Government leaders to accelerate the power of social innovation to tackle societal, economic and environmental crises

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, May 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Ministers and senior government leaders from around the world will come together on 19 May to explore how social innovation can be at the forefront of their country’s approach to strengthening climate resilience, addressing inequality, innovative financing methods and public service delivery.

Led by the Government Council for Social Innovation (GCSI), which brings together more than 60 governments, the event, ‘Social Innovation: A Transformational Key in Times of Global Crisis’, will focus on how social innovation can provide policymakers with practical tools to respond more effectively to complex societal, economic and environmental challenges.

The virtual meeting will unite leaders from countries such as Cameroon, Colombia, Portugal, Spain, Senegal and Uganda, providing an open forum to inspire faster action, with examples of how social innovation is being used to advance action at a local, national and global scale. The discussions will build on the Luxembourg Declaration, adopted in April 2025 at the first Global Government Summit on Social Innovation, where 55 governments committed to advancing social innovation as a driver of inclusive and sustainable development.

Armed conflict has reached its highest level in decades, public debt burdens are constraining essential spending, human development progress has slowed sharply, and official development assistance has fallen dramatically as needs rise. Faced with multiple pressures, isolated reforms and ministry-by-ministry responses are no longer sufficient. Governments need approaches that cut across departments, restore public confidence, unlock collaborations and deliver rapid results.

Social innovation gives policymakers practical ways to respond to threats with greater speed, coordination, and effectiveness. It helps to connect communities, institutions, policy, finance, and technology in ways that generate public value and strengthen resilience – all while building on local capabilities, enabling countries to better withstand external pressures.

Jeroo Billimoria, Convener of the Government Council for Social Innovation, said: “Governments around the world face growing instability – business as usual is not going to cut it. We need a different organising logic for economic and social transformation, rooted in social innovation – the collaborative and participatory processes that bring together individuals and organisations across sectors to co-create people-centred and locally grounded solutions to societal challenges.”

“The GCSI is a community of diverse change-makers who recognise the power of social innovation; this event will help to accelerate and scale up social innovation, which is already having major positive impacts for people and places around the world. We need many more decision-makers globally to back social innovators to co-create solutions, delivering practical outcomes that strengthen economies and institutions.”

Although social enterprises are one of the key delivery mechanisms for social innovation, social innovators can include people at all levels of society – from civil servants who redesign public services, to researchers who build practical learning systems, and community organisers. At a time when many governments are being asked to do more with less, while facing growing instability at home and abroad, GCSI aims to be a practical partner in helping countries turn this pressure into transformation through the powerful potential of social innovation.

As part of providing attendees with practical tools and insights, the meeting will see the launch of an exciting new platform – the Social Innovation Engine – which brings together thousands of examples of existing and emerging social innovations from around the world. The digital resource, led by the One Family Foundation and developed in partnership with GCSI, offers an interactive global catalogue of high-impact innovations, to help governments, funders, and changemakers identify specific responses to complex challenges. It aims to become the definitive open-access repository for proven and promising social innovations.

While many governments recognise the value of social innovation, few have coherent legal or institutional frameworks to support it. To help address this, the event will also mark the publication of a report providing a comprehensive global examination of how laws, institutions and public policies shape the conditions for social innovation to emerge, be financed and scale. Titled ‘Legal & Policy Frameworks for Social Innovation’, the report, developed with Hogan Lovells, will set out where targeted legal and policy reform could make the greatest difference for policymakers and public funders.

Both the Social Innovation Engine and the legal frameworks report were created through working groups in collaboration with the government members of the GCSI.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The meeting will be supported by live interpretation in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese, enabling broad participation.

To sign up to join the meeting visit this link: http://bit.ly/4nAkE9l

For more information or to request interviews, contact: onefamilyfoundation@forster.co.uk

About the Government Council for Social Innovation

The Government Council for Social Innovation (GCSI) is a coalition of more than 60 governments worldwide that has united with the goal of advancing social innovation around the world. GCSI was founded in 2024 and is currently co-chaired by Zarah Bruhn, Commissioner for Social Innovation in Germany and Felipe Almeida, President of Portugal Social Innovation. One Family Foundation acts as the secretariat of GCSI.

Aoife Petrie
Forster Communications
aoifepetrie@forster.co.uk
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