Project Number: 2023-2-PL01-KA220-YOU-000171409
MOBIUS MODULE 3
Paths for social innovation
The Mobius project has been funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the National Agency (NA). Neither the European Union nor NA can be held responsible for them.
Module Goal's
Empathy for Social Challenges
Opportunity Recognition
Critical Thinking
Curiosity and Exploration
Understand Models of Social Innovation
Contents
This module is designed to equip you with skills to:
- Transformative Social Innovation Theory (TSI)
- Social Entrepreneurship Theory
- Rogers' Theory of Innovation Diffusion
- across diverse cultural and institutional contexts
- Ecological Systems Approach
- Meadows' Systems Thinking
- Pathways of Social Innovation: Bottom-up & Top-down
- Pathways of Social Innovation: Collaborative & Incremental
- Pathways of Social Innovation: Transformational & Tech-driven
- The Social Innovation Lifecycle
- Case Study: Microfinance
- Practical Application
What you will learn
This module is designed to:
- explore various pathways through which social innovation emerges and evolves.
- understand key theories, actors, and systems involved in driving social change
- critically analyze how different approaches can address complex societal challenges
- Design Thinking Approach
Transformative Social Innovation Theory (TSI)
Transformative Social Innovation Theory explores how social innovation drives systemic change by shifting power relations, norms, and institutions. It emphasizes:
- Grassroots movements as catalysts for change
- Co-evolution of innovations with societal structures
- Connection to sustainability transitions
- Empowerment processes that challenge existing paradigms
TSI recognizes that meaningful social change requires addressing root causes and transforming the underlying systems that perpetuate social problems.
Social Entrepreneurship Theory
Social entrepreneurship involves using entrepreneurial skills to address social problems and create positive change. Popularized in the 1980s by Bill Drayton and pioneers like Michael Young, it blends innovation with social impact.
This theory centers on individuals or organizations who innovate to solve social problems using entrepreneurial principles. It combines economic and social value creation, focusing on:
- Mission-driven leadership
- Sustainable business models
- Scaling impact across sectors
Warm up!
Drag each word to the concept it belongs: TRANSFORMATIVE SOCIAL INNOVATION or SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Drag each word to the concept it belongs:
Templates
Empowerment
Engagement
Collaboration
TRANSFORMATIVE SOCIAL INNOVATION
Sustainability
Animation
Equity
Usability
Change
Impact
Innovation
Resilience
Community
Experience
Visualization
Project prototyping
Innovation
Narrative
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Solution
Let's reflect!
What is one key thing you’ve learned that changed how you think about starting or running a business? What would you use in the future?
Rogers' Theory of Innovation Diffusion
Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory explains how new ideas and technologies spread through societies over time.
Innovators (2.5%)
Risk-takers who adopt innovations first, often with higher socioeconomic status and access to scientific sources.
Early Adopters (13.5%)
Opinion leaders who carefully evaluate innovations and influence others' adoption decisions.
Early Majority (34%)
Deliberate adopters who accept change before the average person but rarely lead.
Late Majority (34%)
Skeptical adopters who adopt after most others, often due to economic necessity or peer pressure.
Laggards (16%)
Traditional adopters who are the last to adopt innovations, often suspicious of change.
Design Thinking Approach
Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation focused on understanding user needs, redefining problems, and developing creative solutions.
2. Define
1. Empathize
Clearly articulate the problem based on insights gathered during empathy work.
Understand the needs, experiences, and perspectives of those affected by the problem.
3. Ideate
Generate a wide range of creative solutions without judgment.
5. Test
4. Prototype
Gather feedback on prototypes to refine solutions iteratively.
Create simple versions of potential solutions to test ideas quickly.
Ecological Systems Approach
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory explains human development through five nested systems that influence social innovation contexts:
Mesosystem
Microsystem
Connections between microsystems, such as family-school relationships.
Immediate environments like family, school, workplace, and peer groups.
Exosystem
External environments that indirectly affect development, like local policies.
Chronosystem
Macrosystem
Changes over time in both the person and their environment.
Cultural contexts, including societal values, laws, and customs.
Meadows' Systems Thinking
Meadows' Systems Thinking focuses on understanding complex systems by analyzing their interrelated components, feedback loops, and leverage points. It emphasizes seeing the whole picture rather than isolated parts.
This approach enables effective intervention in social, environmental, or organizational systems to create sustainable change by identifying:
- System structures and boundaries
- Feedback mechanisms that reinforce or balance
- High-leverage intervention points
- Emergent properties that arise from interactions
Pathways of Social Innovation: Bottom-up & Top-down
Bottom-up Innovation
Top-down Innovation
Starts at the grassroots level with individuals, communities, or local organizations identifying and addressing specific local challenges using their lived experiences.
Driven by governments, large institutions, or corporations through policy changes, regulations, or system-level reforms.
Examples: National healthcare reforms, universal basic income trials, large-scale educational initiatives
Examples: Community-based recycling programs, informal learning centers in underserved areas, neighborhood mutual aid networks
Pathways of Social Innovation: Collaborative & Incremental
Collaborative Innovation
Incremental Innovation
Blends top-down and bottom-up approaches where governments, NGOs, businesses, and citizens co-design and implement solutions to complex problems.
Involves small, continuous improvements to existing systems or services that are feasible and manageable.
Examples: Hospital optimizing appointment scheduling, gradual improvements to public transportation systems, iterative updates to social service delivery
Examples: Public-private partnerships, participatory budgeting, multi-stakeholder initiatives addressing climate change
Pathways of Social Innovation: Transformational & Tech-driven
Transformational Innovation
Tech-driven Innovation
Brings about deep, systemic change by challenging the underlying structures and assumptions of current systems.
Leverages emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, or renewable energy to solve social challenges, combined with understanding of social contexts.
Examples: Transitioning to a circular economy, redesigning urban spaces to be completely carbon-neutral, fundamental shifts in educational paradigms
Examples: Mobile banking in rural areas, telehealth services for remote communities, blockchain for transparent supply chains
The Social Innovation Lifecycle
Emergence
A problem is identified, and early ideas or prototypes are developed. This phase is marked by experimentation and testing. Support from incubators or innovation labs is often critical here.
Development
Promising ideas are refined, supported by initial funding, and tested in real-world settings. Stakeholders begin to show interest, and the impact becomes more measurable.
Scaling
The innovation is expanded to new regions or populations. This requires additional resources, partnerships, and often adaptations to different contexts. Impact measurement becomes key.
Institutionalization
Innovation becomes embedded in existing systems or policies. It may be adopted by public institutions, funded consistently, or even mandated by law.
Transformation or Decline
Some innovations evolve to reshape broader systems (transformation). Others may lose relevance or fail to sustain momentum, leading to decline.
Case Study: Microfinance
Microfinance exemplifies the social innovation lifecycle, beginning with Muhammad Yunus's experiments in Bangladesh (Emergence), developing into the Grameen Bank model (Development), expanding globally through various adaptations (Scaling), becoming institutionalized in formal banking systems (Institutionalization), and ultimately transforming financial inclusion for millions worldwide (Transformation).
This innovation combined bottom-up insights with collaborative approaches and eventually influenced top-down financial policies, demonstrating how multiple pathways can converge in successful social innovations.
Let's reflect!
Do you recall what we learned? Drag and complete the text!
Drag and complete the text
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers
Start
Complete the sentence
Complete the sentence
Complete the sentence
Practical Application
Understanding social innovation pathways and lifecycles enables you to:
Design Strategic Interventions
Choose appropriate pathways based on context, resources, and goals.
Anticipate Challenges
Prepare for obstacles typical at each lifecycle stage.
Build Effective Partnerships
Identify and engage key stakeholders across different systems.
Measure Impact Appropriately
Develop metrics relevant to each stage of development.
Key takeaways
Multiple Theoretical Frameworks
Social innovation draws from diverse theories including TSI, Social Entrepreneurship, and Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations, each offering unique perspectives on how change happens.
Diverse Pathways
Bottom-up, top-down, collaborative, incremental, transformational, and tech-driven approaches each offer distinct advantages and challenges for different contexts.
Predictable Lifecycle
Understanding the progression from emergence through development, scaling, and institutionalization helps innovators navigate the journey of social change.
Systems Perspective
Effective social innovation requires understanding the complex interplay of actors, institutions, and environmental factors across multiple levels.
Let's reflect!
Answer the following questions and move forward!
Question 1/3
Question 2/3
Question 3/3
Resources / Further reading
- Aldea-Partanen, A. (2011). Social innovation in service delivery to youth in remote and rural areas. International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development, 3(1), 63-81.
- Bastien, S., & Holmarsdottir, H. B. (Eds.). (2017). Youth as architects of social change: Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development.
- Global efforts to advance youth-driven innovation. Springer.
- Interaction Design Foundation, Dam, R. F., & Siang, T. Y. (2021, December). What is design thinking and why is it so popular?.
- Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in Systems: A Primer.
- Miller, R. L. (2015). Rogers' innovation diffusion theory (1962, 1995). In Information seeking behavior and technology adoption: Theories and trends (pp. 261-274). IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
- Mulgan, G. (2006). The process of social innovation. Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 1(2), 145–162
- Nteere, K. K. (2021). Theories of social entrepreneurship: An empirical review. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 8(2), 459-465.
- Pel, B., Haxeltine, A., Avelino, F., Dumitru, A., Kemp, R., Bauler, T., ... & Jørgensen, M. S. (2020). Towards a theory of transformative social innovation: A relational framework and 12 propositions. Research Policy, 49(8), 104080.
Empowerment; Collaboration; Sustainabily; Impact; Equity; Innovation; Community; Change; Resilience.
Animation; Engagement; Usability; Narrative; Visualization; Templates;Project Prototyping; Experience.
Here you can put a highlighted title
Need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we assimilate comes through our sight, and we retain 42% more information when the content is moving. What you read: interactivity and animation can make the most boring content fun. At Genially, we use AI (Awesome Interactivity) in all our designs, so you can level up with interactivity and turn your content into something that adds value and engages.
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Transcript
Project Number: 2023-2-PL01-KA220-YOU-000171409
MOBIUS MODULE 3
Paths for social innovation
The Mobius project has been funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the National Agency (NA). Neither the European Union nor NA can be held responsible for them.
Module Goal's
Empathy for Social Challenges
Opportunity Recognition
Critical Thinking
Curiosity and Exploration
Understand Models of Social Innovation
Contents
This module is designed to equip you with skills to:
What you will learn
This module is designed to:
Transformative Social Innovation Theory (TSI)
Transformative Social Innovation Theory explores how social innovation drives systemic change by shifting power relations, norms, and institutions. It emphasizes:
TSI recognizes that meaningful social change requires addressing root causes and transforming the underlying systems that perpetuate social problems.
Social Entrepreneurship Theory
Social entrepreneurship involves using entrepreneurial skills to address social problems and create positive change. Popularized in the 1980s by Bill Drayton and pioneers like Michael Young, it blends innovation with social impact.
This theory centers on individuals or organizations who innovate to solve social problems using entrepreneurial principles. It combines economic and social value creation, focusing on:
Warm up!
Drag each word to the concept it belongs: TRANSFORMATIVE SOCIAL INNOVATION or SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Drag each word to the concept it belongs:
Templates
Empowerment
Engagement
Collaboration
TRANSFORMATIVE SOCIAL INNOVATION
Sustainability
Animation
Equity
Usability
Change
Impact
Innovation
Resilience
Community
Experience
Visualization
Project prototyping
Innovation
Narrative
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Solution
Let's reflect!
What is one key thing you’ve learned that changed how you think about starting or running a business? What would you use in the future?
Rogers' Theory of Innovation Diffusion
Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory explains how new ideas and technologies spread through societies over time.
Innovators (2.5%)
Risk-takers who adopt innovations first, often with higher socioeconomic status and access to scientific sources.
Early Adopters (13.5%)
Opinion leaders who carefully evaluate innovations and influence others' adoption decisions.
Early Majority (34%)
Deliberate adopters who accept change before the average person but rarely lead.
Late Majority (34%)
Skeptical adopters who adopt after most others, often due to economic necessity or peer pressure.
Laggards (16%)
Traditional adopters who are the last to adopt innovations, often suspicious of change.
Design Thinking Approach
Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation focused on understanding user needs, redefining problems, and developing creative solutions.
2. Define
1. Empathize
Clearly articulate the problem based on insights gathered during empathy work.
Understand the needs, experiences, and perspectives of those affected by the problem.
3. Ideate
Generate a wide range of creative solutions without judgment.
5. Test
4. Prototype
Gather feedback on prototypes to refine solutions iteratively.
Create simple versions of potential solutions to test ideas quickly.
Ecological Systems Approach
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory explains human development through five nested systems that influence social innovation contexts:
Mesosystem
Microsystem
Connections between microsystems, such as family-school relationships.
Immediate environments like family, school, workplace, and peer groups.
Exosystem
External environments that indirectly affect development, like local policies.
Chronosystem
Macrosystem
Changes over time in both the person and their environment.
Cultural contexts, including societal values, laws, and customs.
Meadows' Systems Thinking
Meadows' Systems Thinking focuses on understanding complex systems by analyzing their interrelated components, feedback loops, and leverage points. It emphasizes seeing the whole picture rather than isolated parts.
This approach enables effective intervention in social, environmental, or organizational systems to create sustainable change by identifying:
Pathways of Social Innovation: Bottom-up & Top-down
Bottom-up Innovation
Top-down Innovation
Starts at the grassroots level with individuals, communities, or local organizations identifying and addressing specific local challenges using their lived experiences.
Driven by governments, large institutions, or corporations through policy changes, regulations, or system-level reforms.
Examples: National healthcare reforms, universal basic income trials, large-scale educational initiatives
Examples: Community-based recycling programs, informal learning centers in underserved areas, neighborhood mutual aid networks
Pathways of Social Innovation: Collaborative & Incremental
Collaborative Innovation
Incremental Innovation
Blends top-down and bottom-up approaches where governments, NGOs, businesses, and citizens co-design and implement solutions to complex problems.
Involves small, continuous improvements to existing systems or services that are feasible and manageable.
Examples: Hospital optimizing appointment scheduling, gradual improvements to public transportation systems, iterative updates to social service delivery
Examples: Public-private partnerships, participatory budgeting, multi-stakeholder initiatives addressing climate change
Pathways of Social Innovation: Transformational & Tech-driven
Transformational Innovation
Tech-driven Innovation
Brings about deep, systemic change by challenging the underlying structures and assumptions of current systems.
Leverages emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, or renewable energy to solve social challenges, combined with understanding of social contexts.
Examples: Transitioning to a circular economy, redesigning urban spaces to be completely carbon-neutral, fundamental shifts in educational paradigms
Examples: Mobile banking in rural areas, telehealth services for remote communities, blockchain for transparent supply chains
The Social Innovation Lifecycle
Emergence
A problem is identified, and early ideas or prototypes are developed. This phase is marked by experimentation and testing. Support from incubators or innovation labs is often critical here.
Development
Promising ideas are refined, supported by initial funding, and tested in real-world settings. Stakeholders begin to show interest, and the impact becomes more measurable.
Scaling
The innovation is expanded to new regions or populations. This requires additional resources, partnerships, and often adaptations to different contexts. Impact measurement becomes key.
Institutionalization
Innovation becomes embedded in existing systems or policies. It may be adopted by public institutions, funded consistently, or even mandated by law.
Transformation or Decline
Some innovations evolve to reshape broader systems (transformation). Others may lose relevance or fail to sustain momentum, leading to decline.
Case Study: Microfinance
Microfinance exemplifies the social innovation lifecycle, beginning with Muhammad Yunus's experiments in Bangladesh (Emergence), developing into the Grameen Bank model (Development), expanding globally through various adaptations (Scaling), becoming institutionalized in formal banking systems (Institutionalization), and ultimately transforming financial inclusion for millions worldwide (Transformation).
This innovation combined bottom-up insights with collaborative approaches and eventually influenced top-down financial policies, demonstrating how multiple pathways can converge in successful social innovations.
Let's reflect!
Do you recall what we learned? Drag and complete the text!
Drag and complete the text
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers
Start
Complete the sentence
Complete the sentence
Complete the sentence
Practical Application
Understanding social innovation pathways and lifecycles enables you to:
Design Strategic Interventions
Choose appropriate pathways based on context, resources, and goals.
Anticipate Challenges
Prepare for obstacles typical at each lifecycle stage.
Build Effective Partnerships
Identify and engage key stakeholders across different systems.
Measure Impact Appropriately
Develop metrics relevant to each stage of development.
Key takeaways
Multiple Theoretical Frameworks
Social innovation draws from diverse theories including TSI, Social Entrepreneurship, and Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations, each offering unique perspectives on how change happens.
Diverse Pathways
Bottom-up, top-down, collaborative, incremental, transformational, and tech-driven approaches each offer distinct advantages and challenges for different contexts.
Predictable Lifecycle
Understanding the progression from emergence through development, scaling, and institutionalization helps innovators navigate the journey of social change.
Systems Perspective
Effective social innovation requires understanding the complex interplay of actors, institutions, and environmental factors across multiple levels.
Let's reflect!
Answer the following questions and move forward!
Question 1/3
Question 2/3
Question 3/3
Resources / Further reading
Empowerment; Collaboration; Sustainabily; Impact; Equity; Innovation; Community; Change; Resilience.
Animation; Engagement; Usability; Narrative; Visualization; Templates;Project Prototyping; Experience.
Here you can put a highlighted title
Need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we assimilate comes through our sight, and we retain 42% more information when the content is moving. What you read: interactivity and animation can make the most boring content fun. At Genially, we use AI (Awesome Interactivity) in all our designs, so you can level up with interactivity and turn your content into something that adds value and engages.