovative solutions with actionable plans FUTURES approach 1970 Denial 1960 Compliance CSR Corporate Social Responsibility is dead. Increasingly big companies are creating new business models, new products and services that deliver lasting, financially viable solutions to the big problems we face. And we believe its the future of business. Liam Black Social Entrepreneur (The UK has an estimated £24 billion social enterprise industry and has come to be regarded as a global leader in this field of social innovation)

Key Activities October 2013 Learning journey to the UK The host and key partners will visit the UK to learn how UK companies practice Social Innovation. January 2014 Social Innovation Forum 2 Day conference style forum: Plenary sessions with inputs from the host and 3 workshop style sessions where the host and partners focus on a selected social issue facilitated by innovation experts.

Outcomes Global partnerships on social issues Futuristic scenarios and innovative solutions with actionable plans Eco-system for social innovation Increased mutual understanding between Sri Lanka and the UK British Council positioned to be the preferred partner for resulting projects For more information please contact Eranda Ginige Head Partnerships & Business Development British Council 49 Alfred House Gardens, Colombo 00300, Sri Lanka T | M | E Cheap water treatment system (waterdonut.de)waterdonut.de Alternative to meat (likemeat.eu)likemeat.eu Alternative to the wheelchair (rewalk.com)rewalk.com Wind energy exploitation (kitegen.com)kitegen.com Sheet of paper that keeps food fresh (fenugreen.com)fenugreen.com Ultra-affordable solar lamp (dilightdesign.com)dilightdesign.com Increasing agricultural productivity (gatesfoundation.org)gatesfoundation.org Credit-card sized computer (raspberrypi.org)raspberrypi.org

© British Council 2013 The United Kingdoms international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.

SOCIAL ISSUE Partner British Council Host Partner Media Academics Community Groups Companies Government Bodies NGOs Working together British Council, host and partner companies will mutually identify relevant social issues to focus on Host and partners will participate in the learning journey to the UK Host and partners will provide inputs to the designing of the overall programme and individual sessions Other stakeholders will be mutually identified and brought in to the forum

Benefits to partners Developing comprehensive understanding of social issues that will have an impact on your business Building trust and relationship with your future business partners and customers Collaborating across sectors for holistic and sustainable solutions Gaining access to expertise and specialised knowledge in relevant social issues Improvement of employees motivation and development of intrapreneurship skills Development of internal skills and knowledge for social innovation Increased brand reputation Corporate Sustainability