ABSTRACT
Lithuania, along with many societies throughout the world, has been experiencing the phenomenon of social transformation. Social transformations involve complex interrelated political, economic, technological and cultural developments which have a profound impact on the social domain itself and on the lives of people (Melnikas et al. 2000). The process of social transformation involves innovations of many different kinds which embody in varying ways and to various extents a vision of the goals implicit in the improvements aimed at. Social innovations relate to many aspects of the ways in which people lead their lives in society and to the norms and values which underpin these lives. Social innovations, which have an impact on the structure of society as well as on the lives of individuals, are a necessary complement to changes in the economic and technological spheres (Melnikas et al. 2000), not least because they can empower individuals for adaptation in the context of perpetual change. (On the significance of social and cultural factors in the ‘transformation environment’ see the chapter by G. Jucevičius in this volume and for a related discussion on community development see the chapter by Leliūgienė and Baršauskienė.)
