Solutions Hub

In response to the question of "How do we find solutions?", we have categorized and listed some solutions hubs. This will also act as a beta version of a future Solutions Hub website, although if this scrappy version works, we don't actually need to.

We like solutions that have a seed of structural change embedded in them.

Solution Hubs

Evidence Clearing Houses or 'What Works' Hubs

These are hubs curated and led from a scientific approach

Campbell Collaboration

https://www.campbellcollaboration.org/

This an evidence-based clearing house that consolidates of systematic reviews so as to understand what works. It focuses on broader social domains and was inspired by the Cochrane Collaboration that focuses on health and medical care.

You can click on their link to evidence portals to find other sites classified by domains like disability, education, social welfare etc.

What Works Network

Set up by the UK Government to help them improve the creation, sharing and use of evidence for public services. Made up of separate 'What Works Centres' focusing on ageing, children, homelessness etc.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-works-network

Civic Participation or Democratic Innovation Hubs

Participedia

https://participedia.net/

Crowdsourced approaches and case studies on civic participation and democratic innovations. Click on their methods to get a sense of the solutions they care about.

Democracy Collaborative

https://democracycollaborative.org/

They have also set up separate programmes and have links to these other websites:

https://community-wealth.org/ (focuses on building community wealth)

https://thenextsystem.org/ (focuses on systems change because 'systemic problems require systemic solutions')

Solutions Journalism

https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/
Journalists who report about solutions rather than just problems. These stories are searchable in a database called their Story Tracker.

https://nextcity.org/

https://www.yesmagazine.org/

https://reasonstobecheerful.world/

https://www.impactboom.org/

Social or Policy Innovation Labs

https://neweconomics.org/

https://www.nesta.org.uk/

Join Others: Connect to Learn, or Collaborate to Implement

These are ideas that some groups are interested to learn more about. Others already have Informal Networks or Communities of Practice in Singapore interested or even ready to implement. If they are listed here, they are keen to engage with potential partners or just people who are curious.

[We'll insert contact information of the people, groups or organizations interested in each concept as we go along]

Citizen Participation

Open Collaboration, Co-Production, Deliberative Polling

Crowdlaw

https://thegovlab.org/project/project-crowdlaw

Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting is a process where a community decides how to spend a part of some public budget.

https://cobudget.com/

Children's Assemblies

Children's Parliament (India)

Capital of Children (Billund, Denmark)

Governance, Organisations & Organising

Sociocracy

Beyond Social Services has embarked on an organizational transformation journey using sociocracy.

Money

Community Currencies

See this page on Community Currency

Interest-Free Loans

The Institute of Policy Studies has secured funding from The Ngee Ann Kongsi and currently designing an interest-free loans project to be implemented with Yishun FSC (Singapore Children's Society) and Beyond Social Services. We are trying to work out whether mobile banking platform LUCY will legally be allowed to disburse loans. See ST coverage and request for a background brief if interested.

Offers:

• Open to new implementing partners. Contact Justin Lee from IPS.

Abundant Community Initiative / Giving Circles

Abundant Community Initiative

Work

Worker and Platform Cooperative Network

Worker and Platform Cooperative Network

This is an informal network for 1) non-profits, community groups or entrepreneurs interested to start a worker or platform coop; 2) consultants interested in providing technical assistance; 3) funders interested to resource; 4) existing cooperatives and their associations and 5) researchers interested to study and understand them.

Care and Social Support

Community Circles

• Community Circles involves the formation of a small group of people (volunteers, neighbours, friends etc)  around someone who needs some help or wants to make a change in their lives. A pilot programme currently underway,
• Borrowed from /https://www.community-circles.co.uk/
• See Slides that provide background, explain features and situates it within different models of care.
• See this event and media coverage on the pilot: https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/events/details/transforming-the-non-profit-sector-learning-journeys-the-small-group-as-the-unit-of-transformation-starting-and-sustaining-community-circles
• Status: Pilot programme currently underway, focused on Caregiver of People with Disabilities. Initiated by IPS Policy Lab, funded by The Ngee Ann Kongsi, and part of an Alliance for Action. Implemented by Santosh Kumar from SoulProbe, who has formed and facilitated 8 circles hTarget to complete by Sept 2023.
• Offer: Happy to share background research and our facilitation materials so that other agencies take it on to try it out themselves. Santosh may be happy to provide his expertise in the running and set up of circles for your own communities or organisation. Get in touch with him at: santosh@soulprobe.com

• See other parallel circles in SG: https://www.wellbeingcircles.sg/

Local Area Coordination

https://lacnetwork.org/local-area-coordination/

Initially developed in Western Australia in 1988 where families are supported within their communities. Each Local Area Coordinator works with a defined neighbourhood.  They approach, or are introduced to people, who may be isolated, causing concern or are at risk of needing formal services.  Coordinators support people to build their own their vision for a good life, finding pragmatic solutions to any problems, and drawing on family and community resources, before considering commissioned or statutory services. 

Inclusive Neighbourhood Groups

• A small community-led organising group can be equipped to undertake an interconnected series of activities—local area connections, neighbourhood orientation tours, community circles, open house etc—to integrate people with disabilities (and other marginalised groups) into the communal life of their local neighbourhood without calling it out as a disability-related initiative so that inclusion can happen organically. Includes 2 core concepts: Neighbourhood orientation tours and Local Area Coordination
• See Slides for features of concept and background justification.
• Status: received DesignSingapore Council grant for prototyping, targeted completion by Sept 2023. Hope to secure funding for pilot thereafter if concept receives positive feedback.
• Offer: We are happy to share the concept, and give updates on what we learn about it as we prototype. Open to prototyping at your community or organisation if you like the concept.

Games, Sports, Fun and Conviviality

Games for Change

https://www.gamesforchange.org/

https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262043489/locally-played/

Dance

https://www.nolightsnolycra.com/

Study Trips - Possible Destinations

New Zealand

Well-being Protocol

https://www.thewellbeingprotocol.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD5jmmGxqS4

[Read the White Paper]

[Community share info with one another, needs, then invite SSAs to come and fund and help community, instead of other way around]

Living Economies

https://livingeconomies.nz/

NPO that educates on community currencies and LETs

Scotland

See this nice recent example of Scottish participatory budgeting experience: YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7tgJcu6vQk. See especially 4:50 in video on view on how sometimes political leaders think of sharing power as zero-sum game, but PB approach to sharing power can be generative.