BIF Research Advisor Clay Christensen on Disruptive Innovation for Social Change

With the Business Innovation Factory's focus on public and private sector collaboration, a recent HBS article co-written by BIF Research Advisor Clay Christensen, really hits home. Disruptive Innovation for Social Change argues that a different support structure is needed for organizations that are devoted to social change. It's a manifesto for organizations who want to create scalable, sustainable, systems-changing solutions in the social sector.

The authors tag their proposed method "catalytic innovation." Very similar to Christensen's disruptive innovation model, catalytic innovations can "surpass the status quo by providing good-enough solutions to inadequately addressed social problems." The primary objective here is social change on a national scale.

According to Christensen and Co., there are five qualities of a catalytic innovator:

1. They create systemic social change through scaling and replication.
2. They meet a need that is either overserved or not served at all.
3. They offer products and services that are simpler and less costly than existing alternatives.
4. They generate resources (i.e. donations, grants, volunteer manpower) that incumbents aren't interested in.
5. They're the folks who incumbent/established players retreat from - either because the business model isn't profitable or attractive enough.

Obviously, if you're a student of disruptive innovation, the qualities listed above will ring true. And while the Business Innovation Factory thinks of itself as a catalytic innovator, this article was a bit of an eye-opener. Could this model be the litmus test for whether a project gets off the ground or not?

Related links

• Competing Against Non-consumption: My conversation with Clay Christensen