Challenge Social Innovation

In recent years, social innovation has experienced a steep career. Numerous national governments and large organisations like the OECD, the European Commission and UNESCO have adopted the term. Social innovation basically means that people adopt new social practices in order to meet social needs in a different or more effective way. Prominent examples of the past are the Red Cross and the social welfare state or, at present, the internet 2.0 transforming our communication and cooperation schemes, requiring new management concepts, even empowering social revolutions. The traditional concept of innovation as successful new technological products needs fundamental rethinking in a society marked by knowledge and services, leading to a new and enriched paradigm of innovation. There is multiple evidence that social innovation will become of growing importance not only concerning social integration, equal opportunities and dealing with the greenhouse effects but also with regard to preserving and expanding the innovative capacity of companies and societies. While political authorities stress the social facets of social innovation, this book also encompasses its societal and systemic dimensions, collecting the scientific expertise of renowned experts and scholars from all over the world. Based on the contributions of the first world-wide science convention on social innovation from September 2011 in Vienna, the book provides an overview of scientific approaches to this still relatively new field. Forewords by Agnès HUBERT (Member of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA) of the European Commission) and Antonella Noya (Senior Policy Analyst at OECD, manager of the OECD LEED Forum on Social Innovations)

Despite enormous investments of time and money, are we making a dent on the social and environmental challenges of our time? What if we could exponentially increase our impact? Around the world, a new generation is looking beyond greater profits, for meaningful purpose. But, unlike business, few social interventions have achieved significant impact at scale. Inspired by the modern innovation practices, popularized by bestseller The Lean Startup, that have fueled technology breakthroughs touching every aspect of our lives, Lean Impact turns our attention to a new goal - radically greater social good. Social change is far more complicated than building a new app. It requires more listening, more care, and more stakeholders. To make a lasting difference, solutions must be embraced by beneficiaries, address root causes, and include an engine that can accelerate growth to reach the scale of the need. Lean Impact offers bold ideas to reach audacious goals through customer insight, rapid experimentation and iteration, and a relentless pursuit of impact. Ann Mei Chang brings a unique perspective from across sectors, from her years as a tech executive in Silicon Valley to her most recent experience as the Chief Innovation Officer at USAID. She vividly illustrates the book with real stories from interviews with over 200 organizations across the US and around the world. Whether you are a nonprofit, social enterprise, triple bottom line company, foundation, government agency, philanthropist, impact investor, or simply donate your time and money, Lean Impact is an essential guide to maximizing social impact and scale.

“This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the well-being of humanity in our modern world.” —Jake B. Schrum, President Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX “The Social Innovation Imperative advances a best practice framework to solving the world’s most pressing social issues. This is a foundational guide to changing the world that will be referenced for years to come.” —Michael Reynolds, Vice President, Product Development and Management, Cigna Health Care “Advancing the works of Clayton Christensen, Tony Ulwick, and others, Bates gives us a systematic approach for addressing critical human needs and the ecosystems in which they persist. This book is a blueprint to help us solve the ‘right’ things—the ‘right’ way.” —Joe Grieshop, President, Chief Innovation Executive, netTrekker, Founding Partner, Knovation Lab “Bates lays out a comprehensive, needs-driven approach for creating a social innovation road map. The detailed templates she provides offer particular insight for large, complex challenges.” —Sarah Miller Caldicott, author of Innovate Like Edison and Inventing The Future, great-grandniece of Thomas Edison “Bates shows how to create comprehensive innovation strategies using a six-step framework, and she gives the reader detailed ‘how to’ instruction for each step.” —Ellen Domb, Ph.D., President, PQR Group, Founder of The TRIZ Journal About the Book: In recent years, business leaders have been investing unprecedented amounts of time and money pursuing innovation to drive profits and growth. Although far from perfected, the innovation best practices they follow are by now well established. But when your expected ROI isn’t measured in dollars but in social good, the game is played very differently—which is where The Social Innovation Imperative comes in. Sandra M. Bates has spent the last decade helping major corporations create new markets for technology, consumer goods, and services. Now, she turns her attention to the social sector. The Social Innovation Imperative begins by explaining why innovation in social sectors, such as health care, conservation, and education, is unique and then provides the framework and tools that create a best practice for driving innovative change that will impact our world. Bates organizes the process into action-oriented steps you can follow to meet your goals effectively and in the most efficient manner possible. Learn how to: Investigate the Needs—define the social challenge, determine unmet needs, and examine opportunities for achieving them Innovate the Solution—devise a workable solution and develop a powerful social business model Implement the Solution—ensure the solution creates shared value and discover techniques to make certain that it does not become an orphan innovation In The Social Innovation Imperative, Bates combines everything she has learned as a high-level business consultant to offer a refreshing new approach for developing breakthrough products, programs, and services to meet society’s needs. The Framework for Social Innovation outlined in this book removes the mystery from innovation success and provides a systematic approach anyone can adopt. The Social Innovation Imperative offers essential wisdom for innovators everywhere—whether nonprofits, NGOs, foundations, government agencies, or corporations—who wish to generate meaningful social value.

Looks at bottom up initiatives, where residents and local organizations took charge and took risks to improve their living conditions and to build a new future. This book presents case studies of a series of initiatives which have borne fruit over a long period of time.

This book addresses the practice of social innovation, which is currently very much in the public eye. New ideas and approaches are needed to tackle the severe and wicked problems with which contemporary societies are struggling. Especially in times of economic crisis, social innovation is regarded as one of the crucial elements needed to move forward. Our knowledge of its dynamics has significantly progressed, thanks to an abundance of studies on social innovation both general and sector-specific. However, despite the valuable research conducted over the past years, the systematic analysis of social innovation is still contested and incomplete. The questions asked in the book will be the following: 1. What is the nature of social innovations? 2.What patterns can be identified in social innovations emerging at the local level? 3.How is the emergence and spread of social innovations related to urban governance? More precisely, which conditions and arrangements facilitate and hinders social innovation? We explore these questions using different types of data and methods, and studying different contexts. In particular, we focus on innovations that aim at solving problems of the young unemployed, single parents and migrants. This analysis is based on original research carried out in the period 2010-2013 in the framework of a European project with a specific empirical research strategy. Research was carried out in 20 cities in 10 different European countries.

​Social Innovation is becoming an increasingly important topic in our global society. Those organizations which are able to develop business solutions to the most urgent social and ecological challenges will be the leading companies of tomorrow. Social Innovation not only creates value for society but will be a key driver for business success. Although the concept of Social Innovation is discussed globally the meaning and its impact on the development of new business strategies is still heavily on debate. This publication has the goal to give a comprehensive overview of different concepts in the very innovative field of Social Innovation, from a managerial as well as from a theoretical and social perspective. Over 30 leading thinkers in the field of Innovation, Strategic Management and Organizational Development give a well structured inside on the latest developments and progress in the field of Social Innovation. Thereby the authors not only develop a comprehensive and unique analysis on the state-of-the art of social innovation but also give practical advice and information to business leaders on how to apply the latest management thinking on Social Innovation to daily business decisions. This publication has the intention to become a milestone in the further development of the concept of Social Innovation as well as to further stimulate new business strategies necessary to overcome world most pressing social and ecological challenges.

In a time where governments and civil society organizations are putting ever-greater stock in social innovation as a route to transformation, understanding what characterizes social innovation with transformative potential is important. Exciting and promising ideas seem to die out as often as they take flight, and market mechanisms, which go a long way towards contributing to successful technical innovations, play an insignificant role in social innovations. The cases in this book explore the evolution of successful social innovation through time, from the ideas which catalysed social and system entrepreneurs to create new processes, platforms, projects and programs to fundamental social shifts in culture, economics, laws and policies which occurred as a result. In doing so, the authors shed light on how to recognize transformative potential in the early stage innovations we see today.

The one book you need to make a difference in the world. Social innovation and social entrepreneurship are rising forces. As the extent of the world's systemic challenges becomes clear—from climate change to income inequality to food security to healthcare and beyond—more and more of the best and brightest will feel called to become innovators and entrepreneurs who develop and deploy solutions to the world's thorniest problems. But it won't be easy: social innovation is complicated. Solutions require the active collaboration of constituents across the worlds of government, business, and nonprofits. Social innovators and entrepreneurs need a handbook to guide them on the journey to changing the world. This is that guide. Contributions from a who's who of the smartest thinkers and most experienced practitioners in the field provide the knowledge you need to succeed as a social innovator. Topics cover the waterfront, including: High-performance leadership as a driver of social change Design for extreme affordability Scaling social innovation Corporate decarbonization Social innovation and healthcare in the postpandemic world Donor-advised funds and impact investing Case studies from the field bring to life the challenges and opportunities social entrepreneurs and innovators face. Frontiers in Social Innovation is an essential volume for anyone who wants to use innovation and entrepreneurship to make the world a better place.