The British Council, the China Centre for Comparative Politics and Economics (CCCPE) and the Young Foundation are developing a three-year work programme in China in the field of Social Innovation. Progress will be published on the specially developed website based in Beijing - click on the Discover Social Innovation website link. 

The programme outputs will include new approaches to social policy; practical innovations that can be replicated across China; new ideas that can help UK cities; a more sophisticated involvement of business in social issues; dissemination through the key leadership development organisations in China and the UK.

The broader objective is to spread the idea of social innovation and to contribute to speeding up successful innovation to address social challenges, in particular with closer involvement of business technologists and policy makers.

As a first milestone in this programme, a major international conference will be held in October 2006 in Beijing. This will bring together to leading politicians from China and the UK at national, regional and municipal level, alongside the world's leading experts and practitioners in this field; representatives from leading businesses involved in practical innovation and academics specialising in social innovation.

The purpose of the conference is to advance understanding of the patterns and practices of social innovation in China, the UK and worldwide with participants and speakers from nearly 20 countries, and covering the full range from national and local governments through business, NGOs and social entrepreneurs, academics and people involved in the practice of innovation.

Global Links Initiative has contributed to the programme and organisation of the conference though our staff and offices based in Shanghai in Beijing. A Chinese version of the classic booklet on social entrepreneurs, 'The Rise of the Social Entrepreneur', translated and edited by Global Links Initiative, will be published by British Council, Beijing and will be distributed to the conference attendees. This booklet, written by Charles Leadbeater, was originally published by DEMOS (a UK based independent think-tank) in 1997 (ISBN 1 898309 53 1).
 
Ever since it was established, Global Links Initiative committed itself to promote understanding and discussions on social enterprises/social entrepreneurs in China. This summer GLI launched a working group on the role of social enterprises in Beijing together with Mr. Ma Zhongliang, Deputy Chief of Beijing Social Science Academy and Ms. Song Qinghua, Executive Director of ShineStone, a Beijing based NGO on promoting citizen participation on community matter.

The working group had two meetings in August and September; participants include senior officers from 5 local districts in Beijing, leaders of community groups, entrepreneurs, representative of Civil Affair Department and academics.

The idea is to lead and facilitate discussion on the role of social enterprises in community regeneration and harmonious society in China. Members will be introduced to models and good practice of social enterprises overseas; some of them have already come up with ideas for making best use of resources in their own communities in the meetings we have had. The working group is also planning to organise a visit to social enterprises in UK or Japan in 2007 and the goal is to launch some pilot projects in districts of Beijing by the end of next year.

The third working group meeting will be held at the community centre in Chao Yang district later this month, and the three Global Links Initiative visitors from UK will introduce their activities to the group. Global Links Initiative is also taking the opportunity of having the UK representatives in China to organise its own 'by invitation' seminars in Beijing and Shanghai. Reports of these will be published on the website following the China visit.

The news of this conference has travelled fast and the local newspaper in Whitehaven, Cumbria (in the North West of England) where Jim Baker spends most of his time - the Whitehaven News - has already covered this Chinese adventure - read what they reported by clicking on the Whitehaven News link.