July 14, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Centre for Social Innovation, in New York, houses nonprofit organizations and social entrepreneurs and seeks to help them cross-pollinate their ideas for social change. Here are the three main ways it fosters collaboration:
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Najlah Feanny, for the Chronicle
1. Open design
A big kitchen and other communal areas encourage tenants to interact and share ideas.
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Najlah Feanny, for the Chronicle
Even small design details, like having a kitchen island, can be important for encouraging interaction, says Tonya Surman, the chief executive: “Instead of people facing a wall to chop the vegetables, we have them facing each other.”
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Yvonne Bambrick
2. A community animator
The organization’s staff includes employees who make introductions and help organize group activities. Allie Mahler, co-founder of an education nonprofit, fills that role in New York.
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Najlah Feanny, for the Chronicle
“It’s not enough just to put people in a physical space and expect that collaboration to happen,” says Eli Malinsky, executive director of the New York branch. “It requires intentional, dedicated attention on a day-to-day basis.”
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Yvonne Bambrick
3. Frequent events
From networking parties that draw outsiders interested in social change (above) to weekly Salad Club lunches for tenants (next slide), the organization creates opportunities for chance meetings and conversation.
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Najlah Feanny, for the Chronicle
Bringing people with different perspectives together is key to the group’s mission of spurring new ideas and social change.
Learn more: Small Nonprofits and Social Entrepreneurs Share Work Space and Ideas
