Who are you?

My name is Malin Lindberg, and I am a visiting professor of social innovation at Malmö University, where I work at the Forum for Social Innovation Sweden (Forum for Social Innovation Sweden). I am also a professor of gender and technology at Luleå University of Technology and an adjunct professor at the Center for Civil Society Research at Marie Cederschiöld University College. By training, I am a political scientist specializing in regional development and the role of civil society in democracy. This political science perspective has been a common thread throughout my research, in which I have focused on regional and national policy in the field of innovation.

By applying a power-based perspective to politics, I have been able to identify which areas, forms, actors, and benefits are prioritized in innovation policy.

By applying a power-based perspective to policy, I have been able to identify which areas, forms, actors, and benefits are prioritized in innovation policy. A clear pattern of prioritization has thus emerged, favoring commercial and technology-focused innovation, technical and natural science research, male-dominated fields, and urban areas. This means, among other things, that the public support available in the field of innovation—in the form of project funding, investments, consulting, incubator programs, research, education, etc.—is generally designed to align with this pattern. 

What is your relationship to social innovation in your research?  

The pattern of prioritization described in innovation policy has led me to take an interest in more overlooked forms, areas, actors, and benefits within the field of innovation. These include, among other things, socially beneficial and social innovation; innovation in civil society organizations; innovation based on research in the humanities and social sciences; innovation in female-dominated and gender-balanced fields; and innovation in local development. When I began my research in the early 2000s, neither Swedish nor international innovation research had shown much interest in these areas. Since then, interest has grown significantly in research, policy, and practice, in step with increasing recognition of the need for innovative approaches to addressing societal challenges and sustainable development. Social innovation is now an established field of research and policy in Sweden, the EU, and the OECD. 

What does social innovation mean to you today?  

In my research, I study social innovation based on the well-established understanding in international research that it refers to innovative initiatives that are social in both their goals and their means. Although all innovations can be said to have a social dimension in that they are developed and used in social contexts, social innovation refers to initiatives whose primary purpose is to address societal challenges and contribute to improved living conditions, and whose primary means is to create new social practices, relationships, or structures. At the same time, it should be noted that different forms of innovation can be combined; for example, a social innovation can also be a service innovation or a digital innovation.

My research is also based on a historical understanding of social innovation—that is, that it is not a new phenomenon, but rather has long been a driving force behind the development of society and the welfare state.

My research is also based on a historical understanding of social innovation—that is, that it is not a new phenomenon but has long driven the development of society and the welfare state. Some historical examples in the Swedish welfare system include child health centers, home care services, transportation services for people with disabilities, women’s shelters, and public libraries. Some contemporary examples include Fritidsbanken, Matmissionen, and Cykling utan ålder. In addition, my research takes a norm-critical approach to social innovation, highlighting conflicts of goals and interests, (un)sustainability, smokescreens, negative consequences, and more. 

Can you briefly describe your current research?  

I have long conducted research on social innovation, focusing on cross-sectoral collaboration, the role of civil society, and support structures for such innovation. For the past few years, I have been participating as a researcher in Sweden’s national “ Competence Centre for Social Innovation ” initiative under the European Social Fund (ESF), where I contribute to and develop knowledge about the development and support of social innovation within the ESF. I am also participating as a researcher in a regional fund-financed project on the ecosystem for social innovation in northern Sweden. In addition, I am co-leading a learning process on the Forte Research Council’s support for co-created research in the fields of health, working life, and welfare. Recently, we were also awarded collaboration funding from Forte focused on leveraging civil society innovations in municipalities’ transition to the new Social Services Act. Another learning process I lead concerns the impact labs established at several Swedish universities, where researchers are supported in applying their knowledge and findings to create innovations that benefit society. I also lead a research project on how Swedish universities support academic engagement in social innovation through their policy documents and operational support. 

What do you think is the most important issue today related to social innovation?  

To tie this back to the prioritization patterns in innovation policy, it remains highly relevant to study how social innovation is recognized and supported at the regional, national, and international levels. In this regard, we see that Swedish innovation policy has largely phased out its previous initiatives on social innovation, which means that, at present, it is primarily the ESF that explicitly supports this from the government’s side. A related theme is the support available at various stages of the social innovation process, which encompasses everything from understanding societal challenges and envisioning social change to mobilizing actors and resources, developing and testing innovative initiatives, implementing and disseminating them, and creating value for individuals, organizations, and society. This, in turn, leads to the question of the conditions necessary for developing and realizing social innovations, which encompass everything from structures and norms within organizations and society to support, resources, stakeholders, and collaboration. 

Which researcher would you like to pass the baton to, and why? 

I’m passing the baton to Päivi Juuso at Luleå University of Technology, who is conducting research on innovative ways to harness nature as a resource for human health, work, and inclusion. Among other things, I’m curious to hear her thoughts on what Maxim Vlasov mentioned earlier in this relay—that social innovation tends to be anthropocentric, focusing more on human needs than on the well-being of the planet. Could it be, for example, that nature-based interventions reproduce this tendency, despite the ambition to create synergies between nature and people?