Action Research and Development for Intrinsic Innovation in Social Service Administration: Prototyping and Proof of Concept in Small Scale Start-Ups

Abstract

In considering the significance of the small-scale start-up in social service agencies and community development, the authors address how community-based participatory action research can serve as an innovation strategy in social service administration. The authors link prototyping to action research, social research and development, and evaluation. They then consider how multiple forms of evaluation as action learning can facilitate the creation and implementation of distinctive small scale start-ups, the appraisal of proof of concept, and the realization of the aims of local and intentional community development through processes of collaborative intrinsic innovation useful to address local social issues.