Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation
| Office overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 14, 2009 |
| Headquarters |
White House Office White House |
| Annual budget | $50 million (FY 2010) |
| Office executive |
|
| Parent Office | United States Domestic Policy Council |
| Key document | |
The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation is an office new to the Obama Administration, created within the White House, to catalyze new and innovative ways of encouraging government to do business differently. Its first director was the economist Sonal Shah. The current director is David Wilkinson.
In 2009, President Barack Obama created the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation (SICP) as part of his Domestic Policy Council within the Executive Office of the President, the office that coordinates White House domestic policy.
The idea for a White House Office for Social Entrepreneurship was first developed at the Center for American Progress by then-Senior Fellow and former Ashoka staffer Michele Jolin.
In the past, public monies have often been directed to social initiatives that are failing or that have only a limited impact. At the same time, non-profit organizations, even if readily able to obtain short-term startup financing, face difficulty securing capital to sustain and expand successful programs.
Building on ideas of past administrations, the Obama-Biden transition plans included the creation of an agency within the Corporation for National and Community Service dedicated to building the capacity and effectiveness of the nonprofit sector. The plans highlighted the potential of this sector – as of 2012, nonprofits generated $1.5 trillion within the US economy, employed 13.5 million Americans and contributed nearly 5.5% GDP, while struggling with a scarcity of resources, given the uncertainty of donations, and their lack of access to traditional incentives to growth enjoyed by for-profit businesses. (By statute, 501(c)(3) organizations are not eligible for Small Business Authority loans, nor can they obtain many commercial debt products designed for small and medium enterprises.) The transition plans also called for using federal seed money to leverage private sector funding, so as to improve local innovation, expand successful programs, and test the impact of new ideas.
Also significant as a background to the creation of the SCIP were the recent changes in the social sector, with the emergence of scalable, market-based models of social change as a driving force. Such models include social enterprises with earned income strategies; mission-driven businesses that focus on achieving a double-bottom line; impact investors that seek to earn a financial return while achieving social benefit; and multinational companies pursuing models of corporate responsibility. No administration had focused on these trends until the Obama Administration created the Office of Social Innovation to build a policy agenda in this realm.
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