Suchergebnisse

This book is open access under a CC BY license. Interest in social innovation continues to rise, from governments setting up social innovation 'labs' to large corporations developing social innovation strategies. Yet theory lags behind practice, and this hampers our ability to understand social innovation and make the most of its potential. This collection brings together work by leading social innovation researchers globally, exploring the practice and process of researching social innovation, its nature and effects. Combining theoretical chapters and empirical studies, it shows how social innovation is blurring traditional boundaries between the market, the state and civil society, thereby developing new forms of services, relationships and collaborations. It takes a critical perspective, analyzing potential downsides of social innovation that often remain unexplored or are glossed over, yet concludes with a powerful vision of the potential for social innovation to transform society. It aims to be a valuable resource for students and researchers, as well as policymakers and others supporting and leading social innovation

Social Policy, Politics and Economics of Welfare, Business and Management, Innovation, Sociology, Economic Sociology, Politics, Citizenship, Social Policy and Welfare

SIC has produced its second 'state of the union' report, researching and mapping how EU employment policy is driving social innovation throughout Europe. The European Commission has recognised a need to address fundamental challenges around work and employment across the European Union. The European Pillar of Social Rights (2017) highlights that the future of the EU depends on its ability to position itself as a promoter of solutions to social challenges, in a context of growing social and economic deprivation in the post-crisis era. In this context, the importance of social innovation (SI) becomes clear. Social innovation has been broadly defined by the Commission as the development of "new ideas, services and models to better address social issues", involving both public and private actors (including civil society). In the absence of clear top-down policy 'solutions', it essential for the EU to support experimentation, through both national and transnational projects, so that imaginative answers may develop to the questions around employment and work which loom large over Europe's future. This report aims to find out how the EU is promoting these solutions. Through a detailed policy analysis, expert interviews and a comparative study of five cases from across Europe this report seeks to answer the following questions: What are the characteristics of EU-supported employment social innovations? How is the EU driving these innovations? Employment is a key priority for the EU. The Europe 2020 strategy includes a target to raise the employment rate to ensure 75% of people aged 20-64 are in employment by 2020, alongside related targets on poverty and skills. Europe 2020 and several key employment policy strategies and initiatives make explicit reference to social innovation. They also broadly recognise innovation in both processes and governance as a crucial factor in achieving policy goals. Meanwhile, EU funds are key levers to support the implementation of both strategies and initiatives. Our literature review and ...