Social Innovation Centre SIC! has been brought into being to support the optimum development of local governmental institutions, associations and foundations operate in the filed of social work.
During the past years the Center has done its best to come into prominence in the field of social policy in Poland. The Center sees itself as a partner in the process of developing the Polish social economy at both the local and national level. We, the center, test on ourselves the efficacy of social innovation implementations as a method of quick and successful change. SIC! is an experiment, which takes advantage of its experiences to realize the statutory aims set up by the Founders.
MISSION of the Social Innovation Centre SIC! is to support the development of social work in Poland.
Directions, which SIC! defines as its priorities, can be described in a few basic statements:
1. SIC! mutually creates a modern social infrastructure in Poland
2. SIC! stimulates the modernization and development of local social policy
3. SIC! gives its support to municipal institutions and non-governmental organizations in their innovative social activity
4. SIC! initiates and promotes civic engagement in the life of local communities
5. SIC! gives its support to civic activity as a method of counter-acting social helplessness
6. SIC! co-operates in fighting social problems using the methods of modern social work
7. SIC! unites theory and practice in social work in Poland through co-operation with the community of Polish academics and social workers
SIC! has engaged itself in a few basic areas, and in each one of them the Centre creates models on the basis of our previous experience:
1. SIC! gives its support to local governments in planning local social policy strategy. The aim is to create useful models, so to achieve that goal SIC! choose different local communities: large, small, rural and urban. This gives the Centre an opportunity to study tools and instruments in diversified material, physical and social conditions. The co-operation with these local communities is based on a rule of maximized participation and responsibility of local subjects with instrumental support from SIC!. The Centre delivers diagnostic tools, moderates meetings and supports implementation processes – although SIC! leaves final decision making to the subjects actually creating the strategy.
2. SIC! diagnoses the scale of particular social problems, and also makes more thorough diagnoses for certain groups which encounter specific problems, i.e. the disabled. These micro-diagnoses are prepared in response to needs signaled by local communities. This initiative is broadening the diagnosis by creating plans of action which take into account the limitations of local community resources, and this is its strong suit. Within the diagnosis framework SIC! analyzes all available resources and indicates what processes are necessary to activate these resources to solve the problem. The tools SIC! develops will be made available to other local communities.
3. SIC! has created a database of experts, consultants and coaches. Thus, the Centre has at its disposal the potential to meet any needs which may arise. Using the database, SIC! organizes training courses which are the appropriate response for precisely defined local needs.
4. SIC! promotes modern techniques of social work and innovation through conferences, media campaigns, local and nationwide competitions, co-operation with publishers and the creation of SIC! own multimedia presentations.
5. SIC! creates databases of social initiatives, good practice and potential partners. The database is unique because SIC! searchs for data not from the realizational point of view, but creates the database around the basic record which is social initiative- local project.
6. SIC! initiates debates around socially important issues via the moderated internet forum. This forum has been up and running since April of 2004.
7. SIC! uses information technology to popularize the idea of modern social work and social innovations in Poland.
8. SIC! joins socially important initiatives with all its resources if the initiative serves the development of social work and social policy infrastructure in Poland. Examples: 1. participation in the Polish Movement Against Social Helplessness - the patron of this movement is the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection in Poland; 2. partnership with NGOs , business circles and local government in Poznan for the creation of an open job market for the mentally-impaired on the local level.
Target gropus of the Social Innovation Centre SIC! are: social workers, social work managers and social policy makers, local governments, professional working welfare organizations, NGOs and groups of active citizens interested in social innovations.
Who supports us?
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
Association of Polish Cities
Association “To Understand and Help”
Civic Society Development Foundation
Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection
Local Civic Groups Association
Local Governments: Poznań, Leszno, Konin, Szamotuły
Municipal Social Welfare Centre in Lublin
Municipal Social Welfare Centre in Poznań
Municipal Social Service Centre in Szczecinek
Municipal Social Welfare Centre in Włocławek
National Association of Social Help Centers FORUM
Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden, Holland
Polish Association of Social Workers
Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center
School of Social Work, Gdańsk
School of Social Work, Poznań
Social Service Centre in Gdańsk
Social Service Centre in Gorzów Wielkopolski
Social Welfare Centre in Szamotuły
The international “Social Work & Society” Academy - TISSA
University of Bielefeld
University of Economics, Poznań
Working Community of Associations of Social
Organisations WRZOS
Zentrum für Soziale Innovation, Austria
See more infromation about organization of the SIC! Foundation
