ACSI – the Aalto Camp for Societal Innovation – is a new generation innovation initiative of Finland’s Aalto University and The New Club of Paris. ACSI integrates academic and societal expertise with hands-on innovation practice in the creation of real-life systemic change.
ACSI is a dedicated process of research, learning and rapid implementation, based on a set of core principles, processes and methods for creating societal impact, now and in the future. It provides a continuing process for furthering social and societal change. The process integrates virtual and physical work on real-life issues, the search for effective ways to think about and reframe complex problems, and research on emerging insights on how societal innovation actually works. It connects networks of researchers, user communities and international societal innovators in a community geared to create solutions meeting the real needs of business, citizens and society. In this way it leverages local knowledge and cutting-edge expertise from all over to world to further systemic change.
The 8-day camp in Finland is central to the working process. The first ACSI camp was prototyped in the summer of 2010.
ACSI 2011 will be held in Finland August 24th to 31st.Virtual work with cases starts in April 2011 and continues after the camp.