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There is growing interest in how social innovation can help address the grand challenges of our time. In this edited collection, we recommend and discuss historical and systems perspectives as especially valuable in broadening our view of the kinds of dynamics underpinning social transformation.

A historical perspective shows how past experiences, cultural narratives, and institutional legacies shape social innovation efforts. It emphasizes that transformation emerges through contested and evolving narratives rather than simple diffusion. The volume includes papers that discuss such narrative and dialectical dynamics in diverse forms and settings, such as, for example, the multi-decadal efforts to address homelessness in the United States.

A systems perspective, meanwhile, highlights the social innovation implications of the interconnected and adaptive nature of social and environmental challenges. It views transformation as an emergent outcome of complex interactions across scales, emphasizing resilience and unintended consequences. Papers apply this lens, for instance, in studying shifting approaches to supporting the disabled, and we also include papers offering related principles and guidelines, as well as systems mapping advice for practitioners and scholars.

The volume concludes with reflections from prominent scholars who examine definitional issues and underscore the need for Big Picture Approaches to the Impact of Social Innovations.