Abstract: The innovation of social grassroots governance is important for shaping a new situation of social development in China and providing new dynamic energy for national development. On the basis of the theoretical construction of “local governments-social forces-resource conditions”， the “subject-resources” perspective is adopted， and the innovation paths and models of social grassroots governance in different groups through fuzzy set qualitative comparison analysis (fsQCA) are explored. It is found that the necessary condition for the innovation of grassroots governance is the pursuit of performance production by local governments， and the path patterns of the combined influencing factors for the innovation of grassroots governance can be summarized as control-adaptation-promoting， embedded-problem-promoting， and standard-development-optimizing. An insight into the driving factors behind the innovation is provided， and practical insights for promoting and disseminating social grassroots governance innovation are raised so as to narrate Chinese stories and Chinese theories.

Key words: social grassroots governance; governance innovation; fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)