Can System Innovations be Facilitated by Societal Embedding?

As the concept of innovation has extended to cover social, organizational and system innovations, traditional innovation theories based on technology push or market-driven approaches are challenged. In this paper, we describe a research and development approach called societal embedding of innovations. It has been applied as an evaluation, research and development method in innovations which have been provoked by societal needs, such as health care, energy and environment. We present its main principles and ponder its future challenges