scholarly journals Democratising Smart Cities? Penta-Helix Multistakeholder Social Innovation Framework

Smart Cities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1145-1172
Author(s):  
Igor Calzada
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Quadruple Helix ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Social Models ◽  
Civic Society ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
The Social ◽  
Desk Research

The smart cities policy approach has been intensively implemented in European cities under the Horizon 2020 programme. However, these implementations not only reduce the interdependencies among stakeholders to technocratic Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) models, but also fail to question the identities of strategic stakeholders and how they prioritise their business/social models. These aspects are putting democracy at stake in smart cities. Therefore, this article aims to unfold and operationalise multistakeholders’ policy frameworks from the social innovation perspective by suggesting the ex-novo penta-helix framework—including public, private, academia, civic society, and social entrepreneurs/activists—to extend the triple and quadruple-helix frameworks. Based on fieldwork action research conducted from February 2017 to December 2018—triangulating desk research, 75 interviews, and three validation workshops—this article applies the penta-helix framework to map out five strategic dimensions related to (i) multistakeholder helix framework and (ii) the resulting business/social models comparatively in three follower cities of the H2020-Replicate project: Essen (Germany), Lausanne (Switzerland), and Nilüfer (Turkey). For each case study, the findings reveal: (i) a unique multistakeholder composition, (ii) diverse preferences on business/social models, (iii) a regular presence of the fifth helix as intermediaries, and (iv) the willingness to experiment with democratic arrangements beyond the hegemonic PPP.

scholarly journals ‘Assistance from A to Z’ as an Innovative Social Investment in Action. Evaluation of a Case Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Aldona Wiktorska-Święcka ◽  
Dorota Moroń
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Desk Research ◽  
Municipal Level

Abstract The aim of the article is to present a case study of the implementation of innovative social investment in the area of social inclusion. The case study analysed, namely the project Assistance from „A” to „Z” — Professional activation of homeless people from Wroclaw Circle St. Brother Albert Aid Society, refers to the social and vocational integration of homeless people at the municipal level in Poland. The authors hypothesize that innovative social investments are key to the success of the policy of social inclusion, which requires new, innovative ideas to empower people at risk of exclusion. The article uses the case study method and the method of desk research, in which an analysis of the strategy documents, source materials and activities was carried out. The results were subjected to critical analysis, using the achievements of research in the field of social investment, social innovation and social inclusion policy. The paper is the result of partial studies carried out within the framework of the research project Innovative Social Investment: Strengthening communities in Europe (InnoSI), financed by the EU Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020. As a result, one has to consider the question “What works?”. The analysis showed the accompaniment method to be the most effective tool in the project’s actions and one which may be disseminated as a recommendation for social investment. The question “How?” brought evidence that the existing set of activities and their sequence (integrity and complexity) was appropriate, necessary and effective from the perspective of beneficiaries, the Wroclaw Circle St. Brother Albert Aid Society and stakeholders. Considering the question “In what circumstances?”, the key element was related to the leadership offered by the Wroclaw Circle St. Brother Albert Aid Society, which was running the implementation of the project. As a conclusion, one can formulate the cautious thesis that the outcomes can to some extent be generalized, particularly at the level of other local entities in Poland or in other countries/regions of Central and Eastern Europe, which have a similar welfare model (e.g. the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia).

scholarly journals Local development through social and territorial innovation: An exploratory case study

2017 ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Bernardino ◽  
J. Freitas Santos
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Venture

This investigation aims to examine innovation in a selected successful Portuguese social venture (The Cooperative Terra Chã) and to analyse the extent to which innovative social ventures are able to contributeto local development. Specifically, the paper highlights the activities developed by the social organization in response to the needs of particular (micro) segments of society and illustrates which key factors triggered thesuccess of the examined social initiative. A case study methodology is used to describe the distinctive characteristics and strategies pursued by the managers of the social venture and to establish the links between the opportunities for social innovation and the territory. The data collected for the study were triangulated from desk research and from in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with privileged actors.The results show that social innovation is a viable strategy to revitalize the region’s socio-economic tissue, through the creation of new economic activities and consequently local employment that are based on the village’straditional activities. This strategy seeks to achieve sustainable economic growth and well-being for the people of the region. However, to be successful, the strategy demands a deep knowledge of existing social problems as well as the availability of endogenous local resources and capabilities for use by social entrepreneurs. In this context, social innovation should be a participatory process, in which different entities and the beneficiaries of social programs were active players.

scholarly journals Replicating Smart Cities: The City-to-City Learning Programme in the Replicate EC-H2020-SCC Project

Smart Cities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 978-1003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Calzada
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
The Social ◽  
Democratic Learning ◽  
The City

This article addresses the problem of replication among smart cities in the European Commission’s Horizon 2020: Smart Cities and Communities (EC-H2020-SCC) framework programme. This article initially sets the general policy context by conducting a benchmarking about the explicit replication strategies followed by each of the 17 ongoing EC-H2020-SCC lighthouse projects. This article aims to shed light on the following research question: Why might replication not be happening among smart cities as a unidirectional, hierarchical, mechanistic, solutionist, and technocratic process? Particularly, in asking so, it focuses on the EC-H2020-SCC Replicate project by examining in depth the fieldwork action research process implemented during 2019 through a knowledge exchange webinar series with participant stakeholders from six European cities—three lighthouse cities (St. Sebastian, Florence, and Bristol) and three follower-fellow cities (Essen, Lausanne, and Nilüfer). This process resulted in a City-to-City Learning Programme that reformulated the issue of replication by experimenting an alternative and an enhanced policy approach. Thus, stemming from the evidence-based policy outcomes of the City-to-City Learning Programme, this article reveals that a replication policy approach from the social innovation lenses might be enabled as a multidirectional, radial, dynamic, iterative, and democratic learning process, overcoming the given unidirectional, hierarchical, mechanistic, solutionist, and technocratic approach.

scholarly journals Commoning Adaptive Heritage Reuse as a Driver of Social Innovation: Naples and the Scugnizzo Liberato Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Federica Fava
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Adaptive Reuse ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Successful Model ◽  
Urban Commons ◽  
The City ◽  
Desk Research

The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage assets is often problematic. What emerges is the urgency of a thoughtful negotiation between built forms and emerging needs and requests. In this view, a fruitful trajectory of development arises in commoning heritage by means of adaptive reuse. Hence, the purpose of this article is to investigate how community-led adaptive heritage re-use practices contribute to social innovation in terms of new successful model of urban governance, by providing a specific focus on innovative aspects that emerge in both heritage and planning sectors. Therefore, it also aims to improve the knowledge in the innovative power of heritage when conceptualized as performative practice. To this end, the paper presents the adaptation process of a former church complex located in Naples, today Scugnizzo Liberato, one of the bottom-up initiatives recognized by the Municipality of Naples as part of the urban commons network of the city. The research results are based on desk research, a literature review, and interviews with experts and activists, conducted as part of the OpenHeritage project (Horizon 2020). Initial evidence shows that profound citizen involvement throughout the whole heritage-making process might generate innovative perspectives in urban governance as well as conservation planning practice.

Mobility, Data, and Behavior

2015 ◽  
pp. 382-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Di Dio ◽  
Barbara Lo Casto ◽  
Fabrizio Micari ◽  
Gianfranco Rizzo ◽  
Ignazio Vinci
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Actual Situation ◽  
Sustainable Mobility ◽  
University Departments ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Innovation Project ◽  
And Behavior

This chapter presents the social innovation project “TrafficO2”, a support system for decision-making in the field of transportation that tries to push commuters towards more sustainable mobility by providing concrete incentives for each responsible choice. After focusing on Palermo, Italy, the context of this case study, this chapter provides a detailed description of the TrafficO2 model. Specifically, the chapter deals with the analysis of a selected sample of users among Palermo University students who commute daily to their respective University departments on campus. Starting from the modal split of the actual situation (Status Quo scenario), another behavior scenario (Do your right mix) is designed and promoted to encourage users to create a better mix of existing mobility means and reduce the use of private vehicles powered by combustibles. The first test that was performed confirmed the reliability of the initiative.

Utilization of Online Platforms by Social Entrepreneurs for Social Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 75-102
Author(s):  
Anja Herrmann-Fankhänel
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Resource Dependence ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Start Ups

Socially sustainable development can be driven by individuals, entrepreneurs, growing start-ups, and international companies. As social entrepreneurs, people opt for a form of organization that contributes to social improvement through entrepreneurial means. The question is: How do they do it? The resource dependence approach (RDA) assumes that all decisions and activities of a (social) enterprise are based on information about its environment. Therefore, the four key components of the social enterprise (individual, organization, social innovation, market orientation) must be appropriate. In this chapter, therefore, social enterprises are outlined as active participants and shapers of the economy and society. Since an active improvement with regard to socially sustainable development is focused by the social enterprises in Africa, a description of the social enterprise's environment is also given within the framework of topical focuses. The goal is to derive recommendations about action for social enterprises to achieve their goals.

The Role of Societal Culture in Social Innovation

2021 ◽  
pp. 86-101
Author(s):  
Gaye Karacay
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Societal Culture ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Value Creation ◽  
Research Propositions

Being at a development stage, the social innovation literature needs further contributions that would help to comprehensively find out the enablers of social innovation especially within macro level. Since the nature of social innovation is cumulative as well as interactive, the micro level practices of individual social innovation initiatives add up to the general patterns at the macro-level. On account of the fact that shared values among members of a society bring about similar expectations, perceptions, and behavioral patterns, it is essential to explore how various societal cultural attributes contribute to social innovation capacities of countries. This study aims to explore an evidence of the influence of societal culture on social innovation, specifically by shaping the perceptions of social entrepreneurs for social value creation. By discussing the relationship between societal culture and social innovation in a conceptual manner along with developing research propositions, this study offers a new direction for future research.

Governing local social innovations against poverty across Europe

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Stijn Oosterlynck ◽  
Yuri Kazepov ◽  
Andreas Novy
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Innovation Dynamics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Core Concepts

In this introductory chapter, we present our understanding of the core concepts of this book, namely social innovation and poverty, and situate these concepts in contemporary debates on the governance of welfare provision. We define social innovation as actions that satisfy social needs through the transformation of social relations, which crucially implies an increase of the capabilities and access to resources of people living in poverty. Poverty is not reduced to a lack of monetary income, but refers to a range of processes of social exclusion in various spheres of life that hinders people’s full participation in society. We outline the aim of this book as a sustained attempt to analyse how the social innovation dynamics of localised initiatives are shaped by the welfare regime context with its specific spatial and institutional characteristics. Finally, we discuss the methodological strategy of the comparative case study research on which this book is based.

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