Presentation as plenary speaker at the 5th International Congress on Social Sciences, July 14 Madrid, Spain Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Madrid, Sp

1. ‘Shaken, but not stirred’:
60 years of defining SOCIAL INNOVATION
Mónica Edwards-Schachter
monicaelizabethedwards@gmail.com
@mnicaEdwards
Matthew L. Wallace
matt.l.wallace@gmail.com
5th International Congress on Social Sciences July 12-14, 2017
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Madrid, Spain
Technological Forecasting &
Social Change (2017),
119, 64-79

2. We live under the SOCIAL
INNOVATION imperative…
but
WHAT SOCIAL INNOVATION IS?

3. Examples of ‘pure’ and hybrid social innovations
…babelisation of innovation

4. HIDDEN
INNOVATION
Non-technological and technological innovation: strange
bedfellows? Tobias Schmidt & Christian Rammer (2007)

5. SI
SI
SI
SI
SI
SI DEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENT
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
SOCIAL
INNOVATION?

7. ▪ How has the conceptualization of SI evolved over time?
▪ Is it possible to identify some common ‘core’ meaning/s
in the pluri-vocal discourses and definitions of SI
constructed by scholars, practitioners and policy-
makers?
▪ Which are the ‘conceptual specificities’ (if any) of the SI
concept?
Research questions

8. Co-citation analysis of articles mentioning SI (in title, keyword or abstract) between 1970 and 2013
Management
Territorial development
Creativity
Social/Community psychology
Political Science & Public Administration

9. 9
SOCIAL
innovation
B. Lévesque
F. Moulaert
J. Howaldt
J. Hochgerner
G. Mulgan
A. Hubert
A. Rodríguez & Alvarado

10. ▪ Systematic review & generation of a database
including definitions (extraction of literal texts) from
grey and academic literatures
▪ 2.339 documents: 634 papers extracted from WoS
705 from SCOPUS
1000 registers from Google Scholar
▪ Application of snowball technique to identify, e.g.,
policy reports
Sample

11. 0
10
20
30
40
50
N
Journal papers
Book & book chapter
Research reports, WP & Conf. Proc.
Policy report & WP
N=252 definitions of SI (from 1950 to 2014)

12. ▪ A global content analysis: we applied a mapping and
clustering algorithm using the VoSViewer software
(Van Eck & Waltman, 2010)
▪ Interpretive content analysis: analyzing ‘words’ as
basic semantic units of texts to be classified in an
iterative process, i.e. identifying, fixing, naming,
labeling, classifying and relating (Charmaz, 2008, 2014;
Segercrantz & Seeck, 2013).
Methodology
‘woven fabric of texts’ on SI across time

13. Processes of social change (Red cluster, right-hand side)
(Sustainable) Development (Green cluster, top left),
Services sector (Blue cluster, bottom left),
Three ‘clusters’

14. A. Aims/ends and generation of values in SI processes
A1 ‘oriented to social aims/social values’ (R, G, B)
A2 ‘addressed tu unmet social needs’/’complex social problems’ (R, G, B)
A3 ‘improvement of economic growth’ (G)
A4 ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’/’Corporate Social Innovation’ (G, R)
B. The organization of SI processes: Sources, actors and interrelationships
B1 ‘process’/learning dynamic process’ (R, G,B)
B2 ‘civil society'/'third sector'/‘grass-root movements’ (R, G)
B3 ‘change in territorial development models’ (R, G)
B4 ‘cross-sector between government, business and civil society’ (R, B)
B5 ‘social entrepreneurship and social economy’/‘entrepreneurship’ (R, B, G )
B6 ‘user participation/'co-creation’/(user) ‘community participation’ (B, R)
….
C. The ‘outputs/outcomes’ of SI processes
D. Institutions and power in SI processes
E. SI processes in complex macro-systems

15. Source: Edwards-Schachter & Wallace (2017). Shaken, but not stirred: Sixty years
defining social innovation. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 119, 64-79

16. SI is a collective process of learning involving the
distinctive participation of civil society actors aimed to
solve a societal need through change in social
practices that produce change in social relationships,
systems and structures, contributing to large socio-
technical change
A ‘less restrictive view’ contemplates the role of social
practices embedded in the simultaneous generation of
‘traditional’ innovation outcomes (particularly
engaged with blue and green clusters): products,
services, organizational methods/models, marketing…
WHAT SOCIAL INNOVATION IS?

17. WHAT SOCIAL INNOVATION IS?
‘Shaken but not stirred’ narratives:
a) according to the type of actors and sectors involved,
being a requisite the participation of civil society
actors (as initiators, users or co-creators), but also
including cross-sector partnerships and within the
public and business sectors)
b) as ‘the place’ attributed to change in social practices
and their interaction with technology among the
three red, green and blue clusters: Processes of social
change, Sustainable Development and the Services
sector

18. CROSS-SECTORAL SOCIAL INNOVATION
diversification of SI ‘discourses’
emergence of hybrid forms of SI…and organizational forms
(fablabs, living labs, hubs, social accelerators & incubators…)
PRESENT FUTURE TRENDS

19. SOCIAL
INNOVATION
BLUE
economy
GREEN
economy
GIG
economy
DIGITAL
economy
SHARING/
COLLABORATIVE
economy
CIRCULAR
economy
SOCIAL
economy
SILVER
economy
Services
economy
(other)

20. normative and ‘transformative’ in ‘T’, ‘S’ & ‘C’
Institutions & Institutional change
Technology
Governance
Society
Culture

21. The concept of SI is embedded in the long
story of narratives about the (multi)
planetary crisis and our common future
Environmental
concerns
bla bla bla
Sustainable
Development
bla bla bla
Grand challenges
& Planetary
boundaries
bla bla bla
The future
is/’must be’
‘lean’
2012
Mentions both
technological and social
innovation
Social change: The challenge to
survival (Fairweather, 1972)
Social innovation in public
services & creation of ESI Centers
(first ‘living labs’)
Oslo Manual, 1992 …2005

22. THE BIG QUESTION
HOW ARE
WE ENVISIONING
AND CREATING
THE FUTURE WE
WANT?

23. Schumpeter and ‘the gale of creative destruction’ … A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000
How do we see our future?

24. https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/france-in-the-year-2000-1899-1910/

25. A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000

26. A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000

27. A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000

28. A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000

29. Thanks!!
@mnicaEdwards