Innovation for Social Change

Innovation for Social Change

by Leah Kral
Released December 2022
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119987468

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Book description

Transform your nonprofit’s ability to innovate for the future

In Innovation for Social Change, distinguished author Leah Kral delivers a practical manual for nonprofits and charitable organizations seeking to innovate their way toward new and exciting possibilities. In the book, you’ll explore hands-on design thinking strategies and techniques you can use as a disciplined process for exploring what’s possible in your organization. You’ll learn how to identify hidden needs, deal with the knock-on effects of your ideas, and focus your efforts where they can have the most impact.

You’ll also discover how to transform your ideas into action, building small experiments and learning from them before scaling them up organization-wide, and how to create an ecosystem for everyday innovation. Finally, the author explains what we can learn from social entrepreneurs as they boldly challenge the status quo.

The book also includes:

  • Six basic and mutually reinforcing principles that will help you become more innovative today
  • Instructive and engaging case studies from nonprofits with a variety of missions, visions, and political backgrounds
  • Strategies for applying straightforward principles from economics to supercharge nonprofit innovation

A can’t-miss roadmap to creative innovation, Innovation for Social Change will earn a place in the libraries of nonprofit board members, managers, fundraisers, and other professionals in the charitable space.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Innovation for Social Change
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Acknowledgments
    1. Note
  7. Introduction: Innovation and Nonprofits
    1. The Plan of the Book
    2. Notes
  8. Chapter 1: A Story of Transformative Innovation
    1. What St. Benedict's Can Teach Us About Innovation
    2. Notes
  9. Part 1: Tools for Sparking Innovative Ideas
    1. Chapter 2: Surfacing Unmet Needs
      1. A Thought Exercise: Exploring a Social Problem
      2. Notes
    2. Chapter 3: Stretching the Imagination
      1. Asset Mapping
      2. Mobilization of a Network
      3. Achieve a Tipping Point for Change
      4. Notes
    3. Chapter 4: Stress Testing for Feasibility
      1. Landscape Analysis
      2. Surfacing Risks, Obstacles, and Unknowns
      3. Prioritizing Our Best Opportunities: Two‐Step SWOT Exercise
      4. Notes
  10. Part 2: Transform Innovative Ideas into Action
    1. Chapter 5: Designing Small Experiments
      1. Trial and Error
      2. Controlled Experiments
      3. Wizard of Oz Tests
      4. Notes
    2. Chapter 6: Forming a Vision and Theory of Change
      1. Habitat for Humanity
      2. Southern Christian Leadership Conference
      3. Notes
    3. Chapter 7: Evaluating, Learning, and Adjusting
      1. How to Recognize “Evaluation” Practices That Stifle Innovation
      2. Evaluation Should Be Actionable
      3. Negotiate with Stakeholders Regarding Evaluation Approaches
      4. Notes
  11. Part 3: Build Innovation into Our Organizational DNA
    1. Chapter 8: Encourage Creative Collaboration
      1. Creative Collaborations and Strong Trust
      2. Organizational Principles Set a Tone
      3. Not Just Empty Platitudes
      4. Team Leaders Walk the Talk
      5. Notes
    2. Chapter 9: Optimize Organizational Design for Innovators
      1. Who Should Be Empowered to Make Decisions?
      2. Budgeting and Trade‐Off Thinking Fuels Innovation
      3. Getting Out of Innovation's Way
      4. Notes
    3. Chapter 10: Attract Donor‐Partners Who Fuel Social Change Breakthroughs
      1. What Can Donor‐Nonprofit Partnerships Teach Us About Innovation?
      2. How Do Nonprofits Navigate Donor Partnerships—Both Opportunities and Pitfalls—So That Teams Are Empowered to Innovate?
      3. Notes
  12. Part 4: Bring Your Innovation A Game
    1. Chapter 11: Discover Your Superpower
      1. Notes
    2. Chapter 12: Challenging the Status Quo
      1. Paving the Way for Collaborative Ideation
      2. Why We Sometimes Hesitate to Be Contrarian
      3. Methods for Coaxing Curious Contrarians Out of the Closet
      4. Have Courage
      5. Notes
    3. Chapter 13: Win Others Over to Your Cause
      1. Identify What Decision Makers Are Looking For
      2. Bring Your Best Tough‐Minded Logic
      3. Create a Compelling Elevator Pitch
      4. Be Scrappy, Flexible, and Have a Thick Hide
      5. Notes
  13. Epilogue: What's at StakeWhat's at Stake
    1. Note
  14. References
  15. About the Author
  16. Index
  17. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Innovation for Social Change
  • Author(s): Leah Kral
  • Release date: December 2022
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119987468