In the face of the economic, environmental, health and social crises affecting our societies, innovation can no longer only be limited to technological solutions. Everywhere, new solutions are emerging to address today’s major challenges in a sustainable way.

This book offers an original exploration of social innovation and the practical conditions for its development through specifically tailored research and development processes, referred to as "social R&D." It presents the results of an in-depth empirical study, based on more than three years of immersion within a social innovation and R&D agency, supplemented by interviews, a questionnaire and an analysis of gray literature.

Social R&D or How to Innovate for Society analyzes five approaches to social R&D, sheds light on practices that remain largely overlooked and identifies the key challenges associated with their implementation. It proposes an original framework for characterizing social R&D and offers new perspectives for developing the ecosystem that supports innovation and research, emphasizing the strategic role of intermediary actors.

Jade Omer is a research consultant at SCOP Ellyx and an associate researcher at the RURALITÉS laboratory at the University of Poitiers, France. She holds a PhD in the Geography of Innovation and specializes in innovation and social R&D.