A tablet replacing an exercise book is not innovation, it's just a different way to make notes.
Societies advance through innovation every bit as much as economies do.
Social innovation thrives on collaboration; on doing things with others, rather than just to them or for them: hence the great interest in new ways of using the web to 'crowdsource' ideas, or the many experiments involving users in designing services.
The most dynamic cities have always been immersed in the critical innovations of their time.