Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Networks as Success Factor for Social Innovation

RESER Conference Bucharest Session on Social Innovation

21th September 2012

Jürgen Howaldt

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Basic assumption

The transition from an industrial to a knowledge and services-based society corresponds with a paradigm shift of the innovation system. This paradigm shift also implies an increasing importance of social innovation as compared to technological innovation.

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

“The tracks of international research on innovation demonstrate that the technology-oriented paradigm – shaped by the industrial society – does not cover the broad range of innovations indispensable in the transition from an industrial to a knowledge and services-based society: Such fundamental societal changes require the inclusion of social innovations in a paradigm shift of the innovation system.”

Vienna Declaration: The most relevant topics in social innovation research Howaldt/ Bucharest 2012 3

Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Main characteristics

 Co-ordination and mediation between various different groups of stakeholders who are involved in innovation activities  Interdisciplinarity, heterogeneity and reflectivity of the processes of creation  Emphasis on historical, cultural and organizational preconditions  Increased involvement of users/citizens in processes of “co-development”

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute Social Innovation moves from the margins to the mainstream At the start of 2009 President Obama announced the establishment of a new “Office for Social Innovation at the White House“ and allocated USD 50million to a fund for social innovation.

The Fund will focus on priority policy areas, including education, health care, and economic opportunity.

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Social Innovation

 a new combination or new configuration of social practices  in certain areas of action or social contexts  prompted by certain actors or constellations of actors  in an intentional targeted manner with the goal of better satisfying or answering needs and problems than is possible on the basis of established practices  socially accepted and diffused widely throughout society or in certain societal sub-areas  finally institutionalized as a new social practice

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

In this light innovation can be understood

“as a process of collective creation, in the course of which the members of a particular total population learn, i.e. invent and establish, new ways of playing the social game of collaboration and conflict, in a word a new social practice, and in the course of which they acquire the necessary … abilities to do this.” (Crozier/Friedberg 1993) Howaldt/ Bucharest 2012 7

Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Areas of social innovation

civil society: state action: the increase in the significance of cohabitation or the environmental movement the introduction of social security and national insurance business world: the advent of team work, knowledge management or new social services

(cf. Katrin Gillwald 2000) Howaldt/ Bucharest 2012 8

Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Research fields

    Management and Organizational Research Social Economy, CSR, Social Entrepreneur Creativity Research (Creative Industries) Local and Regional Development

(Moulaert et al. 2005)

  

Service Innovation/ Social Services

Sustainable Development/ Climate Change Social Innovation in a digital era (Enterprise 2.0; Society 2.0) (Howaldt/Schwarz 2010)

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute Social Innovation – Social Entrepreneurship

   An innovative, pragmatic and sustainable entrepeneurial activity for a significant, positive change in society Connection between entrepeneurial activity and social goals Multitude of global initiatives (e.g. Ashoka, Grameen Bank) and a barely clear number of regional initiatives http://www.businesspj.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/socialentrepreneurship.jpg

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute Social Innovation – Carsharing

   Common use of cars through the provision of vehicles in main areas Carsharing-organisation professionalized the traditional „driving communities“ In Germany there are around 110 carsharing-organisations with 158.000 customers http://www.carsharing-vergleich.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/carsharing münchen.jpg

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Focusing on social innovators as individuals?

“

Most social businesses are likely to originate with one person, or perhaps with a small group of people —friends, work colleagues, or people with a shared interest in a particular social problem.

Within such a small group, you may not have all the expertise, experience, ideas and resources needed to make your social business idea into a reality. Don’t let that stop you! Look around for others you can partner with.”

(Yunus, 2010: 79 –80) www.br-online.de

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

“It was the time when talented and energetic engineers could make enormous contributions and, for a while, they were the ‘superstars’ of their age.

Thereafter, mayor projects became increasingly complex and grew beyond the grasp of a single person.” (London, Science Museum)

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum.aspx

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Networks as Success Factor for Social Innovation

“Complex challenges demand complex solutions.” (Moore and Westley, 2010) Networks can be described as one of the most important features of the new innovation paradigm, a result of a profound transformation of the innovation process. (Howaldt and Schwarz, 2010)

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Howaldt/ Bucharest 2012

A New Nature of Innovation” (OECD 2010)

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Why networks?

 Typical incentives and

advantages of network co-operation

   better information larger resources a higher status  What is special about

innovation

networks (Powell and Grodal, 2005) ?

  -||- etc.

But: better information is even more important as knowledge is crucial for innovation

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Types of networks

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Why Social Innovation Networks?

Cross-sector collaborations “Increasingly, innovation blossoms where the sectors converge. At these intersections, the exchanges of ideas and values, shifts in roles and relationships, and the integration of private capital with public and philanthropic support generate new and better approaches to creating social value. To support cross-sector collaborations we have to examine policies and practices that impede the flow of ideas, values, capital, and talent across sector boundaries and constrain the roles and relationships among the sectors.”

(Phills et al., 2008: 43)

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

      Combine the potential of social innovation in the social economy, civil society, business firms and the state (Multi-level governance) Promote alliances between universities, companies and the state around social innovation Opening the process of innovation to society including all stakeholders in the development and diffusion of innovation Empowering people: Include citizens, clients, social movements, communities in the process of social innovation Innovation „bottom up“: learning from experiences of innovation research and business and public service innovation Ameliorate the conditions of participation and self-management in social innovations aimed at overcoming poverty and pauperisation

Vienna Declaration: The most relevant topics in social innovation research

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Why Social Innovation Networks?

One critical question is “whether and how networks can help facilitate innovations to broad the seemingly insurmountable chasms that separate local solutions from broad system transformation: that is, how they help innovations to “cross scales”.

(Moore and Westley, 2011)

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Institutional Entrepreneurs in Social Innovation Networks    “One type of entrepreneurship may be the

inventor

of a novel norm, idea, or product (sometimes called the

social entrepreneur

).” “A second type is the

institutional entrepreneur

, whose job it is to

manage the context

, complex as it is, in such a way that the innovation has a chance to flourish, widening the circle of its impact.” “An institutional entrepreneur, therefore, not only introduces a certain innovation but also works to

change the broader context

so that the innovation has widespread appeal and impact.” (Moore and Westley, 2011)

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Institutional Entrepreneurs in Social Innovation Networks

Institutional entrepreneurs are key agents in effective social networks and rely on a “complex skill set”, which “enables them to recognize which types of relationships within the network are crucial at specific times and to mobilize those relationships in order for innovations to cross scales. In some cases, this means skillfully establishing strong bonds and weak links, where appropriate, as well as understanding the content of those relationships and whether the connections provide specific resources (information, financial support, access to new ideas) and ways to leverage those resources”.

(Moore and Westley, 2011)

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Institutional Entrepreneurs in Social Innovation Networks Findings by Moore and Westley (2011) indicate that some of the key entrepreneurial skills are:    

pattern generation

(recognizing “the patterns causing a rigidity trap” e.g. efforts “to change cultural, economic, and policy institutions”)

relationship building and brokering

(“working to ensure the purpose of a formal structure is replaced by the mission of an informal group”)

knowledge and resource brokering

(“ability to understand specialized knowledge and reframe the discourse about the subject so as to make it comprehensible, accessible, and engaging for others, particularly decision makers”)

network recharging

(being “the visionary leaders who give form and direction to the network and its mission”)

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Social Innovation Networks in different areas        Social Services in general Health Care Services for Elderly and Dependent Persons Modernization of Education Systems (LLL) Social Integration and Equal Opportunities Clean Technologies Sustainable Development Climate Change http://1.bp.blogspot.com

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Social Innovation Networks – Climate Change    developing a regional strategy for adapting to the consequences of climate change platform for collaboration and dialogue as well as think tank, knowledge repository and expert partner for the region applying a 2020 roadmap, the region expects to receive the support it needs to proactively anticipate and respond to the challenges of climate change

“social-science-driven” cross-sector collaboration and fertilization Howaldt/ Bucharest 2012 25

Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Relevance of Social Innovation Networks in scientific debate and for policy-making   focusing on the single person of the social innovator does not cope with the reality of innovation processes, often characterized by multiple interactions and a systemic nature this perspective may raise false expectations regarding successful social innovations: if societies should benefit from social innovations, promotion and consultancy in this field should hardly concentrate on extraordinary personalities, but rather on systemic approaches with various actors involved (Howaldt, Domanski and Schwarz, 2011)

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Conclusion

“The world needs more social innovation - and so all who aspire to solve the world’s most vexing problems entrepreneurs, leaders, managers, activists, and change agents - regardless of whether they come from the world of business, government, or nonprofits, must shed old patterns of isolation, paternalism, and antagonism and strive to understand, embrace, and leverage cross-sector dynamics to find new ways of creating social value.

” (Phills et al. 2008)

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Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund Central Scientific Institute

Howaldt/ Bucharest 2012

Social Innovation: Concepts, Research Fields and International Trends

Studies for Innovation in a Modern Working Environment 5 Jürgen Howaldt/Michael Schwarz

www.sfs-dortmund.de

[email protected]

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