Innovation from Within : Redefining How Nonprofits Solve Problems

We are in the middle of an explosion of activity in the nonprofit sector, with increased attention to social problems and unprecedented access to the tools necessary to launch a new start-up. But often overlooked is the capacity for change, innovation, and brilliance that can emerge within an established organization, and that is where Innovation from Within fills a needed gap, providing a framework to help organizations to empower employees and amplify the impact of their work.

The nonprofit sector has seen more diversity and change in the past 25 years than ever before, while there has also been an explosion of interest from across sectors in finding new solutions to social problems. We are in the midst of an entrepreneurial moment, as doers and makers have unprecedented access to crowdfunding and it has never been easier or cheaper to start a business or a foundation. And yet, often overlooked among these shiny new objects the flood of start-ups that spring up daily is the untapped potential of new ideas that can emerge from inside already established agencies, companies, and nonprofits. To build the capacity for innovation requires attention to building organizations and individuals who are ready and have the right tools to develop, implement, and sustain innovations. Innovation from Within provides a framework specific for nonprofits through the Nonprofit Innovation Model (IN Model). The IN Model guides leaders in developing and implementing innovation from within their own nonprofit organization. The time has come to get more people into the business of solving problems in extraordinary ways and to amplify the impact of the field of social innovation by bringing along the people who provide the bulk of services and impact. This book is the guide and a call to action for building that momentum. Innovation from Within is divided into two distinct parts to provide readers with an opportunity to think about the context of and concepts around social innovation before getting into the work. Part 1 is about redefining social innovation for the nonprofit context and Part 2 is about action. This book is meant to outline the social innovation environment and set the stage for innovation work within existing nonprofit agencies.