A Final Commentary on Intrinsic Social Innovation
摘要
In this chapter, I outline two principal ways of thinking about social innovation, design driven and intrinsic. The chapter stands as a coda, the final statement of the monograph. I chose to highlight innovation because it stands as a core competency of Fifth Street and the community that is evolving to explore and enact solutions to the challenges residents face. The idea of design-driven innovation means that leaders and participants can anticipate the substantive nature of the innovations the community requires. The designs for innovation do not occur in a vacuum, but often involve coproduction among multiple groups and institutions. I then introduce intrinsic innovation, a form of innovation that is of, about, and by the community residents interacting with institutional resources, such as those Lott Community College offers. The chapter incorporates criteria of intrinsic innovation, mindful that the substantive innovations and the process for producing them are together central assets of this community. The purpose of social innovation is to advance the aesthetics of community life found in natural ecology, stronger infrastructure, a robust standard of living, quality of day, and ultimately quality of life. Social innovation that links the reader back to environmental aesthetics.