Innovation Labs

Government Innovation Labs

There’s some really great info over here by DESIS on what they’re calling ‘Government Innovation Labs’ (these types of things are still new enough that people are trying to find a common name for them – other names include social and public labs), and the above image and below quote are by them.

Across the world, we observe efforts to promote radical innovations in the public realm being followed by the creation of different types of “authorizing environments” that foster these experiments.

We call them Public Innovation Places. By this we mean experimental sites, agencies, or labs created to develop innovative solutions to pressing social problems, and dedicated to the creation of networks and partnerships by launching new projects, events, and platforms.

In this first map we pay particular attention to the rise of Government Innovation Labs, a range of organizations characterized by a direct connection with the public sector and developed to challenge complex public issues that more traditional governmental structures seek to resolve

Ireland
The Studio  –  (Status Update April 2014)

UK
Nesta
SILK

France
La 27e Région

Netherlands
Kennisland

Denmark
Mindlab

Finland
Helsinki Design Lab  –  (Status Update July 2013)

Canada
MaRS Solutions Lab

US
iZone
Innovate SF
New Urban Mechanics
OPM Innovation Lab

Mexico
Laboratorio Para La Ciudad

Singapore
Human Experience Lab

Australia
Design Gov
TACSI

Understanding and Challenges

The Radical’s Dilemma by Geoff Mulgan looks at the various social and public labs from across around the world, and suggests a typology for understanding them and describes some of the challenges they face – in particular, the radical’s dilemma of having to work both inside and outside established systems.

Read it here.