Social innovators now routinely turn to the process of prototyping as a low cost, low risk and fast way to develop and test complex challenges While there are an increasing number and variety of resources  available on how to create prototypes, there are relatively few thorough resources on how to…

The process of improving the relevance, quality or efficiency existing model, program or strategy is a form of incremental innovation that all change-makers should be capable of integrating into their work if and when their aim is truly ‘incremental’ innovation.  This short piece summarizes the basic ideas of ‘continuous improvement’…

For over a decade, developmental evaluation has been useful for innovators trying to make a difference in the world. The Developmental Evaluation Companion – finalized in 2021 with the support of the J.W. McConnel Family Foundation – provides a high level update on the approach based that is ready for…

The collective impact framework has been adopted by countless social innovators across the world as a way for diverse people, organizations and sectors to work together to move the needle on complex challenges.  In this article published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review,  Sylvia Cheuy, Liz Weaver and Mark Cabaj…

Intermediary organizations can amplify the efforts of on-the-ground social innovators to tackle complex issues in a variety of ways: e.g., help coordinate their efforts, create or enhance different capabilities (e.g., evaluation, social finance, leadership ), develop, test and – if possible – scale promising solutions,  as well as “do whatever…