Social Innovation in Theory and Practice – Innovative Pathways to Inclusion and Sustainability in Organizations and Society? That is the title of a new doctoral course on social innovation that has brought together eight doctoral students from across Sweden.
The lack of graduate-level courses in social innovation was the reason the course was launched.
“There are few doctoral courses in Sweden on social innovation, which is why it can be difficult for doctoral students in this field to navigate the existing research and find other doctoral students and researchers to collaborate with,” says Malin Lindberg, a professor at Luleå University of Technology, where she conducts research on social innovation.
Several universities are collaborating to offer the doctoral course
The doctoral course was conducted in collaboration between Luleå University of Technology, Umeå University, Uppsala University, and Marie Cederschiöld University College, with funding from Forte. The purpose of the course is to provide a theoretical foundation in social innovation for the participating doctoral students’ dissertation work.
“We hope this course will give participants insight into Swedish and international research on social innovation, with links to various themes such as sustainable development, social inclusion, and societal challenges,” says Malin Lindberg.
– We also hope that the course will help them expand their professional networks, both with each other and with the senior researchers teaching the course.
The course has attracted a diverse group of doctoral students from across the country
The course has brought together eight doctoral students from seven different universities across the country. Their fields of study range from social work to architecture and business administration, with a focus on issues such as food insecurity, housing provision, and rural transportation.
Two of the participating doctoral students are Linnea Lindemann, a doctoral student at Malmö University, and Mattias Berglund, a doctoral student at Mälardalen University.
“I chose to take this course to develop a theoretical framework for social innovation. The course literature offers a good mix of theories, and the final assignment is open-ended, which means I have the opportunity to write anything from a theoretical section to a more exploratory text.” “Throughout the course, there are recurring discussions about the role of the welfare state and its relationship to civil society, which has given me ideas for my dissertation,” says Linnea Lindemann.
Linnea Lindemann's dissertation examines housing provision and housing supply issues from a welfare perspective.
“I’m looking at housing projects that serve as examples of social innovation. These projects are led by civil society, and I’m examining the relationship between public actors and civil society in terms of the division of responsibilities,” she says.
Researching municipalities' ability to govern and lead on complex issues
Mattias Berglund conducts his research through a split position as a municipal doctoral student at Mälardalen University and as a municipal strategist responsible for social sustainability in the Municipality of Eskilstuna. His dissertation examines municipalities’ ability to govern and lead on complex issues in order to strengthen their capacity for innovation. Many of the challenges facing the public sector today involve major issues such as climate change and segregation, where no single actor has control over all resources or the ability to solve an issue on their own.
“There is often a lack of discussion about the capacity of stakeholders—in my case, municipalities—to actually address these kinds of challenges in collaboration with others. The discussion often focuses on innovation as the solution and less on the conditions within the organizations that need to improve their innovation capabilities,” says Mattias Berglund.
The doctoral course has empowered the participants
The course’s focus on both theory and practice was a perfect fit for Mattias Berglund and has strengthened his skills in both roles and his future work.
“Understanding social innovation from a theoretical perspective helps me in my academic work, and delving deeper into civil society as an arena for social innovation has been particularly valuable to me in my role as a practitioner,” he says.
– The course gave me a missing piece of the puzzle in my own understanding of innovation: that social innovation is about the bigger issues, with a focus on sustainability, and is more systemic and cross-sectoral in nature. At times, it has been difficult to navigate the field of innovation in general, as it can encompass everything from the design of an existing, fairly limited aspect of municipal services to the major societal challenges and the 2030 Agenda.
– Having a background in social innovation helps me shift my focus away from individual initiatives or innovation processes and back to the core purpose of my dissertation: to strengthen municipalities’ ability to govern and lead on complex issues and to enhance their capacity for innovation. It is more about having the capacity to participate, support, and share responsibility and ownership in innovation processes alongside other sectors when addressing major societal challenges.
Linnea Lindemann will also apply her knowledge of social innovation in her dissertation.
“I will use research on social innovations to describe housing projects and the role they play in the welfare state. I’ll draw on theoretical approaches from the course, which I’ll apply to my empirical data and to the perspective on civil society’s role from a welfare perspective,” says Linnea Lindemann.
Going forward, Malin Lindberg hopes that the doctoral course can also be taught and conducted in English.
Fact: Social Innovation in Theory and Practice
The doctoral course “Social Innovation in Theory and Practice” was conducted in collaboration between Luleå University of Technology, Umeå University, Uppsala University, and Marie Cederschiöld University College, with funding from Forte.