This article introduces civic ecosystems as a concept and set of practical approaches to social innovation. It draws on several examples of civic ecosystems in action to highlight their main characteristics and to provide insights and lessons for applying ecosystem approaches to social innovation in practice. The discussion of civic ecosystems is placed in the broader context of the rise of ecosystem thinking among social change practitioners, researchers, technologists and funders. The article argues for a paradigm shift in social innovation from networks as vehicles for collaboration to ecosystems as catalysts for complementarity.
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