Join us for the first Social Innovation Lab

I see most most systems in our society hitting walls as we try to solve new problems with old tools. From how we provide health care to how we do politics, we are in need of lots of innovation to find new ways of meeting community needs. In the past six months, I've organized a series of gatherings about Presencing, which is a way of paying attention to the future that is seeking to emerge.  I've been delighted by all the connections and learning that I've found in this work. One outgrowth of the work I've been doing with Presencing, is that I'm now partnering with InCommons, Wendy Morris, and many others to start a Social Innovation Lab in Minnesota. The first gathering of this lab will be on May 22 from 8:30 to noon in St. Paul. I'd like to invite you to join us, and help shape this resource and community. 

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The Social Innovation Lab is a quarterly, half-day gathering that brings together tools, projects, and networking to increase capacity for social innovation, for the purpose of building sustainable and inclusive communities in Minnesota. 

The inaugural lab on the morning of May 22 will focus on identifying and working with leverage points for change in complex systems. For instance, what are the most effective points of intervention for increasing the health of systems that provide education, food, health care, and public safety? Glenda Eoyang, from the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, will be one of the trainers, and help us find tools for change in complex systems. Several people who are leading systems change initiatives will join us, as we experiment with how the tools that Glenda introduces us to can be applied to the challenges in these initiatives. For example, people who are working to remove barriers for money transfers from Minnesota to Somalia will engage us in this challenge. Many other groups, including people working on health care reform and green affordable housing, will also be inviting us to learn with them about how tools for systems change can be applied those issues. Read more here.