This second-year course builds on foundational knowledge of community development and introduces students to social innovation as a systems-based, collaborative, and impact-oriented approach to addressing complex social challenges. Students examine how social innovations emerge from community knowledge, cross-sector collaboration, and iterative design processes. Through case studies from Canada and globally, students explore how social enterprises, community organizations, and hybrid models mobilize change to address social inequality and advance community well-being. Emphasis is placed on co-creation with communities, equity-centered practice, and adaptive problem-solving, alongside applied tools such as design thinking, prototyping, and systems mapping. Students develop the competencies required to design, test, and evaluate social innovation initiatives, including stakeholder engagement, facilitation, ethical decision-making, and impact measurement. This course prepares students to transition into advanced applied work and COMD 220, where they will implement or further develop community-based social innovation initiatives.
SOSC205 Social Innovation
(3.0 credits)
Prerequisites: Admission to Community Development Worker Diploma program or Social Service Worker Diploma or Indigenous Human Service Worker Diploma; COMD 101 and 102 and admission to year two of the CDWD program OR 15 credits at the undergraduate level and permission from the instructor.
Lecture Hours: 45