The words “research and development” conjure up images of scientists in white coats methodically running experiments in controlled laboratory environments. This quest for incontrovertible knowledge is what authors Ian Mitroff and Ralph Kilmann call operational inquiry. They contrast operational ways of knowing with strategic ways of understanding the world

Social R&D draws heavily on strategic inquiry. It can be described as the art and science of applying research and experimental processes on the frontline to generate new insights and innovations that transform services, products, organizations, and—ultimately—lives.

It uses diverse methods, including behavioral science, randomized control trials, lean prototyping, positive deviance, and ethnography. The questions it seeks to answer are situated in the decidedly messy and evolving realm of human experience.

How do we address growing social isolation and loneliness? How do we combat rising homelessness and opioid deaths?

Such challenges are by-products of complex systems; the unit of focus isn’t simply the individual but the dynamic relationship between the individual and her environment. Because there are no singular solutions, the innovations that emerge from social R&D bear little resemblance to penicillin or the space rover.

Read the full article on social research and development by Alex Ryan, Sarah Schulman and Vinod Rajasekaran at Stanford Social Innovation Review