Sustaining Innovation: Creating Nonprofit and Government Organizations that Innovate Naturally

"Paul Light has captured the spirit of innovation. It is not aboutspectacular acts by individuals who labor against the odds, butabout the hard work of building organizations in which innovationis expected and possible. It is about tilling the soil so thatideas can flourish. Anyone who wants to take their organizationforward toward natural innovation should read this book." --WalterF. Mondale

"Many governments cannot tolerate innovation. Some can survive theoccasional innovator, but don't want to make it a habit. A very fewtry to institutionalize the process, to become innovatingorganizations. But it can be done, and no one is better qualifiedto show the way than Paul Light, one of the country's best analystsof the dynamics of public organizations. He's not only thoughtfuland perceptive, but thankfully, he can write." --?Peter A.Harkness, editor and publisher, GOVERNING Magazine

Paul Light has provided us, at last, with a deep understanding ofthe elements of success in sustaining ?what works.' His systematicstudy of the characteristics of organizations that move beyond thesporadic innovation and the irreplaceable wizard will proveinvaluable as both public and nonprofit organizations struggle todevise new strategies to serve shared social purposes." --?LisbethB. Schorr, lecturer in Social Medicine and director, Project onEffective Interventions, Harvard Univeristy

"Sustaining Innovation is a dynamic guide for any organization thatis prepared to make a leap to natural innovation. [Light's] insightand support is useful for all leaders, regardless of the kind ofzoo they run." --Kathryn R. Roberts, director, Minnesota Zoo