Smart Organisations, Smart Managers

Abstract

Innovation in the public sector has become an important focus for governments around the world over the last decade, as they try to solve intractable policy problems. The pressure on governments to do more with less in response to shrinking budgets and expanding community expectations and obligations has led to a much greater focus upon how the public sector manages change and innovation. Innovation means producing something new; that is, doing things differently or in a new form. Looking at the concept in a historical perspective it is an economic phenomenon — meaning new ways of producing more for less. It is the process of invention; whether that is a product, a technology, a service, a new type of production, a new process or a new form of collaboration. In the context of innovation in this article I would like to present the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection District 6, and their innovative project called SocialXChange. I decided to focus on the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection District 6, and their innovative project SocialXChange because the philosophy of this project and the project itself can be a model for many other organizations, private or public organizations. SocialXChange is more than a charity shop. The program is a tool for management and allocation of resources of the 6th District community, fostering social cohesion, involvement and empowerment. SocialXChange starts from the concept that human and material resources must be used effectively to build a strong community. The following concepts underlying this program: subsistence, saving, responsibility, dignity, stimulation, involvement, equity, transparency, integration, cohesion, ecology