Leadership and Social Innovation initiatives at the Grassroots during Crises

Empathy breeds social innovation and good leadership. This brief note is an initial exploration of the enablers of social innovation at the grassroots level where it matters most in a crisis. We focus on the need for individuals or groups who can implement plans of action that help whole communities respond and recover from a crisis. The distinguishing features of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and the Great East Japan Earthquake are compared with profiles of the leaders commended for their selfless acts in crisis response and management.