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Literature on social innovation in relation to territorial/[[Regional development|regional]] development covers innovation in the [[social economy]], i.e. strategies for satisfaction of human needs; and innovation in the sense of transforming and/or sustaining [[social relations]], especially [[governance]] relations at the regional and local level. Beginning in the late 1980s, Jean-Louis Laville and [[Frank Moulaert]] researched social innovation.<ref>Laville, J.-L. (Ed.) (1994) L’économie solidaire, une perspective internationale, Desclée de Brouwer, Paris</ref><ref>[http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&eissn=1360-0591&volume=37&issue=3&spage=289 Moulaert, F. and Sekia, F. (2003) Territorial Innovation Models: a Critical Survey, ''Regional Studies'', 37(3), 289-302]</ref> In [[Canada]] CRISES<ref>[http://www.crises.uqam.ca/pages/en/ CRISES]</ref> initiated this type of research. Another, larger project was SINGOCOM<ref>[http://users.skynet.be/bk368453/singocom/index2.html Social Innovation, Governance, and Community Building] (2002–2004)</ref> a [[European Commission]] [[FP5|Framework 5]] project, which pioneered so-called "Alternative Models for Local Innovation" (ALMOLIN). These models were further elaborated through community actions covered by KATARSIS<ref>http://katarsis.ncl.ac.uk/</ref> and SOCIAL POLIS.<ref>http://www.socialpolis.eu/</ref> More recent works focus on the societal role of the economic life in terms of innovations in social practices and social relations at the local and regional levels. Social Innovation, therefore, is increasingly seen as a process and a strategy to foster human development through solidarity, cooperation, and cultural diversity.<ref>MacCallum, D., Moulaert, F., Hillier, J. and S. Vicari (Eds) (2009) ''Social Innovation and Territorial Development''. Ashgate, Aldershot. ISBN 978-0-7546-7233-3</ref><ref>[http://www.paristechreview.com/2011/12/16/social-innovation-future-economy/''Is Social Innovation the Future of Economy?'', ParisTech Review, Dec. 2011]</ref>
Literature on social innovation in relation to territorial/[[Regional development|regional]] development covers innovation in the [[social economy]], i.e. strategies for satisfaction of human needs; and innovation in the sense of transforming and/or sustaining [[social relations]], especially [[governance]] relations at the regional and local level. Beginning in the late 1980s, Jean-Louis Laville and [[Frank Moulaert]] researched social innovation.<ref>Laville, J.-L. (Ed.) (1994) L’économie solidaire, une perspective internationale, Desclée de Brouwer, Paris</ref><ref>[http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&eissn=1360-0591&volume=37&issue=3&spage=289 Moulaert, F. and Sekia, F. (2003) Territorial Innovation Models: a Critical Survey, ''Regional Studies'', 37(3), 289-302]</ref> In [[Canada]] CRISES<ref>[http://www.crises.uqam.ca/pages/en/ CRISES]</ref> initiated this type of research. Another, larger project was SINGOCOM<ref>[http://users.skynet.be/bk368453/singocom/index2.html Social Innovation, Governance, and Community Building] (2002–2004)</ref> a [[European Commission]] [[FP5|Framework 5]] project, which pioneered so-called "Alternative Models for Local Innovation" (ALMOLIN). These models were further elaborated through community actions covered by KATARSIS<ref>http://katarsis.ncl.ac.uk/</ref> and SOCIAL POLIS.<ref>http://www.socialpolis.eu/</ref> More recent works focus on the societal role of the economic life in terms of innovations in social practices and social relations at the local and regional levels. Social Innovation, therefore, is increasingly seen as a process and a strategy to foster human development through solidarity, cooperation, and cultural diversity.<ref>MacCallum, D., Moulaert, F., Hillier, J. and S. Vicari (Eds) (2009) ''Social Innovation and Territorial Development''. Ashgate, Aldershot. ISBN 978-0-7546-7233-3</ref><ref>[http://www.paristechreview.com/2011/12/16/social-innovation-future-economy/''Is Social Innovation the Future of Economy?'', ParisTech Review, Dec. 2011]</ref>


A study by a PhD student from Eastern Michigan University provides preliminary evidence that technological innovation shares causal relation with public health. <ref name="GJMR_Gill2012">{{cite journal |first1=P.S. |last1=Gill |title=Technological Innovation and Public Health: A Descriptive Exploratory Investigation of Relationship between Technological Innovation Indicators and Public Health Indicators in the United States from 2003 to 2007 |journal= Global Journal of Medical Research |volume=12 |year=2012 |issue=6 |pages=63–81 |url=http://dstats.net/download/http://globaljournals.org/GJMR_Volume12/10-Technological-Innovation-and-Public-Health.pdf}}</ref>
A study by a PhD student from Eastern Michigan University provides preliminary evidence that technological innovation shares causal relation with public health. <ref name="GJMR_Gill2012">{{cite journal |first1=P.S. |last1=Gill |title=Technological Innovation and Public Health: A Descriptive Exploratory Investigation of Relationship between Technological Innovation Indicators and Public Health Indicators in the United States from 2003 to 2007 |journal= Global Journal of Medical Research |volume=12 |year=2012 |issue=6 |pages=63–81 |url=http://dstats.net/download/http://globaljournals.org/GJMR_Volume12/10-Technological-Innovation-and-Public-Health.pdf}}</ref><ref name="JMDH_Gill2013">{{cite journal |first1=P.S. |last1=Gill |title=Technological Innovation and its affect on Public Health in the United States |journal=Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare |volume=6 |year=2013 |pages=31-40|url=http://www.dovepress.com/technological-innovation-and-its-effect-on-public-health-in-the-united-peer-reviewed-article-JMDH |doi=10.2147/JMDH.S34810}}</ref>


The EU funded URBACT programme is designed to help cities to exchange and learn around urban policies. The URBACT methodology can be seen as a social innovation action planning approach. A typical URBACT network would have ten cities working on a specific theme such as active inclusion or regenerating disadvantaged neighbourhoods. They examine good practice and then working through a local support group use the results to inform their local action plan.
The EU funded URBACT programme is designed to help cities to exchange and learn around urban policies. The URBACT methodology can be seen as a social innovation action planning approach. A typical URBACT network would have ten cities working on a specific theme such as active inclusion or regenerating disadvantaged neighbourhoods. They examine good practice and then working through a local support group use the results to inform their local action plan.

Revision as of 17:03, 16 April 2013

Social innovation refers to new strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that meet social needs of all kinds — from working conditions and education to community development and health — and that extend and strengthen civil society.

The term has overlapping meanings. It can be used to refer to social processes of innovation, such as open source methods and techniques. Alternatively it refers to innovations which have a social purpose — like microcredit or distance learning. The concept can also be related to social entrepreneurship (entrepreneurship is not necessarily innovative, but it can be a means of innovation) and it also overlaps with innovation in public policy and governance. Social innovation can take place within government, the for-profit sector, the nonprofit sector (also known as the third sector), or in the spaces between them. Research has focused on the types of platforms needed to facilitate such cross-sector collaborative social innovation.

Social Innovation is often an effort of mental creativity which involves fluency and flexibility from a wide range of discipline. The act of social innovation in a sector is mostly connected with diverse disciplines within the society. The social innovation theory of 'connected difference' emphasizes three key dimension to social innovation.[1] First, they are usually new combination or hybrids of existing elements, rather than wholly new. Two, their practice involve cutting across organizational or disciplinary boundaries and lastly they leave behind compelling new relationships between previously separate individuals and groups.

[2] Social innovation is gaining visibility within academia.[3]

Prominent innovators associated with the term include Pakistani Akhter Hameed Khan, Bangladeshi Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank which pioneered the concept of microcredit for supporting innovators in multiple developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and Stephen Goldsmith, former Indianapolis mayor who engaged the private sector in providing many city services.[4][5]

History

Social innovation was discussed in the writings of figures such as Peter Drucker and Michael Young (founder of the Open University and dozens of other organizations) in the 1960s.[6] It also appeared in the work of French writers in the 1970s, such as Pierre Rosanvallon, Jacques Fournier, and Jacques Attali.[7] However, the themes and concepts in social innovation existed long before. Benjamin Franklin, for example, talked about small modifications within the social organisation of communities[8] that could help to solve everyday problems. Many radical 19th century reformers like Robert Owen, founder of the cooperative movement, promoted innovation in the social field and all of the great sociologists including Karl Marx, Max Weber and Émile Durkheim focused attention on broader processes of social change. More detailed theories of social innovation became prominent in the 20th century. Joseph Schumpeter, for example, addressed the process of innovation directly with his theory of creative destruction and his definition of entrepreneurs as people who combined existing elements in new ways to create a new product or service. Beginning in the 1980s, writers on technological change increasingly addressed how social factors affect technology diffusion.[9]

Developments since 2000

Academic research, blogs and websites feature social innovation, along with organizations working on the boundaries of research and practical action. Topics include:

  • Innovation in public services was pioneered particularly in some Scandinavian and Asian countries. Governments are increasingly recognizing that innovation requires healthcare, schooling and democracy.[10][11]
  • Social entrepreneurship, which is the practice of creating new organizations focusing on non- market activities.[12]
  • Business, particularly in services.[13]
  • Open source innovation, in which the intellectual property involved in a produce or service is made freely available.[14]
  • Complex adaptive systems, which have built-in mechanisms to help them adapt to changing circumstances.[15]
  • Collaborative approaches which involve stakeholders who are not directly responsible for some activity, such as stockholders and unions collaborating on business issue and business collaborating with government on regulatory issues.[16][17]
  • Innovation diffusion[18]
  • Localized influences that make some localities particularly innovative.[19]
  • Institutional or system entrepreneurship which focuses on agents who work at a broad system level in order to create the conditions which will allow innovations to have a lasting impact.[20]

Institutional support

The US created an Office for Social Innovation in the White House, which is funding projects that combine public and private resources.[4] Foundations support social innovation.[21] The European Union’s innovation strategy[22] was the first well-funded research and development strategy to emphasise social innovation.[23] Public policy makers support social innovation in these different sectors, notably in the UK, Australia, China and Denmark.[24] In 2010, the US government listed 11 investments made by its 'Social Innovation Fund', with public funding more than matched by philanthropic organizations. The fund focuses on partnerships with charities, social enterprises, and business.[4]

Local and Regional development

Literature on social innovation in relation to territorial/regional development covers innovation in the social economy, i.e. strategies for satisfaction of human needs; and innovation in the sense of transforming and/or sustaining social relations, especially governance relations at the regional and local level. Beginning in the late 1980s, Jean-Louis Laville and Frank Moulaert researched social innovation.[25][26] In Canada CRISES[27] initiated this type of research. Another, larger project was SINGOCOM[28] a European Commission Framework 5 project, which pioneered so-called "Alternative Models for Local Innovation" (ALMOLIN). These models were further elaborated through community actions covered by KATARSIS[29] and SOCIAL POLIS.[30] More recent works focus on the societal role of the economic life in terms of innovations in social practices and social relations at the local and regional levels. Social Innovation, therefore, is increasingly seen as a process and a strategy to foster human development through solidarity, cooperation, and cultural diversity.[31][32]

A study by a PhD student from Eastern Michigan University provides preliminary evidence that technological innovation shares causal relation with public health. [33][34]

The EU funded URBACT programme is designed to help cities to exchange and learn around urban policies. The URBACT methodology can be seen as a social innovation action planning approach. A typical URBACT network would have ten cities working on a specific theme such as active inclusion or regenerating disadvantaged neighbourhoods. They examine good practice and then working through a local support group use the results to inform their local action plan.

The Social Innovation Europe[35] initiative, funded by the European Commission's Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry, was set up to map social innovation at a European level, by creating a directory of grass-roots examples of social innovation from across the 27 member states.

Some noted scholars

See also

References

  1. ^ Mulgan. Geoff. "Social Innovation: What it is, why it matters and how it can be accelerated: Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, University of Oxford"
  2. ^ Nambisan, S. "Platforms for Collaboration", Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2009.
  3. ^ Howaldt, J./ Schwarz, M. "Social Innovation: Concepts, research fields and international trends", IMO international monitoring, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c "Let's hear those ideas". The Economist. August 12, 2010. Retrieved December, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Goldsmith, Stephen (March, 2010). The Power of Social Innovation: How Civic Entrepreneurs Ignite Community Networks for Good. Jossey-Bass. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "ISBN 978-0-470-57684-7" ignored (help)
  6. ^ see for example Gavron, Dench e ds Young at 80, Carcanet Press, London, 1995 for a comprehensive overview of one of the world's most successful social innovators
  7. ^ Chambon, J.-L, David, A. and Devevey, J.-M (1982), Les Innovations Sociales, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris
  8. ^ Mumford, M.D. (2002) Social Innovation: Ten Cases from Benjamin Franklin, Creativity Research Journal, 14(2), 253-266
  9. ^ notably in the writings of Christopher Freeman, Carlotta Perez, Ian Miles and others
  10. ^ Innovation in the Public Sector an overview of thinking about innovation in the public sector, published by the UK government's Strategy Unit in 2003
  11. ^ Ready or Not? published by The Young Foundation in 2007 about the need for public sector organisations to innovate
  12. ^ Nichols; Social Entrepreneurship, Oxford University Press 2007
  13. ^ design companies article by Forbes magazine about how companies are innovating in the way they offer services
  14. ^ Innovation in open source article by harvard business school about innovation in open source
  15. ^ Westley,Zimmerman and Patton; Getting to Maybe;Toronto, Random House 2006
  16. ^ Nambisan, S. "Transforming Government through Collaborative Innovation", IBM Center for the Business of Government, April 2008
  17. ^ James A. Phills Jr., Kriss Deiglmeier, & Dale T. Miller "Rediscovering Social Innovation", Stanford Social Innovation Review Fall 2008.
  18. ^ various studies by Greg Dees and others and the study published by NESTA In and out of sync: growing social innovations, London 2007
  19. ^ Transfomers published by NESTA, London, 2008
  20. ^ Westley et al.2013 A Theory of Transformational agency in Linked Social Ecological Systems, Ecology and Society
  21. ^ Kohli, J. and Geoff Mulgan (2007) Capital Ideas. How to Generate Innovation in the Public Sector. The Young Foundation and Center for American Progress
  22. ^ http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm
  23. ^ Murray, R., Caulier- Grice and Geoff Mulgan (2010) The Open Book of Social Innovation. The Young Foundation and NESTA
  24. ^ Mulgan, Ali, Tucker; Social innovation: what it is, why it matters, how it can be accelerated, published by Said Business School, Oxford, 2007
  25. ^ Laville, J.-L. (Ed.) (1994) L’économie solidaire, une perspective internationale, Desclée de Brouwer, Paris
  26. ^ Moulaert, F. and Sekia, F. (2003) Territorial Innovation Models: a Critical Survey, Regional Studies, 37(3), 289-302
  27. ^ CRISES
  28. ^ Social Innovation, Governance, and Community Building (2002–2004)
  29. ^ http://katarsis.ncl.ac.uk/
  30. ^ http://www.socialpolis.eu/
  31. ^ MacCallum, D., Moulaert, F., Hillier, J. and S. Vicari (Eds) (2009) Social Innovation and Territorial Development. Ashgate, Aldershot. ISBN 978-0-7546-7233-3
  32. ^ Is Social Innovation the Future of Economy?, ParisTech Review, Dec. 2011
  33. ^ Gill, P.S. (2012). "Technological Innovation and Public Health: A Descriptive Exploratory Investigation of Relationship between Technological Innovation Indicators and Public Health Indicators in the United States from 2003 to 2007" (PDF). Global Journal of Medical Research. 12 (6): 63–81.
  34. ^ Gill, P.S. (2013). "Technological Innovation and its affect on Public Health in the United States". Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. 6: 31–40. doi:10.2147/JMDH.S34810.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  35. ^ http://socialinnovationeurope.eu
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