Open AccessSocial R&D in Four Portraits: An Exploratory Study of the Eerging Feld of Social Research and Development in Canada’s Nonprofit Sector
Author(s) -
Maxime Goulet-Langlois,
Naomi Nichols,
Jason Pearman
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
canadian journal of nonprofit and social economy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1920-9355
DOI - 10.29173/cjnser.2021v12n2a434
Subject(s) - exploratory research , popularity , typology , sociology , context (archaeology) , meaning (existential) , value (mathematics) , empirical research , portrait , public relations , social psychology , marketing , business , social science , psychology , political science , epistemology , anthropology , biology , philosophy , machine learning , computer science , psychotherapist , paleontology , art , art history
Since 2015, Canadian practitioners and funders have been adapting research and development (R&D) principles and practices to the context of social purpose organizations (SPOs) to increase the trans-sectoral capacity to generate social innovations. As a result, Social R&D is rapidly gaining popularity among a diversified array of organizations. This article distills the findings of a mix-methods exploratory study and offers a typology of four different Social R&D conceptualizations and practices. An analysis of the literature and of the empirical findings indicates a general lack of shared understanding about what Social R&D entails as a concept or a process. Further precision of meaning is needed to judge of Social R&D’s specific value or to responsibly support its implementation through policy.