Exploring the Research Landscape of Social Innovation a Deliverable of the Project Social Innovation Community (SIC)
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Exploring the Research Landscape of Social Innovation A deliverable of the project Social Innovation Community (SIC) Dmitri Domanski and Christoph Kaletka (Eds.) TU Dortmund University This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 693883. Disclaimer The information, documentation and figures in this deliverable are written by the SIC project consortium under EC grant agreement 693883 and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. The European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. Suggested Citation Domanski, D. & Kaletka, C. (Eds.) (2017). Exploring the Research Landscape of So- cial Innovation – A deliverable of the project Social Innovation Community (SIC). Dortmund: Sozialforschungsstelle. Acknowledgements We would like to thank all authors of this report for their contributions. Also many thanks to reviewers from NESTA and AEIDL for their important feedback. Further- more, we thank Christopher Graetz, Sabrina Janz and Daniel Krüger for their support. Finally yet importantly we would like to express our gratitude to all experts who en- riched this report by sharing their valuable knowledge on social innovation through their participation in the SIC Research Landscape Expert Survey. Lists of experts who participated in the survey: Thomas Andersson, Russel Belk, Ronald Bieber, Ismael Blanco, Marie J. Bouchard, Irena Celino, Grazia Concilio, Elena Denaro, Christine Dussart, Penny Hagen, Giulia Galera, Hannah Green, Jürgen Howaldt, Guy Julier, Juan-Luis Klein, Klaus R. Kunz- mann, Rocio Nogales, Malin Lindberg, David Ludlow, Johanna Mair, Philip Mirvis, Thomas Osburg, Laura Piscicelli, Sabrina Schork, Anette Scoppetta, Yuliya Voytenko Palgan, Flaviano Zandonai, Marthe Zirngiebl SIC RESEARCH LANDSCAPE JUNE 2017 / 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It was mainly through global economic and social developments since the turn of the century that the area of social innovation has established itself as a research field. On the one hand, this research field is strongly linked to practice, as far as its thematic scope is concerned. On the other hand, both social innovation research and practice themselves are still two relatively fragmented areas with insufficiently connected actors and networks. Against this background, the overarching aim of the project Social Innovation Community (SIC) is to create a ‘network of networks’ of social innovation actors by identifying, engaging and connecting re- searchers, social innovators, citizens, policy-makers, intermediaries, businesses, civil society organisa- tions, public sector employees etc. SIC aims to deepen and strengthen different thematic communities, which we call 'networks', forge new connections between them, and additionally create new links to actors and networks which hitherto have not yet been included or recognised as part of the field of so- cial innovation. Building on existing networks, SIC aims to further advance the field of social innovation as a whole in theory and practice. In this report, we focus on what we call the SIC Research Landscape, the international field of social innovation research with its actors and networks, projects and initiatives, trends and topics, and achievements. The report mirrors the thematic structure used in SIC, with its different networks, and reflects upon these separately. It provides an overview of the current research landscape in Europe and beyond and offers key information regarding those who work within different thematic areas of social innovation, their research interests and the current status of their work. The purpose of this report is to allow for insights into the complex field of social innovation research through relatively short and not entirely academic articles. These insights should help to better under- stand what social innovation research is about, how it is organised through networks and communities and how it is related to practice in order to support the emergence of an inclusive social innovation re- search community which transcends European borders and research disciplines. The findings of the report can be used by all those who work in social innovation and are looking for new opportunities to get involved with a community, which is growing in a very dynamic way. Hence, one particular feature of this report is that it not only refers to usual suspects, but also reveals that there are important parts of the research landscape which – despite their relevance – are often not recog- nised as such. The report demonstrates ongoing processes of community building in all thematic areas under review. At the same time, it makes clear that more possibilities are needed for researchers to work on social innovation. Funding provided by the European Commission has been crucial for successful develop- ment of the area of social innovation. Hence, further funding opportunities will largely determine the future of social innovation and its research. SIC RESEARCH LANDSCAPE JUNE 2017 / 3 Table of Content 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 6 Dmitri Domanski and Christoph Kaletka 2 Social Innovation Research on Concepts and Theories ....................................... 11 Dmitri Domanski and Christoph Kaletka 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 12 2.2 Networks and Thematic Scope .................................................................................. 13 2.3 Research Topics ........................................................................................................ 19 2.4 Methods and Role of Research .................................................................................. 23 2.5 Impact ........................................................................................................................ 24 2.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 26 3 Public Sector Innovation ......................................................................................... 31 Álvaro Luna García 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 32 3.2 Networks and Thematic Scope .................................................................................. 32 3.3 Research Topics ........................................................................................................ 35 3.4 Methods and Role of Research .................................................................................. 38 3.5 Impact ........................................................................................................................ 39 3.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 41 4 Digital Social Innovation ......................................................................................... 44 Ursula Holtgrewe, Sylvana Kroop and Maria Schwarz-Wölzl 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 45 4.2 Networks and Thematic Scope .................................................................................. 46 4.3 Research Topics ........................................................................................................ 50 4.4 Methods and Role of Research .................................................................................. 56 4.5 Impact ........................................................................................................................ 58 4.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 60 5 Intermediaries .......................................................................................................... 65 Charlotte Heales 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 66 5.2 Networks and Thematic Scope .................................................................................. 66 5.3 Research Topics ........................................................................................................ 72 5.4 Methods and Role of Research .................................................................................. 74 5.5 Impact ........................................................................................................................ 78 5.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 79 6 Cities and Regions Development............................................................................ 83 Francesca Rizzo and Alessandro Deserti 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 84 6.2 Networks and Thematic Scope .................................................................................. 86 6.3 Research Topics ........................................................................................................ 89 6.4 Methods and Role of Research .................................................................................