scholarly journals Specialists for Crumble Cakes? The German LandFrauen Organizations in Social Innovation, and as Educational, Social, and Political Institutions

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-107
Author(s):  
Laura Suarsana
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Local Fields ◽  
Horizontal Structure ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Deep Integration

AbstractThis chapter presents empirical results on the German LandFrauen clubs and associations as contemporary elements of German civil society from the conceptual perspective of social innovation, as an approach which is expected to hold high potential particularly for rural areas. The analysis shows that the German LandFrauen clubs and associations are highly engaged in initiating change and development in rural Germany by uniquely addressing women’s needs through social, cultural, and educational offers. Here, the members’ social interactions function as a basis and starting point for further activities providing impulses in local development.As prerequisites that enable the LandFrauen to pursue their activities, two key characteristics were identified: (1) Their practices are integrated into specific local fields and highly adaptive to local needs and interests through the deep integration of the large and diverse base of members in their local villages and rural society, which allows for functions as local initiators, catalysts, and multipliers in regional development. (2) The institutional frame of clubs and associations allows for support, cooperation, and exchange across the vertical and horizontal structure, and provides access to resources and a broad network to external partners.

scholarly journals What Are the Impacts of Social Innovation? A Synthetic Review and Case Study of Community Forestry in the Scottish Highlands

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4359
Author(s):  
Carla Barlagne ◽  
Mariana Melnykovych ◽  
David Miller ◽  
Richard J. Hewitt ◽  
Laura Secco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Study Approach

In a context of political and economic austerity, social innovation has been presented as a solution to many social challenges, old and new. It aims to support the introduction of new ideas in response to the current urgent needs and challenges of vulnerable groups and seems to offer promising solutions to the challenges faced by rural areas. Yet the evidence base of the impacts on the sustainable development of rural communities remains scarce. In this paper, we explore social innovation in the context of community forestry and provide a brief synthetic review of key themes linking the two concepts. We examine a case of social innovation in the context of community forestry and analyse its type, extent, and scale of impact in a marginalized rural area of Scotland. Using an in-depth case study approach, we apply a mixed research methodology using quantitative indicators of impact as well as qualitative data. Our results show that social innovation reinforces the social dimension of community forestry. Impacts are highlighted across domains (environmental, social, economic, and institutional/governance) but are mainly limited to local territory. We discuss the significance of those results in the context of community forestry as well as for local development. We formulate policy recommendations to foster and sustain social innovation in rural areas.

scholarly journals Governance of Social Innovation in Forestry

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Ludvig ◽  
Todora Rogelja ◽  
Marelli Asamer-Handler ◽  
Gerhard Weiss ◽  
Maria Wilding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Forest Sector ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Insight Into

Over the last decade, the term social innovation has received increased attention as a potential solution to address complex global social problems and to add collective values to society. The forest sector has great potential for fostering employment, community development and reducing increased emigration from rural to urban areas. This potential is not always realised, especially in economically weak and remote rural areas. Hence, this paper tackles the question of how social innovations in forestry are able to succeed under adverse circumstances and contribute to respond to some of the before mentioned challenges? To answer this question, we first identified four very different cases across Europe that are compatible with the criteria of social innovation. Proceeding from this starting point, comparative research was undertaken with the aim to identify the cases´ specific features and key criteria for success. In the cases considered, it is evident that the sheer determination and voluntary investment of time and effort by key individuals, who were convinced of the value of the idea for the community, provided indispensable impetus to all four social innovations. In drawing its conclusions, this paper highlights the principal areas that need consideration and that hence have implications when developing supportive policies. Furthermore, we provide some insight into future research topics that would allow us to better understand the positive impacts of social innovation in the forest-based sector.

WOMEN'S AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVES IN GREECE: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND SWOT ANALYSIS

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 1550002 ◽  
Author(s):  
PANAGIOTA SERGAKI ◽  
MARIA PARTALIDOU ◽  
OLGA IAKOVIDOU
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Rural Society ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Europe Today

Very few women's co-operatives exist in Europe today; of those that do, the vast majority are involved in non-agricultural sectors. For the past thirty years in Greece, numerous women's agricultural co-operatives have been established in rural areas and scholars have articulated several aspects of their role in both women's life and the local development. A cursory glance at the history of the women's agricultural co-operatives in Greece and a review of the literature highlights the uniqueness of this type of entrepreneurship (a rarity in Europe) and their significant role for rural society cohesion, mainly in geographically and economically isolated rural areas. In this paper we employ a SWOT analysis to elaborate on strengths and weaknesses, which vary from co-operative to co-operative. Either bottom-up or top-down created women's co-operatives are currently a social innovation. Their strengths mainly concern economic independence and social inclusion of women in rural areas, while their weaknesses are mainly associated with funding, organization, administration, know how, culture, product promotion and marketing problems. Nevertheless, they are called upon to survive in a competitive environment; although difficult, it is one that provides opportunities that most likely can outweigh threats.

scholarly journals Reversing the Shrinking of Civic Spaces: Insights for Strategies to Expand and Strengthen Activism and Organizations in Mozambique

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Marcio Pessôa ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Civic Spaces ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
State And Market ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

How can the shrinking of civic spaces be reversed? This article suggests an analytical approach to identify mechanisms that cause the shrinking of civic spaces in Mozambique, and presents a starting point for building strategies to react to this process. Based on interviews and participative observation in the field, it explores events and episodes where crucial issues or activists’ groupings were neutralised, and visits the theory of defiance in civil society, power and contentious politics to explain how the shrinking of civic spaces has been taking place in Mozambique in the past ten years. It is reasonable to state that activists need to cope with cultural and cognitive barriers in order to face the various expressions of state and market power in Mozambique. Civil society organizations need to work with their donors to create new forms of relationship together, where issues such as accountability, for example, do not put at risk civic spaces and projects that have made a positive difference to people’s lives. In addition, activists need to establish a joint lobbying focus for constructing a legal framework that facilitates the emergence of new civic spaces in urban and rural areas.

scholarly journals The Quebec system of social innovation: a focused analysis on the local development field

Finisterra ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (94) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan-Luis Klein ◽  
Jean-Marc Fontan ◽  
Denis Harrisson ◽  
Benoît Lévesque
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Consensus Building ◽  
New Combinations ◽  
The Social

This article shows the components of a system of social innovation based on collaboration and consensus building between a plurality of actors and economic logics. The social innovation system of Quebec features new combinations, approaches, ways of coordination and governance in which social economy and civil society play an important role. Participative governance, co-production of services, co-construction of public policies, as well as the plural character of the economy represent important aspects of this system. This article addresses the territorial dimensions of what could be called the Quebec model of social innovation.

scholarly journals Territorial and Human Geography Challenges: How Can Smart Villages Support Rural Development and Population Inclusion?

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
Evgenia Anastasiou ◽  
Stella Manika ◽  
Konstantina Ragazou ◽  
Ioannis Katsios
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Knowledge Growth ◽  
Digital Gap ◽  
Innovation Knowledge

Rural areas are significantly affected by spatial vulnerability, the digital gap, depopulation, and population ageing. Marginalized populations are seeking collective well-being, social inclusion, and local development in smart villages, an increasingly important area of interest for scholars and practitioners as well as rural areas and communities. This article attempts to highlight the dominant trends in smart villages planning and depict the characteristics of Greek rural areas and populations alongside the implemented localized smart actions. To achieve this aim, the research utilized the existing literature through bibliometric analysis by extracting data from the Web of Science database. Building upon the bibliometrics, the research focused on identifying localized implemented interventions in the Greek rural areas. The results suggest that innovation, knowledge, growth, and management appear to impact rural smart planning, while the limited interventions of smart villages in Greece focus on social innovation and local development. The study argues that in Greece, a single holistic smart villages model cannot be proposed, due to the country’s geographical and demographical variability. The proposed trends, though, can be implemented locally to encourage rural development and population inclusion; therefore it is recommended to increase local stakeholders’ awareness and active engagement.

scholarly journals Local Development Initiatives as Promoters of Social Innovation: Evidence from Two European Rural Regions

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-53
Author(s):  
Marina Novikova ◽  
Maria de Fátima Ferreiro ◽  
Tadeusz Stryjakiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Rural Regions ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Extensive Body ◽  
Action Groups

AbstractSocial innovation entered the academic discourse several decades ago and has since been seen as a way of tackling existing problems in various contexts. Although an extensive body of research has been conducted into the role of social innovation in urban context, there is still a gap when it comes to studying the role of social innovation in the development of rural areas. In this paper, an attempt is made to look at the role of Local Action Groups (LAGs) and Local Development Associations (LDAs) as promoters of social innovation in rural areas in Austria and Portugal, aiming to understand the role of such organisations and the challenges faced by the latter in promoting social innovation.

scholarly journals ILLITERACY EFFECTS ON LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MOROCCAN RURAL WORLD: CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

2021 ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
Bachiri Housseine ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Domestic Sphere ◽  
Rural World

This paper fundamentally aspires to make context-based recommendations to the increasingly rising number of Moroccan female cooperatives in rural areas, particularly in the region of Fes-Meknes. Similarly, it endeavors to problematize illiteracy and its effects on local and regional development among rural women in the aforementioned region. It must be noted that solidarity cooperatives unquestionably help mitigate both feminine poverty and unemployment, and simultaneously incrementally establish an ongoing entrepreneurial platform for rural women. Such a platform can directly grant the potentiality of helping these women make quantum leaps in development, as well as become socio-culturally emancipated from the stereotypes and clichés that have kept them invisible for decades in the so-called domestic sphere. The data gathered by means of focus groups’ sessions in different Fes-Meknes areas and villages, Ifrane, Azrou, Imouzzer, Sefrou and Ain Louh, was of paramount importance in making recommendations that are realistically inspired and meticulously drawn from research informants whose participation in local and regional development, albeit challenges, has drawn a significant amount of attention from state actors, such as the Office of Development and Cooperation (ODCO) and associations of civil society, such as the Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (MCISE). One can confidently state that human development can solely be born out of solidarity, collaboration and encouragement in order to ultimately defy social ills and create seamless cohesion and prosperity.

scholarly journals The mechanism of community led local development in Romanian urban areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-146
Author(s):  
Andreea Pușcaș ◽  
Ioana Beleiu
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Territorial Development ◽  
Development Fund ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
European Regional Development Fund ◽  
Social Fund ◽  
Programming Period

Community led local development (CLLD) is a tool of the European Commission, used for territorial development. Local Action Groups were funded in the rural areas of Romania, since the 2007-2013 programming period through LEADER, demonstrating positive effects in terms of social innovation and disproof of social disparities. In urban areas, CLLD is a recent multi-fund approach, financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Despite the intentions addressed for simplifying the implementation of the mechanism by the Romanian authorities, several challenges and delays however occurred. The present research reveals the similarities and the main differences between the implementation of the mechanism, in urban and rural areasesides, it proposes a set of recommendations to increase the efficiency of the studied mechanism, based on a case study on the implementation of the CLLD mechanism in Gherla, Romania.

scholarly journals The Role of Civil Society Sector in the Development of Art-Driven Regional Social Innovation: The Case of Benesse Art Site Naoshima and Art Setouchi

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 14061
Author(s):  
Ken Aoo
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Creative Industry ◽  
Western Japan ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Aging Societies ◽  
Business Sectors ◽  
Shed Light

Recently art is increasing its presence as an “creative industry” to sustain local communities, by generating socio-economic values. Still, whether art can be a tool for social innovation to regenerate communities, especially in rural areas in aging societies, is an unanswered question. In this paper, we take the example of Benesse Art Site Naoshima and Art Setouchi in the island area of Western Japan, viewing how it transformed from a corporate-established museum to a regional initiative involving various stakeholders, including local residents and thus creating the process of dialogues and collaboration. By reconstructing the existing evidence with supplementary fieldwork and interviews and applying a tri-sectoral analysis of the processes, we present how the art sites developed to become a social innovation. We then illustrate the role of two key individuals, Soichiro Fukutake and Fram Kitagawa, and shed light on the different values and methodologies they brought into these art sites. We argue that such contributions from the civil society and philanthropy sector made a critical contribution to characterize BASN and Art Setouchi, in addition to the well-documented and recognized efforts from local government and business sectors. Finally, we propose that such values, methodologies, and persons who can embody and implement such values are crucial if other countries and areas are to replicate the model.

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