Four Shades of Change and Innovation

The Four Shades of Change and Innovation model, developed by Avelino and colleagues, is similar to some of the other models in this section. The four shades refer to interconnected components or dimensions of change:

Social Innovation refers to new ways of doing, organizing, framing and knowing that affect relationships.

System Innovation encompasses changes at the level of societal subsystems, such as the energy system, healthcare system, or food system and involves shifts in structures, cultures, and practices within these systems.

Game-changers are macro-level trends, events, or developments that significantly alter the "rules of the game” like climate change, economic crises, or technological breakthroughs.

Narratives refers to sets of ideas, concepts, metaphors, and discourses that challenge dominant institutions and propose alternative futures. Narratives shape how people understand societal challenges and potential solutions.

The model suggests that transformative social innovation emerges through the co-evolutionary interaction between these four shades. Rather than being distinct levels, the shades are seen as overlapping and interacting processes that collectively drive transformative change.

The Four Shades model is like the Iceberg, Intervention Level Framework and the Six Conditions of Systems Change. Each one points to the importance of our narratives and mental models, they all reflect the relational nature of change and the importance of structures which are both visible and invisible.