There is a lack of empirical research around sub‐national Social Investment programs, and a lack of connectivity with social innovation. This paper addresses these gaps by drawing on twenty individual case study evaluations, conducted across ten EU member states as part of a larger Horizon 2020 project (Innovative Social Investment: Strengthening communities in Europe, grant agreement number: 649189). It does so through a “governance of activation” lens. We find that volunteering was a significant feature of many of the cases we researched, as both a means of funding Social Investment, and a means by which activation (through the development of human and social capital) might be achieved. Yet volunteering is a gap in the theoretical literature around Social Investment, and one that needs to be addressed. We also find that examining Social Investment at the local level provides a much more nuanced and complex picture than nationally focused extant research.
Taking a critical but sympathetic perspective, this chapter discusses recent debates around Social Investment as a new welfare paradigm. Scholarly and policy literature on Social Investment focus on aggregate effects and macro-comparative analysis with limited reference to local and micro level implementation and practice. Innovation is an essential element of Social Investment as social policies require constant adaptation to new challenges, yet literatures on Social Investment and social innovation rarely connect. This chapter sets the scene for the edited collection, highlighting the aim to advance empirical and conceptual insight into Social Investment from a social innovation and a sub national perspective. It briefly introduces in-depth, multi method case studies in ten EU countries of innovative, strategic approaches to delivering social investment policy at a sub national level.
This final chapter draws together lessons from the ten thematic chapters of the book. The authors consider in particular the changing roles and responsibilities of different actors, and the heightened importance of the substantive economy. They also note some emerging evidence of ‘co-creation’, which implies profound changes in relationships between the state and the individual. Social justice rather than economic efficiency was typically the main local driver reported in the chapters. This street level view of Social Investment in practice is consistent with recent scholarly perspectives on it as a tool to enhance human capabilities and not only to increase productivity. The chapter concludes with reflections on the intersection of Social Investment with social innovation and some implications for decision makers and for front-line practitioners tasked with implementation.
This chapter is about a successful energy co-operative in Spain. With rising poverty and energy prices among the most expensive in Europe and, the cooperative not only provides a reliable source of clean energy to consumers, but also forms a central part of the community in which it is situated. The case study points to a need for private enterprises to collaborate with local authorities and social services to provide solutions to drastic situations of poverty that are still prevalent, particularly in areas of Southern and Eastern Europe. The Spanish energy cooperative demonstrates one way in which the social economy can help to shape the future of the welfare state in the absence of state funding and in the face of national policies that are not well aligned.
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