Hybridity for social capital, social innovation, and social impact

Abstract

Social impact organizing presents challenges as organizational actors engage challenging issues (e.g., education, immigration, gender-based violence, environmental sustainability, disasters, substance abuse, hunger, and housing) with limited resources. But hybrid organizing provides some ways to address these challenges by connecting people, generating new ideas, and improving client and community outcomes. This chapter introduces a framework comprised of the “3Ss” (i.e., social capital, social innovation, and social impact) for hybrid organizing. Bonding, bridging, and linking forms of social capital enable collaboration and legitimacy. Social innovation emerges from novel combinations of organizational forms, networks, and cultural contexts. Social impact is described in terms of focus, type, scale, and approach, with attention to vulnerable populations.