Features of ecosystems to advance disruptive inclusive innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals: Five global case studies

Michiko Iizuka, Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Gerald Hane, Visiting Research Fellow, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

Disruptive innovation, Inclusive innovation, Ecosystems, SDGs, Emerging business

November 2020

SciREX Center

SciREX-WP-2020-#05

https://scirex.grips.ac.jp/resources/2020/0dd7242eb216e6a16766233750df318a01ed864e.pdf

SciREX Center Working Paper

The transformation of sociotechnical systems is considered necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. However, this transformation process is inhibited by institutional inertia of the public sector, vested interests of the private sector, routine habits of individuals, and increased complexity of globalized activities. While policies to stimulate the transition exist, these policies and pathways are still insufficient. Meanwhile, there are many individual private initiatives taking place to advance the societal agenda. Although these are still isolated actions of new actors, they have the potential to become broader movements. This study takes an inductive approach to examining factors that enhance the generation of new value networks with inclusive outcomes reflecting a model of “disruptive inclusive innovation.” Five cases are examined that involve venture capital, an incubator, venture companies, and a social impact fund. The study notes that a common feature underlying the ability of these organizations to generate high impact is the creation of tailored ecosystems. These activities are self-generated without much government support. Therefore, examining these as “signals” provide hints regarding how policy can be formulated to better complement and link relatively isolated cases of success so that private initiatives can be scaled-up and well-integrated with transformative policy efforts.