| This was an exciting day in politics. In addition to the victorious end of the U.S. Senate race, today marked President Obama's launch of a new White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.
In these challenging times, we need to move away from old, tired thinking and imagine new ways to work together to address social challenges in this country and in our state. Social entrepreneurship and other ideas for driving innovation in our public agencies and non-profit partners will be essential if Minnesota is to live up to its promise as a place of fairness and opportunity.
I was proud to Chief Author the Community Solutions Act in Minnesota (HF 1614). The legislation creates a commission on innovation and social innovation fund designed to support and encourage our non-profit partners to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to social challenges. The fund will reward those programs that can take small, innovative ideas statewide and that have a plan to become self-sustaining without the need for continued government support. In the 2009 session, the legislature approved funding dedicated to establishing the innovation commission and social innovation fund in Minnesota.
Minnesota is a state known for innovation -- in the private sector and in public policy. We know what works. But it is frustrating to see ideas that work in small, targeted settings fail to grow to help more people, while some programs that have outlived their usefulness continue to be funded. That needs to change and this legislation is designed to push us toward smarter, more effective ways of helping Minnesotans and building our communities. |
