How do you define social innovation?
Good question! Although emerging in the early nineteenth century (Godin, 2012), the notion of social innovation has always sought a simple definition and remains greatly influenced by the organizations or collectives that apply its principles. The term will sometimes refer to the governance of organizations, sometimes to the scale of systems to be transformed, or to the innovative nature of the means that will be mobilized to create social and environmental impact within communities.
The MIS subscribes to the definition proposed by the Réseau Québécois en innovation sociale (RQIS)
“A social innovation is a new idea, approach or intervention, a new service, a new product or a new law, or a new type of organization that responds more adequately and more sustainably than existing solutions to a well-defined social need; it is a solution that has been adopted in an institution, an organization or a community and produces a measurable benefit for the community and not just for certain individuals. The scope of a social innovation is transformative and systemic. It is, in its inherent creativity, a break with existing approaches.”
See the criteria for a social innovation in the Why make way for social innovation section.
What is a social impact project?
A social impact project is a project that aims to transform, change or break down organizational or human behaviour in order to respond to current unmet social needs. The social impact will then be determined according to the level of achievement of the desired change following the mobilization of a series of resources, actors or activities as a result.
Impacts can be proximal (near the project, short term) or distal (long-term effects in different environments). Impacts may be direct on targeted populations or indirect (e.g. behavioural changes in institutions supporting these populations, etc).
What is the difference between social innovation and the social economy?
The social economy brings together all the activities and organizations born of collective entrepreneurship (NPOs and cooperatives) and is organized around the following principles and operating rules (referring to the definition of the Caisse d’économie solidaire):
- The purpose of the social economy enterprise is to serve its members or the community, rather than simply generating profits and aiming for financial performance.
- It has management autonomy with respect to the State.
- It incorporates into its statutes and ways of doing things a democratic decision-making process involving users.
- It defends the primacy of persons and labour over capital in the distribution of its surpluses and revenues.
- It bases its activities on the principles of participation, empowerment and on individual and collective responsibility.
Social innovation, on the other hand, is inclusive of different legal forms and is not necessarily of an economic nature. It can therefore emerge in any type of environment (cooperatives and NPOs, citizens’ communities, private companies, public institutions, etc).
