Social Impact Lab

The Social Impact Lab is designed for upcoming or already operating social entrepreneurs, offering a comprehensive support for startups, social entrepreneurs & social businesses, foundations and corporate social responsibility.

The Social Impact Incubator has been developed in cooperation with SAP to support startups. At Pitching Events, startups do not only get professional feedback but compete also for the Social Impact Scholarship, providing coaching, co-working space, mentoring and workshops as well as financial support for the starting period.

Social Impact Lab Berlin

The first Social Impact Lab has been started in Berlin Kreuzberg. It is situated in a typical Berlin-style warehouse buidling. On 650sqm a co-working space, meeting- and workshop rooms as well as the huge kitchen offer a creative atmosphere for social entrepreneurs. While developing the Social Impact Lab, iq consult ran this as a co-working space called impakt berlin from March 2010. The high number of network partners, media response, co-operation with academics and research institutes as well as the demand for support is significant for the current success.

Background

Neither the state nor the market are able to overcome the effects of poverty and climate catastrophes and to fight against their causes adequately by use of traditional means.

At least since the latest financial crisis, it is obvious that classical mechanisms rather reinforce problems than to ease them. At the same time, the crisis has evoked a change of thinking in society. More and more people ask critical questions and start to become committed. A growing interest in the development of social innovations and social entrepreneurship concepts is noticeable. The framework conditions for the work of social entrepreneurs, the appreciation of their work for social change, the scientific research on the topic as well as the networking structures show vast deficits.

It is almost impossible for Social Entrepreneurs to implement their ideas and projects without being supported. Therefore even some good ideas get stuck on a conceptual level with no chance of realisation. Aiming to promote the dissemination of social entrepreneurship, to improve the framework circumstances and to support social entrepreneurs in starting and running their business, iq consult has an integrated support system for social entrepreneurs and a co-working space at the  Social Impact Lab.