Making Waves

Making Waves

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A Caribbean Social Innovation Guide

04 . Caribbean Social Innovation Resources

Resources & Next Steps

Every social innovator’s journey is different. Some people need funding. Others need mentoring, technical expertise, partners or simply someone to help them figure out and take the next step. The Directory that follows brings together organisations from across the Caribbean that support social innovation. Rather than contacting every organisation, begin by identifying the kind of support you need most today. Once you’ve identified your immediate need, use the Directory to find organisations in your country that provide this type of support. If you’re just starting out Begin with an organisation that offers mentoring or business incubation. They can often help you refine your idea before you apply for funding.

Many funding programmes look beyond a good idea. They want to understand the problem you are addressing, who will benefit, how you will measure impact and whether your approach is sustainable. Demonstrating how your work contributes to priorities such as gender equality, youth inclusion or climate resilience can also strengthen many applications.

What if things could be different?

We hope this guide has helped you better understand the Caribbean social innovation ecosystem, discover where support exists and feel more informed and empowered to take your next step. Social innovation is not the responsibility of any one sector. Rather, everyone has a role to play in the social innovation ecosystem. It can begin with a teacher who sees a new way to help students learn, a researcher developing new knowledge, a government department redesigning a public service, a charity strengthening community wellbeing, a business creating more inclusive opportunities, or neighbours working together

If you already have a pilot Look for funding opportunities, accelerators or investment-readiness programmes that can help you grow. If your idea needs technical expertise Government programmes, labs, maker-spaces, universities, research institutions and technical centres may be able to support testing, refining or validating solutions.