Social innovation as a way to tackle complex societal problems – the case of opening access to public data assets

2013 ◽  
pp. 154-166
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Public Data ◽  
Societal Problems

Going Beyond GDP

2019 ◽  
pp. 241-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyithan Ahmet Ates ◽  
Muradiye Ateş ◽  
Murat Ali Yülek
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Alternative Measure ◽  
Economic Methods ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
Monetary Term ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Economic Vitality

A redirection towards wellbeing with a view to produce lasting social and economic vitality for the global civilization necessitates moving from conventional economic methods towards innovative solutions, which are necessary to face challenges of today and the future to foster sustainable growth. Social innovation and its agents can be considered as a toolbox which may facilitate a transition by positively influencing wellbeing, developing ways of integrating it into policy, and promoting it as an alternative measure of progress. Social innovation may increase the role of civil society in solving social problems, while sustaining and improving people's wellbeing beyond increasing their welfare in monetary term. By providing up-to-date solutions to challenges ranging from global warming to fair income distribution, and from social innovative entrepreneurs to grass-rooted innovation, social innovation seems to be capable of transforming the society in a way to tackle with a new kind of societal problems, and of exploring new ways to create added value for the economy.

scholarly journals Social Innovation Assessment? Reflections on the impacts of social innovation on society - Outcomes of a systematic literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Georg Mildenberger ◽  
◽  
Gudrun Schimpf ◽  
Jürgen Streicher ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Current State ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Technical Innovations ◽  
To Come ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
User Orientation

Today we face many societal problems, such as climate degradation, energy shortages, increasing inequality, and demographic change. Solutions for these problems require far-reaching changes and new and untried approaches. Social Innovation (SI) could be a significant factor in tackling the challenges to come. The ‘reflection on the long-term effects of social innovations’ is a relatively new topic but is attracting growing interest. While technology assessments are regularly used to study the consequences of technical innovations, similar assessments for social innovations are rare. This paper explores and analyses the current state of theoretical, conceptual work on the assessment for SI and their consequences, related concepts, and relevant activities. Perspectives and options for further developments in this field are derived. The method used is a structured literature review. The results show that scientific research concerning the assessment of the consequences of social innovations seems to be still in its infancy. The boundaries between established topics (such as sustainability, user orientation, including social entrepreneurship) and newer concepts are fluid. However, alongside the different approaches and views, a certain convergence of perspectives with regard to the consequences and effects of (social) innovations can be observed. Similar questions and issues are dealt with using similar approaches and methods, and are sometimes confronted with similar obstacles.

Social innovation as habit change : from individuals to market systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mansour Omeira
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Philosophical Foundations ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Conceptual Foundations ◽  
Novel Model

The COVID-19 pandemic and its responses have exacerbated the unfairness and unsustainability of consumption and production systems worldwide. They have also highlighted the urgency of transforming such systems beyond a narrow focus on technological innovations. However, dominant ways of thinking have curtailed the development of theoretical and practical alternatives and hampered efforts to address complex societal problems on a planetary scale. In response, this theoretical dissertation offers an integrative systemic account of social innovation in consumption and production systems. The dissertation makes three main contributions of relevance to sustainable development. First, it introduces integrative systemics as an alternative to the paradigm wars’ disjunctive and reductionist approaches and elaborates its philosophical foundations. Second, it offers new conceptual foundations for studying consumption and production systems, transcending the opposition between behavioral science and practice theories. Third, as an alternative to reductionist and market-centric approaches to social change, it develops a novel model of social innovation as habit change. The dissertation thereby contributes to rethinking consumption and production systems and social innovation interventions with the aim of advancing sustainable development.

scholarly journals Social Entrepreneurship and Capitalist Crisis

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luise Li Langergaard
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Innovation Theory ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Critical Movement

The paper discusses the relation between social entrepreneurship and capitalism. In the wake of the crisis erupting in 2008, the political attention to social entrepreneurship has intensified and social entrepreneurship and social innovation has been presented as possible solutions to a number of societal problems. By linking different theoretical trends of social entrepreneurship to Boltanski and Chiapello’s three spirits of capitalism the paper elucidates different variations of social entrepreneurship. It argues that whereas classic entrepreneurship is theoretically closely connected to capitalism and seen by innovation theory as the major driving force of economic development, social entrepreneurship is sometimes linked to non-capitalist understandings of the economy and as part of a capitalist-critical movement.

Social innovation in service: a conceptual framework and research agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lerzan Aksoy ◽  
Linda Alkire (née Nasr) ◽  
Sunmee Choi ◽  
Peter Beomcheol Kim ◽  
Lu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Firm ◽  
Environmental Measures ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism Industry ◽  
Societal Problems

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for guiding social innovation in service (SIS), defined as the creation of novel, scalable and sustainable market based service offerings that solve systemic societal problems. Design/methodology/approach This research provides a review and synthesis of transdisciplinary literatures to establish a basis for the conceptual framework proposed for SIS. Findings It is argued that the primary unit of an SIS is the service firm and that there are micro-, meso-, and macro-level actors and enablers in the ecosystem that can help bring about SIS. Examples from the hospitality and tourism industry are used to demonstrate key points. Practical implications Benefits of an SIS to companies include growth through new markets and innovative value offerings, sustainable supply chains in production, building consumer value and trust in the company/brand, attracting and retaining talent and being proactive in including social and environmental measures of success in customer metrics and company financial reporting. Originality/value This paper contributes to the social innovation and service literature by: offering a new, scientifically supported view of an SIS; providing managers with a framework to guide social innovation within their service firm and for the benefit of their company and its stakeholders; and directing service scholars to research issues necessary to advance SIS.

Digital Social Innovation for Better Connected Government

2021 ◽  
pp. 136-161
Author(s):  
Natalija Najdova ◽  
Jasmina Belchovska Tasevska ◽  
Smilka Janeska Sarkanjac ◽  
Branislav Sarkanjac ◽  
Dimitar Trajanov
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
New Products ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Good Strategy ◽  
Republic Of Macedonia ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Level Of Understanding ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Insight Into

Social innovation (SI) refers to new products, processes, and methods that, in a creative and sustainable way, offer a better solution to social demands, which often requires changes in the practices of existing social systems. Digital social innovation (DSI) is ICT-based SI that uses digital technologies to invoke such changes. This chapter presents an insight into DSI in the Republic of Macedonia and reports the results of a survey to show the level of understanding, awareness, and knowledge of DSI in the country. Although the idea of DSI is to bypass the governments, motivate people to self-organize, and solve their societal problems, results suggest that without a good strategy, enough funding, and suitable societal governance, it is difficult to tackle the challenges of raising the awareness of an individual or a community that it is they themselves who are the change-enablers as members of a social network.

scholarly journals Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Social Innovation: Practices in Two Southern European Universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3594
Author(s):  
Sílvia Monteiro ◽  
Rosa Isusi-Fagoaga ◽  
Leandro Almeida ◽  
Adela García-Aracil
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
European Universities ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
European Public ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Innovation Practices

The interactions between the higher education sector and society and industry have been attracting increased attention in terms of ways to develop social innovation solutions to societal problems. Despite calls from politicians and the existence of some guidelines, we know little about how higher education could incorporate social innovation activities into its structure and missions. This study examines some practice experiences in two southern European public universities in Portugal and Spain. We show that the third mission of universities, which includes social innovation, is both linked to the first two missions of teaching and research, depending on the university’s historical and social context. The high dependence of higher education institutions on economic returns increases the importance of political action to drive the development of social innovation activities. This conditioning factor seems to be intrinsic to some of the barriers that have been identified, such as lack of legitimization and recognition of social innovation practices at the formal governmental level.

Going beyond GDP

2016 ◽  
pp. 27-43
Author(s):  
Seyithan Ahmet Ates ◽  
Muradiye Ates ◽  
Murat Ali Yülek
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Alternative Measure ◽  
Economic Methods ◽  
Monetary Term ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Economic Vitality

A redirection towards well-being with a view to produce lasting social and economic vitality for the global civilization necessitates moving from conventional economic methods towards innovative solutions, which are necessary to face challenges of the future to foster sustainable growth. Social innovation and its agents can be considered as a toolbox which may facilitate a transition by positively influencing well-being, developing ways of integrating it into policy, and promoting it as an alternative measure of progress. Social innovation may increase the role of civil society in solving social problems, while sustaining and improving people's well-being beyond increasing their welfare in monetary term. By providing up-to-date solutions to challenges ranging from global warming to fair income distribution, and from social innovative entrepreneurs to grass-rooted innovation, social innovation seems to be capable of transforming the society in a way to tackle with a new kind of societal problems, and of exploring new ways to create added value for the economy.

scholarly journals ‘Scaling Up’ the Social Impact of Innovation in Services – Significant Findings and Best Practice Examples from Specialty Research

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Patrascu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Quality Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
The Impact

„Social innovation” have gained the focus of interest of many researchers and professionals preoccupied to find solutions to heavy societal problems manifesting themselves as challenges or obstacles for public organizations in the field of services of general interest. The present article explores the specialty research on the impact of social innovation concentrating on the most recent trends and concepts that better describe the ways that can lead to the „diffusion” of social innovation, particularly in the domain of services that are designed with the goal to ensure a higher quality life for all citizens. The main objective of our paper is to contribute to the conceptual field of innovation, by presenting a clear definition and by highlighting the newest trends in research. We also tried to identify what are the possible strategies to be applied by stakeholders in order to ensure the process of scaling up, bringing examples that prove the relevance of this concept in the field of public services. In light of recent developments in the field of social innovation, we consider that both research and practice related to „scaling up” need further evolution and more efforts in order to become solid points of reference for all interested parties. At the same time, the development of rigorous systems of evaluation of the effects and impact of innovation is strongly needed. The methods used are mainly qualitative, based on the evaluation of the specialty literature on innovation in services, and comparative, applied to highlight similarities and differences between various cases of innovation in the social sector that may be transferred in the public sector.

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