Social innovation: intuition, precept, concept, theory and practice

Social innovation in question: The theoretical and practical implications of a contested concept

“…It is however distinct from technological innovation in three ways: first, it actively promotes inclusive relationships among individuals, especially those that are (or have been) neglected by previous economic, political, cultural or social processes. In this sense, SI values the process of implementing a new idea as much as it does the outcomes of that implementation (Moulaert et al, 2013a). Second, SI is explicitly about addressing need, whether it is in areas such as education, health or more broadly in dealing with social exclusion.…”

“…This paper will attempt to take this debate forward by operationalising the concept theoretically, empirically and as a tool used in practice. Rather than identifying its multiple uses, an exercise which has been expertly done by Moulaert et al (2013a) and by Godin (2012) drawing on a wide range of sources, this paper will propose a set of definitions that can help clarify the meaning of SI. For each different definition, the paper will question whether using the concept of SI is helpful, or whether there are other concepts referring to the same processes that are more precise and better suited to support intellectual enquiry.…”

“…Underlying our discussion is a sympathetic critique of the argument made by Moulaert et al (2013a), who suggested that the fuzziness inherent to this concept is useful, because it helps to blur the boundaries between research and action. We will suggest that both the research and action sides of SI would benefit from greater clarification.…”

“…The concept of social innovation (SI) has become pervasive in academia (Moulaert et al, 2013a), in policymaking (BEPA, 2014), among third sector organisations (URBACT, 2015) and in business (Frost and Sullivan, 2014). It is used both in its more radical incarnations, as a way to understand and guide wide ranging social transformation (Henderson, 1993), and in its more pragmatic versions, to describe what are seen as socially minded innovations (Garcia and Haddock, 2016).…”

Recent Economic Theorising on Innovation: Lessons for Analysing Social Innovation

“…The definition by Moulaert et al (2013) seems to cover both single social innovation projects and a 'bunch' of social innovation projects occurring concurrently. Finally, the definition by Heiskala (2007) is only concerned with the changes in macro-level structures, i.e.…”