13) Kristin Neumann, SMS

For us, social innovation is an innovation that does not revolve around technologies like the steam engine, the computer, or the iPhone, but around new social practices—how we live together, how we consume, how we organize our work. It's about people being able to organize living together better. That can be many facets: older people, younger people. Personally, I like it best when everyone develops something together. It could be new forms of work. That's exactly what we need for the development of our region. In Saxony and Germany, we have solved many social challenges, but the problem is how to further develop them. Those who provide social services are called upon to be innovative, to contribute ideas, and to have an attitude: how to get financial resources or cooperations? It's not always about money, but also about profitable cooperation and access—a door opener. In Dresden we are at urban city culture; in Leipzig we want to illuminate startup and corporate culture; and in Upper Lusatia the rural area. We want to show how broad this topic is. Social innovations are different from technical innovations. They focus on social practices and coexistence. Technical aids can support, but it's about promoting the common good. Social innovations arise where there are social problems. They develop new concepts. Challenges include digital participation, especially after the pandemic, to create digital participation for all groups regardless of socio-economic status and age. Also offers like family counseling. Topics like demographic change, aging population in Saxony—how to create equal living conditions with innovative concepts? Also shortage of skilled workers in social and health sector. Social innovations can include new care concepts, innovative work organization in companies with inclusive character, and new networks. In the event series 'Sozial Innovativ Sächsisch' we had examples like a digital citizen participation format and 'Bring Together', a digital matching platform for alternative living concepts, bringing together senior shared apartments or concepts for single parents, addressing loneliness in old age. There are many diverse formats and challenges in the social area. Yes, there are innovations here.

Yes, I would like to briefly explain what we have planned with the future platform for social innovation. We want to create a coordination and exchange platform that advances the entire ecosystem of social innovation in Saxony. We want to create a network that is the spider in the web. In the economic and technology sector, we already have such infrastructures, and we want to create that for social innovation in social work. With the future platform, we want to identify, support, and accompany socially innovative concepts. We also have model projects planned to test socially innovative ideas. The future platform will accompany these model projects in different phases. An important topic is to bring social innovation more into the public focus. It is increasingly important because we face societal challenges that cannot be solved only technically. We need good structures. The actors to be addressed are diverse: from social economy and welfare, start-ups with innovative business ideas that put community before profit, civil society initiatives in rural areas, actors from science, especially universities of applied sciences in social work, and politics and administration. So a bouquet of actors.