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

Foreword Today’s social challenges are increasingly interconnected and complex. Arguably, we are facing a moment of “polycrisis”, where multiple global crises arise simultaneously and amplify each other. At the same time, social and political polarization is intensifying: a recent Pew Research Center survey revealed that a median of 65% of adults across 19 countries believe there are strong or very strong conflicts between people with different political affiliations in their country.1 In a world that is increasingly interconnected, it is no longer feasible for single organizations to tackle systemic issues in isolation. Yet, societal stagnation and entrenched ideologies are making it less likely that people will work together across divides. In this pivotal moment for social change, social innovators are using their skills and effort to deploy new methods – as well as historical traditions – to create collective action to solve social challenges. Since 1998, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship has recognized 500 social entrepreneurs and innovators around the globe with proven models and systemic approaches to the world’s greatest challenges. This community shines a light on the growing importance of social innovation in positive social change. Recognizing visionary leaders has been crucial in creating a platform alongside business and government leaders, but it has overlooked the more patient, less visible role of collective social innovation in complex social change. While many social entrepreneurs have a long history of working in collaboration with others – often using strong cultural traditions of collective methods as their guide – it became clear that we needed to acknowledge this body of work more explicitly. In 2022, the Schwab Foundation Board decided to expand the award categories to celebrate those who expressly define and organize collective work as their core function. In the last two years, the Schwab Foundation has awarded the designation of Collective Social Innovator to 21 innovators representing 11 collective action initiatives. Many of these initiatives are distinct from scaling programmatic interventions with a range of practices best suited to achieving large-scale systemic change. These leaders have been proactive in sharing their learnings with us and each other, while expanding the conversation to include previous Schwab awardees also using collective social innovation strategies. This journey has been exciting and fruitful, revealing a set of new perspectives and strategies for social entrepreneurship and innovation as a field. This report is a snapshot of the key learnings we have assembled on this journey together with our community. It is also a “call to action” for stakeholders – prospective partners, funders and policy-makers – who are seeking to better understand the power and potential of collective work. Throughout this journey, we have been struck by the generosity of time and learnings from these social innovators. They truly walk the talk of trust, collaboration and emergence. We hope that, like us, you find inspiration and practical ways forward in their insightful strategies and impactful stories. Hilde Schwab Chairperson and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social EntrepreneurshipFrançois Bonnici Director, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Head of Foundations, World Economic Forum The Future is Collective: Advancing Collective Social Innovation to Address the World’s Greatest ChallengesMarch 2025 The Future is Collective: Advancing Collective Social Innovation to Address Society’s Biggest Challenges 4