This report examines how faith organisations are responding to social need in innovative ways, and asks what can be learnt from them. (2017)
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In response to many of the most significant problems facing our communities, how can we achieve change?
Social innovation thinking is about how we can identify, develop, scale and sustain interventions which make a real difference in peoples’ lives. Doing Good Better: The Case for Faith–based Social Innovation argues that religious institutions and faith communities, who already have a strong track record in helping those in need should consider how social innovation can help them achieve greater impact in response to a range of social problems.
Doing Good Better looks at concrete examples of faith–based social innovation and asks what can be learnt from them. It argues that innovation depends on having the right kind of ‘engines’ – institutions which prioritise and incubate innovation, ‘fuel’ – funding which will scale and support innovation, and ‘drivers’ – social entrepreneurs that can lead innovation.
The social action of churches and other faith communities is much to the credit of religious groups, but putting these things in place will allow for an evolution in religious public action, ensuring that they can deepen their engagement with the communities which they already serve and work even more effectively in dealing with problems that blight people’s lives.
