The Future is Collective Advancing Collective Social Innovation to Address Societys Biggest Challenges 2025

A letter from the field We are a community of innovators who believe in the power of collective action to drive transformational change. Collective action happens when groups of people come together from across sectors and geographies to achieve a shared purpose. Collective action is not new – in fact, it is deeply rooted in many traditions of social change. Over time, however, dominant approaches to development have channelled funding and policy-making to programmes and initiatives led by single organizations and institutions. These mechanisms have led to fragmented efforts, often prioritizing linear approaches, discrete timelines and easily quantifiable measures of success while overlooking the complexity of social challenges. In the interim, the world has become increasingly interconnected, exposing the limitations of these conventional approaches. As we rapidly approach 2030, many Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators remain far out of reach, while societal polarization has reached unprecedented levels. The escalating complexity of today’s social challenges has sparked a growing interest in collective action, which anticipates and directly addresses this complexity and interconnectedness. When the Schwab Foundation launched its new award category, “Collective Social Innovation”, we realized this offered an exciting opportunity to reignite the importance of collective effort to address societal challenges. The first step of any collective action effort is to assemble a diversity of actors and hear from them directly. In October 2024, the Schwab Foundation generously hosted a Collective Action Convening, assembling the collective social innovation awardees and a number of other ecosystem actors to consider the landscape for collective action within the field of social innovation. Over three days, we engaged in deep conversations with peers from around the world and across a wide spectrum of social issues. We also consulted funders, policy-makers and thought leaders who have explored the potential for collective action approaches. These conversations left us inspired and heartened! We felt a renewed commitment to growing our capacities as collective social innovators and an emboldened dedication to promoting these approaches more widely. This report is our opening missive to the community of changemakers interested in learning more about the power of collective action and how it can be harnessed in your own work. Inside, we share the combined learnings from our initiatives, as well as the ways in which engaged stakeholders can better support the work. The challenges we face are vast, but so are the opportunities for change when we come together with a shared vision and purpose. We invite you to join us in building a future where collective action drives transformative progress. Together, we can create systems that are more just, equitable and sustainable for generations to come. In solidarity, Khushboo Awasthi Kumari Chief Operating Officer, ShikshaLokam Tasso Azevedo Founder and General Coordinator, MapBiomas Jennifer Blatz President and Chief Executive Officer, StriveTogether Neeraj Doddamane Chief Strategy Officer, ShikshaLokam Colin Groth Chief Advancement Officer, StriveTogether Rucha Pande Chief Operating Officer, Mantra4Change Danya Pastuszek Co-Chief Executive Officer, Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement Ashraf Patel Co-Founder, Pravah and ComMutiny - The Youth Collective Henrike Schlottmann Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, ProjectTogether Julia Shimbo Scientific Coordinator, MapBiomas Simranpreet Singh Oberoi Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sanjhi Sikhiya Philipp von der Wippel Founder and Managing Director, ProjectTogether The Future is Collective: Advancing Collective Social Innovation to Address Society’s Biggest Challenges 3