What does it take for a nonprofit to continuously reimagine the status quo and thereby amplify its impact? Through our research, we have identified six elements that are common to nonprofits with a high capacity to innovate:
- Catalytic leadership that empowers staff to solve problems that matter
- A curious culture, where staff look beyond their day-to-day responsibilities, question assumptions, and constructively challenge each other’s thinking
- Diverse teams with different backgrounds, attitudes, and capabilities
- Porous boundaries that let insights and information flow into and across the organization
- Idea pathways that provide structure and processes for identifying, testing, and transforming concepts into solutions
- Ready resources in time, funding, and tools—all vital to supporting innovation
The Stanford Social Innovation Review article, “Is Your Nonprofit Built for Sustained Innovation?” explores each of the six elements, providing guidance and examples for nonprofits that aim to continuously come up with novel solutions to today’s challenges.
Related Resources
Building the Capacity to Innovate: A Guide for Nonprofits
In 2017, The Bridgespan Group and The Rockefeller Foundation surveyed the leaders of 145 nonprofit organizations. Nearly 80 percent reported that their organizations aspire to innovate. And the majority reported that innovation is critical for their organizations. Unfortunately, less than half of respondents feel their organizations have the capacity to innovate. This guide can help. It has been created to help organizations build their capacity for innovation and includes tools to do so: an overarching framework, learning modules for different parts of the framework, exercises and a worksheet for setting plans and priorities, and more. Download the guide from The Rockefeller Foundation’s website >>
Innovation Capacity Diagnostic
Developed in conjunction with The Rockefeller Foundation, this diagnostic can help organizations understand their current capacity for innovation and serve as a discussion tool to help strengthen that capacity. Download the diagnostic >>
