Social Innovation in the Human Services: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Human Services Social Innovation Scale

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the dimensionality and fit of the Human Services Social Innovation Scale. Social innovation is an important construct that conceptualizes a range of activities that improve the macro quality of life of social groups. Facilitating social innovation has become an orientating principle within direct service nonprofits that enables them to adapt and restructure as a result of 1) emergent challenges within the external environment, and 2) the need for internal adaptations to existing processes and structures to achieve better social outcomes for service user groups. As a result, developing valid and reliable measures to assess social innovation within human service nonprofits can further support human services leadership and organizational development. Previous qualitative and survey research conducted by these authors has identified three distinct types of social innovation that are undertaken by direct social service nonprofits. These include socially transformative, product based, and process based social innovations. Further scale refinement resulted from the initial exploratory factor analysis, resulting in this confirmatory factor analysis with a new study sample.

Methods: Quantitative research methods were utilized. A random sample of Executive Directors of direct social service nonprofit organizations (n=165) in Pennsylvania, USA were surveyed to assess their organizational experiences with engaging in socially innovative efforts. Participants included those focusing on a wide range of social service user groups (such as children and families, disabled adults, older adults, people experiencing housing loss, immigrants, victims of domestic violence, etc.). The Human Services Social Innovation Scale is comprised of 12 items that assess the following distinct constructs: 1) socially transformative social innovations (e.g. political advocacy efforts,  public awareness initiatives, community development efforts, and research  and evaluation), 2) product based social innovations (e.g. adaptations to existing programs or the creation of new services), and 3) process based social innovations (e.g. adaptations to internal organizational processes and procedures). Each construct was assessed with 4 items. Confirmatory factor analysis, with maximum likelihood estimation techniques, was undertaken with the MPlus statistical software program.

Results: The confirmatory factor analysis model demonstrated good model fit indices. The Chi-square test of model fit had a value of 64.495 with a p-value=0.0680. This small Chi-square value and statistically insignificant p-value suggests that the model as it was fitted is correct. Similarly, the global goodness of fit measures suggest a good fitting model (CFI=0.951, TLI=0.934, and RMSEA=0.045), all of which are above or below the standard thresholds that indicate good model fit. The internal consistency coefficients for the three factors range from  0.75 to 0.79. The internal consistency of the total scale, as a measure of social innovation, was 0.81.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings support that the Human Services Social Innovation Scale is valid and reliable, and can adequately assess the range of socially innovative efforts undertaken by direct social service nonprofits. The scale highlights a distinct typology of social innovation within the human services, and is an adequate framework for social work education and practice to support leadership development within direct social service nonprofits.