Social Innovation
Definition
At the Forum we use EU:s general definition of social innovation:
“Social innovation means an activity, that is social both as to its ends and its means and in particular an activity which relates to the development and implementation of new ideas concerning products, services, practices and models, that simultaneously meets social needs and creates new social relationships or collaborations between public, civil society or private organisations, thereby benefiting society and boosting its capacity to act.”
Social innovations are social in their ends, their primary purpose is to improve people’s well-being, inclusion, and empowerment, especially among those who are in a socially or economically vulnerable life situation. Social innovations are also social in their means, they are developed through collective processes with new social practices, relationships and structures.
Novelty
The novelty in social innovation can be understood in terms of more fair, sustainable or effective approaches and perspectives compared with existing solutions in society.
A social innovation may be “new” in the sense of:
- why it is created (e.g. that it is motivated by unmet needs),
- what is created (e.g. a new service or method),
- where it is created (e.g. that it is new to the specific area of activity), and
- who creates it (e.g. that beneficiaries are involved in novel ways).
These types of newness are normative, they can be valued differently by different actors and in different contexts. Social innovation can be subject to conflicts and power struggles concerning which ends and means to prioritize. Such conflicts may regard the extent to which social innovation is allowed to truly transform existing systems, or only act as a “smoke screen” that buffers the consequences of a dismantled welfare state.
Key characteristics of social innovation
Community involvement
A common characteristics of social innovation is community involvement, where people who are directly affected by the addressed societal challenge are engaged in the process. Insights into their perspectives and needs are crucial for ensuring the relevance, usefulness and effects of the process and results. Community involvement may be enhanced by civil society organizations – also called voluntary associations, non-profit organizations, etc. – through their established contacts, arenas and activities among stakeholders.
Cross-sectorial co-creation
Another characteristic of social innovations is that they are often developed through cross-sectorial co-creation, where actors from the public sector, civil society, industry, academia, etc. jointly explore and tackle societal challenges. Challenges addressed are often so complex that they span over several societal sectors, policy/activity areas, etc. The lack of simple and final solutions to these challenges has motivated the labelling of them as “wicked problems”. Cross-sectoral co-creation is seldom easy, though, due to differing logics, interests and resources among the concerned sectors and actors.
Part of an ecosystem
Research also acknowledges that social innovation is part of “ecosystems”, with reference to the environment of actors and framework conditions that affect the ability of new solutions to develop and make an impact. Such ecosystems encompass various societal structures, norms, functions, and roles, spanning from political systems to attitudes, business models, competencies, etc. The critical mass of actors and initiatives in an ecosystem can be seen as a prerequisite for single initiatives to prosper, by enabling cross-fertilization and a fertile environment.
The social innovation process
Research shows that social innovation consists of several crucial elements and levels in the process of developing and establishing social innovations – including identification of societal challenges, mobilisation of actors and resources, idea generation, implementation, testing and scaling, and value creation. These do not always occur in chronological order but tend to be continuously repeated and interwoven.
Elements of social innovation
Societal challenges – to identify and understand societal challenges
In order to be able to tackle societal challenges, they need to be scrutinized from many different perspectives. It can be done in different ways, but the ambition is to gather stakeholders and actors from different sectors of society to jointly analyse and describe societal challenges.
Mobilisation – to mobilise actors and resources
In this part, relevant social actors need to be identified and involved, in order to bridge silos and make use of diverse competences and resources. What actors and resources are active in the area? What activities, skills and funding do different organisations offer? Here support can be connecting different actors, initiating, arranging and facilitating new meetings, collaborations and partnerships between stakeholders and the people who are directly affected.
Ideation – to generate, design and test solutions
In order to develop and establish innovative solutions, there is not only a need of generating creative innovative ideas, but also about sifting out the most promising ideas, designing concrete solutions, as well as testing, experimenting, and further adjusting the solutions. To support this part, it is possible, for example, to offer various meeting arenas, platforms, and methods to create and facilitate the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and experiences to contribute to solving societal challenges.
Realisation – to realise solutions in practice
When there is an idea that has been tested, it needs to be implemented in a practical way in real-life contexts. This involves, among other things, finding a suitable organisational form and a functioning business model.
Societal impact – to create and make visible social change
In order to bring about social change, various initiatives need to be supported and followed up in the longer term. What value did the solution create and for whom? There are several different models for documenting and making visible the social, economic and environmental values that are created through social innovations – for example impact measurement and change theory.
Levels or categories of social innovation
Micro level – grassroot initiatives
Individual initiatives to address a specific societal challenge through mobilization of stakeholders and development of novel solutions. The initiative may be taken by individual innovators, groups or organizations.
Meso level – societal innovations
Networking and ecosystem of the initiative, in order to engender synergies and cross-fertilization between different actors and sectors, for example new networks, platforms, projects, etc.
Macro level – systemic innovations
Societal structures that impact and are impacted by the initiatives, such as policies, regulations, norms, organizations, routines, etc. which restrict or enable societal, organizational and individual transformation. This includes the government and public administration, as well as the society, industry, and the wider public sphere.