return to top page THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL INVENTIONS PROGRESS REPORT Printed in Fourth World Review Number 13 (1986)
and extracted from a report dated 6th October 6th to November 11th 1985by Nicholas Albery The Institute For Social Inventions is the brainchild of Nicholas Albery, cofounder of The First Assembly of The Fourth World in 1981. The I.S.J. was founded in 1985 and has already evoked considerable interest from many diverse sources.
Forthcoming Events
Vincent Nolan of 'Synectics Ltd.' who runs expensive idea-generation and problem-solving training courses for multinationals, has offered a free course teaching synectics to our Institute.Media
The second Guardian column with my selection of social inventions is due out on Wednesday November 20th on the 'Society Tomorrow' page. The monthly column will continue for 4 months and then be reviewed. The Institute gets £60 a time for this column. Please contribute ideas and projects for it. There has been a fair amount of response to the first column, including half a dozen organisations interested in applying the 'John Southgate Concentric Circles' group work approach, and orders for the 'Salter' document on ideas for preventing World War III. No further progress at present about a TV series.Schools
The 'Social Inventions' workshop courses are going OK at all 8 schools, although more easily with 6th formers than 4th formers, and more successfully with volunteers than with allocated classes (where we are usually given the 'reject' group).Projects that the pupils have decided on are as follows:
'Maria Fidelis Girls School Sixth Form' (NW1): a junior fashion aid show that raised £250 for 'Live Aid'; 2 discos; a cabaret; and negotiating with the headmistress for a schools council.
'Fulham Cross Mixed Sixth Form' (SW6): repainting depressing sixth form classroom pink and installing aquarium and plants; making a video thriller.
'Our Lady's Convent Sixth Form' (N16): 'creating job search and life planning' with surveys and role playing.
'Crownwoods School Sixth Form' (SE9): video interviewing, getting a local employer in to interview pupils, as if for a job, and videotaping the interviews and his criticisms afterwards.
'Hampstead School Fourth Form' (NW2): 8 boys in a remedial group. Half the group worked on a painting project, the other half designed aids for the elderly and handicapped, mounting and displaying their designs.
'Southfields School Fourth Form' (SW18): 14 'low ability' pupils. Preliminary practice in problem identification, brainstorming and decision-making. Projects will be undertaken in the second half of term.
'Ensham Girls School Fourth Form' (SW17): girls wanted to campaign for facilities and curriculum in their school similar to those in the nearby boys' schools, so they are visiting the boys' school with questionnaires etc and recording the differences for report-back and action.
Fund-raising
£1,000 received from the 'Queen's Silver Jubilee Trust', specifically for expenses incurred during the schools workshop projects. £1,000 received by the 'Fourth World Trust' from the 'Allen Lane Foundation' for our work in general, but not yet paid over to the 'Institute'. A meeting with the 'Piper Trust'. Other trusts still to report.Accounts
Our total expenditure to date amounts to £ 5,024, and our total income to £22,561.Fellows and Consultants
Stafford Beer and Lord (Michael) Young of Dartington have both agreed to become honorary fellows; Simon Nicholson (who runs future workshops for children) and John Papworth (who runs 'Fourth World Review') have both agreed to be become honorary consultants.Members and Subscribers
We have 64 people paying to receive the 'Journal' (our aim in July was 100 by September '86, the end of the first year), including 30 members and 29 subscribers (the remainder are trusts and donors). A directory of members will be issued with the December Journal. This will include addresses (but not other details) of subscribers.Research Assistant
Daniel Langton, a 33-year-old degree student at the 'Middlesex Poly', studying 'Science and Society' is to work with me on a 30-week full-time placement from January, as my research assistant. His main job will be to follow up suggestions from the public and to research their feasibility, by contracting experts for their response and the bureaucracies that would be expected to carry out the schemes.Publications
The 'Institute' will be publishing, apart from the Jungk book on 'Future Workshops':'Community Counselling Circles, a New Social Invention', by John Southgate, sub-titled 'A Book of Working Notes, Cartoons and Diagrams for Teachers of the Method', 74 pages, probable price £9.95, probable publication date January '86.
'Reflections, The Most Powerful Technique Known to Man', by Keith Hudson, a new mental technique for increasing inventiveness and for re-modelling one's personality. About 36 pages, probable publication date New Year '86.
We are also distributing a brilliant paper entitled:'Some Ideas to Help Stop World III', by S.H. Salter of the 'University of Edinburgh', £1, postage included. Institute consultant David Chapman is organising a 'Conflict Research Society Seminar' with Mr Salter in the New Year.
copies of this document may be obtained from 26 The High Street, Purton, Wiltshire SN5 4AE, UK
Tel: 01793 77 22 14 Fax: 01793 77 25 21
e-mail: john.papworth@btinternet.com
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