What could this idea change?
Novel solutions receive disciplined testing while communities are protected from hype, premature scale and extractive experimentation.
M-T1-SP-29 · Theme 1
Rotary Social Innovation Partnerships
Pair Rotary with funders, designers and service organisations to develop and test a socially useful innovation under explicit evidence and ethics gates.
Where this idea came from
- Playbook entry
- M-T1-SP-29 · Rotary Social Innovation Partnerships
- Theme
- Theme 1: Attraction & Visibility · Subtheme SP: Strategic Partnerships
- Source material
- Existing checked Theme 1 guide
- Linked playbook entry
- M-T1-SP-29 · Rotary Social Innovation Partnerships
Could this work in our club?
- Social enterprises, impact investors, foundations, universities, service providers, lived-experience advisers and Rotary innovation sponsors. Use when a persistent social problem has a testable unmet need.
Before you start
- Co-designed problem definition, baseline and intended distribution of benefit.
- Ethics, safeguarding, accessibility, privacy, IP and failure-response plan.
- Stage-gated budget with an authorised stop, adapt and scale decision-maker.
At the end: Close participant obligations and prototype access, publish negative as well as positive learning, and require a new approval package for any scale phase.
Before your club says yes
Does the idea fit?
Talk with the people it is meant to serve and check that the need is real.
Who can say yes?
Name the person or group that can approve the work, spending and any safety arrangements.
Are people protected?
Check privacy, consent and safety. Collect only the information you genuinely need.
Can everyone take part?
Check the language, format, place, technology and cost for barriers.
Are the facts and permissions right?
Check names, claims, images, quotations, partner references and Rotary branding.
How will we learn?
Note where things stand now, check in at 30, 60 and 90 days, and decide what to do next.
Worksheets for your club
Open them online, print them or change them to suit the way your club works.
Training and mentoring guide
Use this worksheet to prepare a practical learning or mentoring session and follow up afterwards.
Open worksheetPartnership and stakeholder map
Use this worksheet to agree what the club and any partners will each contribute, decide and protect.
Open worksheetImplementation and budget plan
Use this worksheet to turn the idea into a short list of actions, dates, costs and responsibilities.
Open worksheet