The Social Impact Hub (SIH) is impossible to imagine the Brainport Human Campus without. What started as an idea at the Driessen Foundation, grew into an inspiring place where social initiatives, collaboration and innovation come together. Paulien, who together with Bianca forms the management of the Driessen Foundation, explains how the hub came about and why the campus is the place for this initiative.
From idea to doing
"It actually started very organically," Paulien explains. "When an office space became available next to coffee bar Jan&Koek, it started to bubble up. We wanted to move there with the Driessen Foundation because it is a nice, visible place, in the heart of campus. But the space was too big for just the foundation.
Then CEO Jeroen Driessen got the idea: what if we create a place here for several organizations that, like us, contribute to social impact with their DNA and drive? We hooked up Judith Bach, manager of the Brainport Human Campus, and thus the Social Impact Hub was born." A place that has now existed for a year and where the foundation's team serves as quartermaster.
The space that was left in the office at the foundation is deliberately being kept open for people who share the same ideas. "We are looking for people with a network, guts and an out-of-the-box way of thinking. We want to work with you because you are the out-of-the-box doer.
In essence, the Social Impact Hub is an extension of the work of the Driessen Foundation: to innovate and do what is necessary to make the Brainport region a little nicer for people for whom job satisfaction is not self-evident.
A logical place for social innovation
As an initiative of the campus, you obviously don't move elsewhere. But what makes this the place for an initiative like this? "The campus is the place within the Brainport region where people and work take center stage. The projects we set up from the Driessen Foundation often do not fit within the regular framework. The SIH actually offers space to start such innovative initiatives around people and work. Everything comes together here: innovation, meaning and connection."
The campus brings parties together and has a "pull effect" on like-minded people and organizations. "We often find our partners through the network of people who work here. It's as if the campus invites people to tackle social issues together."
Where conversations arise naturally
While visiting the Social Impact Hub, one quickly notices that conversations can start anywhere here. And often at the Jan&Koek seating area. "We use that place a lot," laughs Paulien. "Jan&Koek is almost an extension of our office space for us. With the best coffee and cookies, of course. Whether inside or outside on the terrace, there is no better place to tell our story." Jan&Koek was the Driessen Foundation's very first in-house project. "Usually we don't even need many words when we sit down with someone. Because Jan&Koek shows exactly what it's all about. Our story is actually told there for us."
Natural encounters make for great collaborations. "Many of our projects have come about purely because we meet and inspire each other here on campus. Strength at Work for example, came about in conversations with Jeroen Driessen. And also the Werkpoli began that way, through Harold. Simply from low-threshold conversations where you light each other up, so to speak."
Collaborations with meaning
The Driessen Foundation collaborates intensively with other campus residents, such as Driessen Groep, IJK, Driessen, Beck Communications and the campus team itself. Among other things, Beck handles communications for the Strong at Work project. "The fact that we are literally so close together makes working together very natural. You only have to see or talk to each other for a moment, and an idea can immediately arise. And the network we have as a foundation can be put to good use for the SIH."
The connection to the campus goes beyond cooperation alone. "The focus on people, work and society is fully in line with our mission. Where Driessen Groep and the campus focus on increasing job happiness in general, we focus precisely on people for whom that is not self-evident. Because unfortunately, there is still a large group on the sidelines."
An open place for anyone with drive
The Social Impact Hub is deliberately a "recruiting spot. There is movement, space and meeting, no set structure. "That fits our story. We want to be an open place where people can blow in, share ideas and start new initiatives together. At the Brainport Human Campus, the work happiness architecture meets you. Everything here is built on connection and meaning. Here people understand each other and you naturally build work happiness and social impact. Sometimes only with half a word."
The Social Impact Hub shows how the Brainport Human Campus ecosystem works: organizations that find each other, strengthen each other and make social impact together. Want to know more or collaborate with this network of doers? Get in touch at info@driessenfoundation.nl.