The Public Sector as a Driver of Social Innovation

This week’s reading centered on a central theme: the role of government in fostering social innovation. From our case reading on B Lab to the discussion regarding a White House Office of Social Innovation, we see many ways in which an easy to navigate public sector support system for social innovation can help to foster and promote the work of the non-profit and private sector’s role in making substantial impacts in the public realm.

Because of the need for policy to compliment social innovation, we see a continued collaboration with government. Moreover, the need for a public sector-oriented approach to the development of basic legal infrastructure for social ventures makes it clear that a defined space within the public sector for social innovators to interact and grow is necessary for continued improvements in this space.

B Lab’s legislative work to create state policies to expand shareholder value to community benefits through B Corporations is a perfect example of this trend. By creating the policy avenue for social enterprises to work within existing channels, we see a significant improvement in the ability of organizations to both work toward profit while also making stated progress toward a social impact.

The White House Office of Social Innovation allows for a similar but still distinct piece of public policy infrastructure to promote social innovation. The ability of a Presidential administration to legitimize, support, and help to diffuse social innovation is second to none. Moreover, this office’s potential to act as an advocacy arm of the social innovation space adds to the ability of social innovators to shape policies that are consistent with their work.

By strategically harnessing the opportunities within government and public policy, social innovators can expand the scope of what their organizations can do and the ways in which they are able to do it. Further, distinguishing the differences in need and operating realities between social innovation and traditional non-profits and private sector organizations further helps to define and build upon existing frameworks in which social innovators work.

While there is still considerable policy work to do, such as expanding the number of states in which B Corporations are a defined status or the ways in which the White House Office of Social Innovation functions in a day-to-day way, it is clear that parties on both sides understand and respect the need for serious policy work in the social innovation realm.