Social innovation

As the discourse on Corporate Social Responsibility changes from being simply an acknowledgment of businesses’ accountability of their impact on society to a corporate commitment to bring about positive changes for the society, social intrapreneurship is also becoming a more and more widespread phenomena in the corporate world.

Social intrapreneurs are employees who initiate innovative projects within their existing institutions (corporate, education, public, or nonprofit) to generate social and/or environmental benefits in line with their institutions’ overarching CSR and ESG commitments. One of the biggest advantages social intrapreneurial projects have over other innovative projects is their ability to leverage their companies’ existing infrastructure, organizational capabilities, and reputation to deliver impact at scale.

This is what the World Economic Forum posits on the potential impact of social intrapreneurship:

“We have the opportunity of a generation, maybe the obligation of a generation, to really harness the power of companies and our ecosystems, to work together to redefine the role of corporations as net positive organizations in our collective future. Social intrapreneurs, encouraged through an organization’s culture and focus, can be critical change agents — not only generating innovative ideas to address internal needs, but also delivering value to all stakeholders.”

However, despite having such vast resources at their disposal, social intrapreneurs also face challenges in scaling up their innovations in a meaningful and sustainable way. It is important to ensure appropriate support is provided – especially at the early stage of the projects’ development.