Many of us seek to improve the quality of life in our local communities. We want to learn how to use our creativity to leverage change. To do this, we need to understand the systems that intersect in an area of our interest; we need to grasp all the players in a system, what they offer, and how they are currently working. This enables us to identify a gap or place for an innovation that will enhance the services available and better leverage or increase our resources.

The Challenge for the Social Innovator
It can seem romantic to see oneself as a leader in this field, to be introduced, for example, as a social innovator who is bringing new energy and ideas to the table. Yet, social innovation is a challenging arena and to craft an initiative that will make a difference, we need to be disciplined. We need to think like an entrepreneur while at the same time to sensitively work with deep respect for the individuals and organizations already in the field.

Specific Skills in Context
In these Labs, we explore “How to get in the game.” We look at systems and make an ecosystem map of all the current players. We follow the money, doing research from Guidestar and 990 tax returns of the nonprofit organizations to see their scope and leadership. We learn how to craft our value proposition to the various audiences. We learn how to write an effective proposal and do informational interviews. We get the big picture about mentoring and what to expect.

Social innovators need to work through  Navigating Complex Issues Arena and  Applied Critical Thinking Arena. The art of disciplined social innovation is weaving the insights from these Arenas to support guided out-in-the-field exploration.

The Culture and Structures
Grasping the culture in an area of interest comes from attending meetings, conferences, studying publications or literature and websites of the existing players in the field. Looking at the area from the governmental lens, there will be federal, state, often regional, and local (city and county) government players. All are part of the system that provides services. All have employees who are trying to offer good service within the systems. The root causes of breakdowns are almost always in the system and the relationships among systems, not with an individual player or organization.

A Time of Big Systemic Transitions
The nonprofit sector is taking on more and more of what historically been the function of other groups: government, faith-based communities, neighborhoods, or families. This is an exciting time to build the capacities to become a disciplined social innovator.