About social innovation

Research field:
Active and healthy ageing as an asset
< Social Innovations Database

Social innovation is an elusive concept that is subject to continuing academic debate and is often discussed and championed by policymakers and is an activity that practitioners in a wide variety of areas are engaged in, although many may not be fully aware that they are social innovators.

These social innovators can be in the public or private sector or in voluntary and community organisations in civil society who are in their different ways seeking to develop new ideas and solutions to social issues affecting people of all ages.

Core dimensions to social innovation

The academic debate on social innovation continues to develop but it is worthwhile to make a number of key points to provide some critical analysis of the ambiguous term. Gerometta and colleagues identified three core dimensions to social innovation:

The satisfaction of human needs (content dimension).
Changes in social relations especially with regard to governance (process dimension).
An increase in the socio-political capability and access to resources (empowerment dimension).

Consequently, social innovation is both a normative and analytical concept in the formation and analysis of developing solutions to social exclusion issues through institutional change, governance dynamics and empowerment (Gerometta et al., 2005: 2007.) In academic terms, social innovation refers to a broad and inter-disciplinary field of research concerned with the transformation of existing social relationships or the forging of new ones in order to allow people, especially disadvantaged social groups, to better satisfy their basic needs (Oosterlynck in Moulaert et al., 2010).

O’Sullivan, Mulgan and Vasconcelos noted that no society had yet ‘solved’ the challenges of ageing so there was no choice but to see older people not as a burden but as a valuable resource; it enables their contribution, seeing them as active participants and not passive consumers; and it focuses on capabilities as well as needs.

A focus on well-being

Underpinning all of this is a focus on improving the quality of life for older people, emphasising a shift away from an exclusive focus on health and pensions to a more holistic focus on well-being. This view is broadly consistent with the general approach taken to social innovation and active and healthy ageing by the MOPACT project: we need to encourage and evaluate social innovations that recognise that older people are a valuable resource.

Social innovation is more than simply developing new ideas and processes into projects that have a positive impact on issues. Moulaert and colleagues contend that social innovation involves the dynamics of social relations, including power relations, so it is about promoting social inclusion and an ethical position of social justice although this is subject to a variety of interpretations. It is important to acknowledge the importance of social, cultural, economic and political context in matters of social innovation as these factors strongly influence what social innovations can be attempted and to what extent they will succeed.

Policymakers taking action

Social innovation is a concept that has been of great interest to policymakers around the world. Shortly after taking office President Obama established the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation that sought to engage the federal government with the social sector to find new ways of solving problems in the public interest through support for creative solutions developed across the USA (White House, 2015). The European Commission under the presidency of Manuel Barroso has also been committed to supporting social innovation to develop “new ideas that work to address pressing unmet needs” (EC, 2010:9).

In terms of social innovation for policymakers the definition offered by the European Commission Guide to Social Innovation (EC, 2013) is useful as it acknowledges that there is no definite consensus about SI due to different social, economic, cultural and administrative traditions playing a role in interpretation while offering a recognisably coherent definition:

Social innovation can be defined as the development and implementation of new ideas (products, services and models) to meet social needs and create new social relationships or collaborations. It represents new responses to pressing social demands, which affect the process of social interactions. It is aimed at improving human well-being.

Social innovations are innovations that are social in both their ends and their means. They are innovations that are not only good for society but also enhance individuals’ capacity to act.

– European Commission Guide to Social Innovation (2013a: 6)

Whilst recognising that there can be linguistic nuances, this definition of social innovation has been used in the MOPACT project as it provides a core definition that has relevancy across the European Union. The European Commission Guide to Social Innovation also provides a useful checklist that includes the social need which is addressed, the tools and methods that are used and the innovative nature of the activities.

It also poses a series of questions that are worth considering when searching for social innovations:

Does the project address a usually untreated issue?
Does the project address these needs in a more effective way than other?
Is the project carried out through a novel cooperation or governance mechanism or with the participation of unusual actors?
What is the aim of the project?
What means are used to address these needs? Are the – human, financial, technical or administrative – resources ensured in a social way?
Is there a strong involvement of stakeholders and users?
Upscaling. Is the impact of the project or programme measured?
Are evidences used within the project or for the benefit of other projects?
Is there an up-scaling foreseen to regional, sector or national level?
Is sustainability ensured?

These questions informed the collection of data on social innovations.