ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates how, through the lens of strategic niche management (SNM), the sample cases can be interpreted as instances of philanthropic niches and that the related activities of philanthropic organization can meaningfully be described as niching behavior. It explains how philanthropic niches differ in kind and in purpose from the niches introduced in SNM and go on to develop a notion of philanthropic niches as an analytical category which is sui generis. The literature on SNM emphasizes the relevance of the stability of niches. SNM posits that there are two types of niche levels: local and global. Local actors are "carriers" of innovation and producers of value. They create innovative arrangements which generate desired outcomes. Global niche actors seek to build favorable environments with purpose of facilitating the work of local niche actors. The chapter concludes that philanthropic niches can serve as distinct model for analysis of processes of social impact and innovation driven by civil society actors.
