Frances Westley

University of Waterloo | UWaterloo · Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience (WISIR)

Few disagree that we should pass on the Earth in good shape to future generations, and many scientists want their work to contribute to that goal. Recent work has shown that hopelessness stands in the way of people taking an active attitude. At the same time, it is becoming clear what can be done about that: providing compelling visions of attracti...

Beliefs can be highly resilient in the sense that they are not easily abandoned in the face of counterevidence. This has the advantage of guiding consistent behavior and judgments but may also have destructive consequences for individuals, nature, and society. For instance, pathological beliefs can sustain psychiatric disorders, the belief that rhi...

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed an interconnected and tightly coupled globalized world in rapid change. This article sets the scientific stage for understanding and responding to such change for global sustainability and resilient societies. We provide a systemic overview of the current situation where people and nature are dynamically intertwine...

The corona pandemic has exposed the interconnected, tightly coupled and vulnerable globalised world. This White Paper sets the scientific stage for understanding and responding to such crises for global sustainability and resilient societies. We provide a systemic overview of the current situation; where people and nature are dynamically intertwine...

The distinction between adaptive and transformative capacities is still not well understood, and in this study we aimed to build a transformative learning space to strengthen transformative capacities. We proposed that two capacities will be essential to transformation: the capacity to navigate emergence and cross-scale systems reflexivity. We outl...

After tracing the antecedents of the concept and considering its intersection in social innovation research, we put forward the argument that the Anthropocene concept points to three areas of thought that are strategically imperative and must be accelerated if social innovation theory and practice is to prove transformative and respond to the chall...

In this paper, we discuss our methodological challenges we encountered in creating our multi-case volume, The Evolution of Social Innovation. In applying social innovation to eight different historical periods and problem domains, we needed to justify our choices according to our hypothesis of the crucial role of new social phenomena in sparking tr...

Global risks are now increasingly being perceived as networked, and likely to result in large-scale, propagating failures and crises that transgress national boundaries and societal sectors. These so called “globally networked risks” pose fundamental challenges to global governance institutions. A growing literature explores the nature of these glo...

We explore the impact of "game changers" on the dynamics of innovation over time in three problem domains, that of wilderness protection, women's rights, and assimilation of indigenous children in Canada. Taking a specifically historical and cross-scale approach, we look at one social innovation in each problem domain. We explore the origins and hi...

This chapter explores the roots and developments of social innovation through comparative historical case studies. Specifically, this chapter introduces a theoretical and methodological framework for this historical discussion. It then goes on to discuss trends observed from a preliminary analysis of several historical cases of social innovation an...

Scientific discoveries rely on creative thinking, and several authors have explored similarities in and differences between creativity in the sciences and that in the arts. Here we explore possible ways in which science can learn from the arts, focusing specifically on experiences derived from the art of magic and on the limitations of human cognit...

Recent studies provide compelling evidence for the idea that creative thinking draws upon two kinds of processes linked to distinct physiological features, and stimulated under different conditions. In short, the fast system-I produces intuition whereas the slow and deliberate system-II produces reasoning. System-I can help see novel solutions and...

This chapter explores the roots and developments of social innovation through comparative historical case studies. Specifically, this chapter introduces a theoretical and methodological framework for this historical discussion. It then goes on to discuss trends observed from a preliminary analysis of several historical cases of social innovation an...

A recent focusing event involving the death of a moose in the Dome open-pit mine in the community of Timmins, in northern Ontario, Canada has triggered the opening of a policy window related to the governance of resource extraction by indigenous peoples. This event, combined with several other factors, including: (1) the high price of gold; (2) a m...

In this paper, seven researchers reflect on the journeys their research projects have taken when they engage with and synthesize complex problems. These journeys embody an adaptive approach to tackling problems characterized by their interconnectedness and emergence, and that transcend traditional units of analysis such as ecosystems. In this paper...

Why do so many social innovations fail to have a broad impact? Successful social entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations often “scale out” innovative solutions to local problems in order to affect more communities or numbers of individuals. When faced with institutional barriers, they are motivated to “scale up” their efforts to challenge the bro...

The Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM) case is unique in that it represents a social innovation in Canadian, if not North American, ecosystem-based land-use planning. A social innovation is an initiative, product, process, or program that profoundly changes the basic routines, resources, and authority flows or beliefs of any social system. Successful social...

ABSTRACT. We reviewed the literature on leadership in linked social-ecological systems and combined it with the literature on institutional entrepreneurship in complex adaptive systems to develop a new theory of transformative agency in linked social- ecological systems. Although there is evidence of the importance of strategic agency in introducin...

Abstract This paper explores social finance as a strategy for generating social innovations and, at the same time, financial returns. It explores why risk assessment for social finance is so challenging and suggests three sources of difficulty: setting boundaries, integrating heterogeneous values, and responding with sufficient speed and flexibilit...

Addressing society's complex problems means fundamentally challenging systems and their economic, social and environmental dimensions. Current measurement tools and evaluation approaches are grounded in conventional accounting practices, and thus tend to a focus on the outcomes of products and services, mainly evaluating economic performance. This...

This paper uses the social transitions framework to explore the ways in which foundations may partner with intermediaries to support social innovation for broad system change. It examines the efforts of a Canadian foundation to incorporate partnerships with intermediary organizations into its philanthropic investment strategy aimed at generating so...

Social innovation will be essential for addressing today's complex social and ecological challenges. Social entrepreneurs involved in the generation and implementation of innovative endeavours have repeatedly pointed to the critical need for financial support. However, mainstream financial institutions and practices have tended to marginalize both...

A key challenge for governments faced with increasingly limited financial resources lies in finding new ways of partnering with the not-for-profit sector to deliver innovative solutions to intractable social problems. This allows government to tap into previously inaccessible resources contained in local communities, and to harness them to produce...

The role of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in addressing complex problems has increasingly gained traction in policy-making circles with policy practitioners’ interest piqued about how governments may best support such innovations (e.g. PRI, 2010). Various governments are attempting to support social innovation through a variety of m...

Westley defined social innovation as ‘an initiative, product or process or program that profoundly changes the basic routines, resource and authority flows or beliefs of any social system and has durability and broad impact’ (Westley and Antadze, 2010, p. 2). Intentionally creating social innovations requires the kind of agents who can understand a...

This article explores the links between agency, institutions, and innovation in navigating shifts and large-scale transformations toward global sustainability. Our central question is whether social and technical innovations can reverse the trends that are challenging critical thresholds and creating tipping points in the earth system, and if not,...

Humanity has emerged as a major force in the operation of the biosphere, with a significant imprint on the Earth System, challenging social–ecological resilience. This new situation calls for a fundamental shift in perspectives, world views, and institutions. Human development and progress must be reconnected to the capacity of the biosphere and es...

We present some insights on the use and interpretation of resilience ideas that arose in a conference on "Society's Resilience in Withstanding Disaster." Three points in particular have relevance for those interested in resilience in social-ecological systems: (1) Time as a threshold vs. avoiding quick fixes; (2) Trading risks: specified vs. genera...

Complex challenges demand complex solutions. By their very nature, these problems are difficult to define and are often the result of rigid social structures that effectively act as "traps". However, resilience theory and the adaptive cycle can serve as a useful framework for understanding how humans may move beyond these traps and towards the soci...

"This article focuses on the role of social marketing, in particular the analysis of the motivations and capabilities of stakeholder groups, in encouraging acceptance of an innovative experimental approach to semiarid shrub land restoration in Chile. Controlled scientific experiments involving herbivory control during El Niño events have proved pro...

Background/Question/Methods This presentation will provide a theoretical and conceptual overview of the relationship between social innovation and social-ecological resilience. I will begin by providing a framework for understanding the importance of social innovation for both re-engaging vulnerable populations and building social-ecological resi...

Addressing the environmental challenges of the 21st century requires substantial changes to the way modern society views and manages ecosystems. In particular, many authors contend that fundamental transformation of the largely sectoral, expert-centered ecosystem-management institutions of modern, Western societies is needed. There is increasing ag...

"Plans to solve complex environmental problems should always consider the role of surprise. Nevertheless, there is a tendency to emphasize known computable aspects of a problem while neglecting aspects that are unknown and failing to ask questions about them. The tendency to ignore the noncomputable can be countered by considering a wide range of p...

Feedbacks leading to alternative stable modes of behavior occur on levels varying from the cell and the mind to societies. The tendency to lock into a certain pattern comes at the cost of the ability to adjust to new situations. The resulting rigidity limits the ability of persons, groups, and companies to respond to new problems, and some even sug...

We describe results of a multi-year effort to strengthen consideration of the human dimension into endangered species risk assessments and to strengthen research capacity to understand biodiversity risk assessment in the context of coupled human-natural systems. A core group of social and biological scientists have worked with a network of more tha...

Human societies are confronted with a continuous stream of new problems. Many of these problems are caused by a limited sector of society but cause spillover costs to society as a whole. Here we show how a combination of mechanisms tends to delay effective regualtion of such situations. Obviously, problems may remain undetected for some time, espec...

Human societies are confronted with a continuous stream of new problems. Many of these problems are caused by a limited sector of society but cause, spillover costs" to society as a whole. Here we show how a combination of mechanisms tends to delay effective regualtion of such situations. Obviously, problems may remain undetected for some time, esp...

In his 1998 book Consilience, E.O. Wilson set forth the idea that integrating knowledge and insights from across the spectrum of human study -- the humanities, social science, and natural sciences -- is the key to solving complex environmental and social problems. Experiments in Consilience tells the unique story of a pathbreaking effort to apply t...

Biologists have made considerable progress in developing realistic simulation models to predict extinction risks for threatened species. Social scientists have to date had a more limited role in these efforts. This limited involvement comes despite the growing acknowledgment by population biologists and simulation modelers that this additional inpu...

Ecosystems provide a wide range of services to society. Some forms of use affect the quality of the ecosystem, reducing its value for other users. This leads to a conflict of interest that is often settled through political processes, resulting in some form of regulation. We link theory on ecosystem response to theories from the socioeconomic branc...

Sustaining the physical environment requires sustenance of the associated institutional environment. Questions are raised about this, based on the observation of a day in each of the lives of two headquarters managers at Greenpeace, the Executive Director and a Director of certain of the central units. In our analysis, we look beyond the obvious do...

Sustaining the physical environment requires sustenance of the associated institutional environment. Questions are raised about this, based on the observation of a day in each of the lives of two headquarters managers at Greenpeace, the Executive Director and a Director of certain of the central units. In our analysis, we look beyond the obvious do...

The muriqui is one of the world’s greatest country-specific flagship species. It is comparable to the giant panda of China, the bonobo and the okapi in the Congo, the platypus and koala in Australia and the birds of paradise of New Guinea. The muriqui is the largest mammal endemic to Brazil, one of two primate genera endemic to the country and the...

For those people who work with endangered species, the current rate of extinctions is experienced as a chronic disaster However, many dedicated professionals continue to work with commitment, despite discouraging trends, to try to stem the tide. This article uses qualitative data gathered from interviews with an international group of biologists, z...

Using grounded theory development research methods, the authors examine collaborative processes in the global biodiversity preservation domain. The processes examined are those initiated and convened by a subgroup of the Swiss-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature known as the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group of the Species...

Any new and promising management idea has a hidden complexity that practitioners ignore at great peril. In this article, Henry Mintzberg and his colleagues draw on their research and experience to point out nine of the of the often-overlooked factors that impact collaborative efforts. These principles include ''Real collaboration may well be psychi...

This paper examines the role of the theatre metaphor in both resolving and aggravating the tensions inherent in managing the modern zoo. As the mission of zoos has evolved from the point of view of management, from a “stamp collection” approach, through habitat design and education, to the breeding and preservation of endangered species, perception...

The traditional lending paradigms adopted by international development funding agencies have not been very successful in fostering genuine economic development at the grassroots level in developing Third World countries. Despite good intentions on the part of these multilateral agencies, they sometimes lack perspectives on the unique social, cultur...

Sumario: Much of the theory and research about change in organizations, by being presented free of rich context, creates a certain amount of confusion in the literature. This paper seeks to help remedy that situation by developing a comprehensive framework of change by organizations, built on various cycles: concentric to represent the contents and...

This paper examines the case of Bob Geldof and Live Aid from the point of view of the relationship between visionary leadership and global social innovation. It briefly reviews the case. It then analyzes it in terms of four aspects of visionary leadership: the personal background of the visionary, the skills used in enacting the vision, the structu...

A case of interorganizational collaboration in Canada involving a retail grocery chain and several environmental groups is analyzed. In this case, one environmental group attempted to act as a bridge between business and environmentalists by endorsing a line of "green" products. Based on material drawn from news reports and personal interviews, the...

This paper examines the role of middle management in strategic processes in bureaucratic organizations. There is evidence of extensive dissatisfaction among middle managers, who often perceive that they are excluded from strategic processes. This exclusion is de-energizing, inefficient, and in the end, expensive. Although an element of exclusion is...

This paper, based on ethnographic material gathered in interviews in a North American automobile manufacturing company, explores a particular, idiosyncratic culture in the process of change. It is argued that resistence to the planned change (a socio-technical re-design) demonstrated by organizational participants resulted in part from the clash be...

This paper describes the concept of visionary leadership in a new way, more suitable for strategic management. First, drawing on an account of theatre, it presents a model of visionary leadership as drama, an interaction of repetition, representation, and assistance. Second, considering the experiences of a number of visionary leaders, in terms of...

When managers use moral expressions in their communications, they do so for several, sometimes contradictory reasons. Based upon analyses of interviews with managers, this article examines seven distinctive uses of moral talk, sub-divided into three groupings: (1) managers use moral talk functionally to clarify issues, to propose and criticize mora...

in this chapter, we compare and contrast the visions of two contemporary leaders: Lee Iacocca, . . . and Rene Levesque we have a fascinating comparison of very different strategic styles, one essentially inductive in nature and the other deductive phase one: origins—roots of the perception phase two: crystallization—definition of the percepti...

This article analyzes the economic strategies of new religious and para-religious movements by comparing them with the economic strategies of traditional religious associations. The article is based on research of several dozen such movements in the Montreal area. It is argued that the economic strategies of religious groups, old and new, closely r...

This paper provides a theoretical discussion of Durkheim's predictions concerning religious evolution and their applicability to the new religious movements of the 1970s. Initially, the paper attempts to elicit from Durkheim's work on the past and future of religion a series of precise hypotheses concerning the causes, expressions, and functions of...