https://courseoutline.auckland.ac.nz/dco/course/SOCCLEAD/706/1253

SOCCLEAD 706 : Innovation, Design, Evaluation

Education and Social Work

2025 Semester One (1253) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Evolving approaches to innovating social change and evaluation practice are examined. Topics include contemporary debates on, and approaches to, co-design, collaboration, ethical social innovation, evidence-informed programme design, evaluation models and impact measurement. Using experiential learning, groups of students will be guided through a social innovation design process in response to user needs, and develop robust evaluation proposals.

Course Overview

Social innovation, design and evaluation are best taught in practice. This course uses live workshops and some online and out-of-class components to enable students to hone and practise key skills associated with social innovation, design and evaluation. 

All of the lecturing and interaction for the course can be done live online, so students from across the motu or with travel limitations can participate. In addition, simultaneous in-person workshops are also provided for students who prefer or must learn on campus  (e.g., international students). 

The course takes students through the design of an actual social innovation, including generating the information needed to understand the issue, developing ideas, prototyping solutions, and developing frameworks for evaluation (theories of change). This hands-on course requires online or in-person attendance at the workshops (delivered across 8 Fridays in Semester One) and an ability to work with others in teams (social innovation requires a range of mindsets and needs a team of people with different strengths; creativity builds off diverse perspectives and interdisciplinary approaches). 

Students from across the University, including Social Work, Education, Engineering, Law, Arts, and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, have participated to date. By the end of the course, you will have a working knowledge of the critical approaches and debates associated with social innovation, design, and evaluation and will be well-placed to take these learnings forward to help produce social and community change in your own spheres of influence.

Course Requirements

Restriction: EDUC 726, SOCCLEAD 701

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 2: Sustainability
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration
Capability 8: Ethics and Professionalism
Graduate Profile: Postgraduate Certificate in Social and Community Leadership

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Critique conventional for-profit and state-centric responses to social needs. (Capability 3, 4, 5 and 8)
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of the processes, opportunities and challenges of developing ethical and sustainable social innovation programmes in response to identified needs. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8)
  3. Understand and demonstrate the skills required to engage effectively with stakeholders. (Capability 5, 6, 7 and 8)
  4. Apply principles and practices of evidence-informed programming to assess existing enterprises and to design innovative alternatives. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Data Collection & Initial Analysis 40% Individual Coursework
Group Presentation & Participation 20% Group & Individual Coursework
Report (Social Innovation Summary) 40% Individual Coursework
3 types 100%
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4
Data Collection & Initial Analysis
Group Presentation & Participation
Report (Social Innovation Summary)

To pass this course students must submit all assessments and achieve at least 50% for the overall course.

Next Offered

Semester One 2025

Teaching & Learning Methods

The course uses flipped methods, which involves watching lecture videos and reviewing readings, prior to the in-class workshops. We use a range of teaching methods, including putting theory into practice through a set of hands-on activities. The workshops usually enable students to practice skills with mentoring from the lecturer so that students can then hone their technique outside of class. There is a mix of direct instruction, as well as a lot of class discussion and questioning. The teaching welcomes student participation, and is most definitely not a stand-and-delivery method, but rather supported mentoring as students move through the human centred design process.

Exam Mode

  • Exam mode A - Remote online non-invigilated exam on Inspera
  • Exam mode B - Remote online invigilation through Inspera Integrity Browser (IIB)
  • Exam mode C - In-person invigilated exam on paper
  • Exam mode D - In-person invigilated exam on computer through Inspera Integrity Browser (IIB)
  • There is no final exam for this course

Further information about exams can be found at https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/about-exams.html

Workload Expectations

This course involves learning by doing, a mix of preparation, hands-on activity in required workshops, and continued progress outside of classtime. There are 8 required 3-hour workshops over the 12 weeks of teaching on Friday Mornings (except for the week of Easter where we will meet on a Thursday). There are optional clinics on four selected Friday Afternoons for students with particular questions or wonderings.

The course is designed to step you through the practical aspects of the design process, including participant interviewing and recruitment. However, no prior experience is required or expected for these aspects as we will focus on these skills at the beginning of the course.

Consistent with 30-point courses at the University, students can reasonably expect 240-260 hours of independent learning over the 15 weeks of the semester. This may include reading, note-taking, engaging in collaborative group work, participant recruitment, undertaking practical tasks, problem-solving, writing, accessing learning and study resources, and assignment completion. There is online content (videos and slides) and readings to review before the workshops. You will also have direct contact with peers most weeks, including meetings to discuss and conduct your projects. We suggest putting time aside in advance on Fridays after lunch to make organising these meetings easy for your teams.

As a 30-point course, on average, students are expected to need 20 hours per week in each 30-point course that they are enrolled in over the period of a semester.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience or Online

This course is offered in two delivery modes:

Campus Experience

Attendance is invited at scheduled activities, including workshops and optional clinics, to complete components of the course.
Lecture material will be presented in advance and available as recordings. Other learning activities, including workshops, will not always be available as recordings.
The course will include live online events, including group discussions and workshop activities for students who do not or cannot join on campus.
Attendance on campus is not required for the assessment.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a block delivery.

Online

If attendance in person is not desirable or possible, then attendance online is required at scheduled online activities, including workshops, to complete and receive credit for components of the course. Details for the eight Friday morning 3-hour workshops can be found on Student Services Online.
The course will include live online events, including group discussions and activities, which may be recorded where possible.
Attendance on campus is not required for the assessment.
Where possible, study material will be released progressively throughout the course. The activities for the course are scheduled as a block delivery.

This course runs to the University semester/quarter timetable, and all the associated completion dates and deadlines will apply.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
In advance of class students will be guided to familarise themselves with Zoom video-conferencing software and Miro Online Whiteboard.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

The ability for students to join the required live workshops in person or in zoom depending on their circumstances was highly valued, and the course will again provide for hybrid learning. Most students eventually preferred joining in person due to the warm environments of their groups.

Other Information

The course involves a mix of skill development, discovery, innovation, creativity, group work, and online collaboration. Many of these aspects may seem challenging, especially for students who are relatively new to such knowledge or ways of working.

However, the course is designed to coach students through the process. The collaborative focus of the course recognises that people have different strengths that are useful to achieve the desired goals, and no single student is expected to know innovation methods or be proficient in these skills in advance.

Social innovation is social first and foremost; collaboration and working with others are cornerstones of social innovation, social change, and leadership, and the course provides fertile ground for learning about these aspects. Teamwork in the course is facilitated by establishing shared expectations and a structured and confidential review process to ensure fairness in relation to assessment. It is not possible to complete this course without participating in the teamwork design process.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.