By SSIR Editors

The 2021 Frontiers of Social Innovation Conference: “People, Power, Resources: Enacting an Equitable Future” featured senior leaders of nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, academia, business, and government addressing how the social innovation community can respond to a world struggling with a global pandemic, continued racial injustices, and assaults on democracy. SSIR‘s editors recapped the virtual conference and assembled a list of articles related to the sessions.

Session 1: Systems Work Is Not a Thought Experiment, It’s a Continual Practice

Francois Bonnici of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Cynthia Rayner of the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, René Parker of RLabs, Clarita Arboleda of Fundacion Escuela Nueva, and Arbind Singh discussed the concept of “systems work” and its emphasis on the “how to” of systems change.

Go Deeper:

• The Dawn of System Leadership
• Three Keys to Unlocking Systems-Level Change

Session 2: Could This Be the Future of Our Economic System? A Discussion on ‘Mutualism’

Sara Horowitz, founder of the Freelancers Union, former labor lawyer, and former chair of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Eric Nee, editor-in-chief of SSIR, discussed an intergenerational approach to developing the cooperative, mutually beneficial economic mechanisms within our societies.

Go Deeper:

• Democratizing Economic Power to Break the Cycle of American Inequality
• The Entrepreneurial Union
• Private Equity, Public Good

Session 3: Rapid Talks: Driving Policy Change and the Need for Government Transparency

Heather Hurlburt of New Models of Policy Change at New America and Blair Glencorse of Accountability Lab discussed broken norms, policy change, and the need for greater government transparency.

Go Deeper:

• Rebuilding Trust in American Institutions
• Equity, Power-Sharing, and Renewal of Civil Society
• SSIR Guide to Influencing Public Policy

Article originally published in Standford Social Innovation Review 

Tirelo Makwela