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There is an increasing interest in the practice and study of social innovation in order to tackle complex problems in our society (Phills, Deiglmeier & Miller, 2008; Westley, Zimmerman & Patton, 2006). Social innovation has been defined as a novel solution to a social problem for which the value accrues primarily to society than private interests and addresses a social need in a more effective way than existing solutions (Leadbeater, 2008a; Phills et al, 2008). Alongside organizations traditionally associated with tackling social problems, such as nonprofit organizations and social movement organizations, there are now a growing army of social entrepreneurs (Light, 2008), social enterprises (Defourny & Nyssens, 2006), and philanthro-capitalists (Edwards, 2008); epitomized by individuals such as Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Prize winner for introducing micro-credit, Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka, an organization that promotes and funds social entrepreneurs, and the billion dollar philanthropy of the Gates and Clinton Foundations. Governments and businesses are also interested in being involved. The newly elected U.S. President has an “Office of Social Innovation” (Light, 2009), European leaders are seeking to connect innovation to social goals (Young Foundation, 2009) and corporations are encouraged to see the social sector as a “beta site” for innovation where partnerships can produce “profitable and sustainable change for both sides” (Kanter, 1999, p. 124). The organizational potential to tackle complex and intractable social problems may seem more realizable than ever before.

And yet, our understanding of social innovation is in its early stages of development (Mulgan, 2006; Nilsson, 2003; Phills et al, 2008). There is no clearly identifiable body of academic literature in spite of a growing number of stories of individuals and organizations in the media (e.g., Novogratz, 2009) and university courses on the topic (e.g., Harvard and Stanford Universities). Initial interest in academic circles is in exploring the processes behind social innovations (Mulgan, 2006; Phills et al, 2008) that have the sort of impact that would make them “more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than existing solutions” (Phills et al, 2008). In particular need of examination are the processes that enable social innovations to transform social arrangements in ways that result in a “significant, creative and sustainable shift in the way that a given society deals with a profound and previously intractable problem” (Nilsson, 2003).

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