across different case studies and social innovation initiatives.” A social innovation project may be initially rooted in a local area, but technology can help to heighten awareness of its impact, potentially then inspiring people in other areas to establish similar initiatives. This point of how a social innovation is perceived by wider society, and whether it is then taken up by other actors, is an important aspect of the project’s research. “Is that social innovation diffused into society, is it widely accepted? Does it lead to the establishment of new institutions that help us to deal with those challenges? SI-DRIVE is looking at the impact of social innovation initiatives in terms of social change,” says Howaldt. Researchers adopt an objective perspective in this regard, looking at the full impact of social innovation, not just the positive effects. “From a scientific and research perspective we always try to understand not only the positive outcomes of a social innovation, but also the possible negative repercussions of such developments. It’s very difficult to say if a specific social innovation is intrinsically ‘good’,” explains Kaletka. An example could be a social innovation organising the re-distribution of excess food from restaurants and supermarkets to the homeless for example. While this has positive
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social effects, bringing food to people in need and helping to allocate resources more efficiently, it may also lead to some level of disruption for others. “Some actors might be negatively affected. For example, those who maybe previously found work in generating energy out of food waste,” points out Kaletka. These different perspectives need to be considered in terms of understanding the impact of social innovation, and also the
whether it is part of a wider eco-system, with links to other stakeholders. Many NGOs and not-for-profit organisations are involved in social innovation initiatives, along with other actors. “When considering solutions to a social challenge, it is very important that there is a kind of social innovation eco-system, integrating all the relevant stakeholders from different sectors and areas. For instance, it could be relevant to integrate the church, the
When considering solutions to a social challenge, it is very important that there is a kind of social innovation eco-system, integrating all the relevant stakeholders from
different sectors and areas potential for these types of initiatives to be replicated elsewhere and contribute to wider social change. “An important question is whether an initiative or idea is sustainable. Could it be replicated or diffused to other regions? Or at least, if it has been implemented in this specific city, has it been successful? Has it been maintained over a longer period? So the sustainability question is very important,” stresses Kaletka. This may be affected by the organisation of the specific social innovation initiative and
public administration, local businesses and other civil society actors to address a problem in a common and sustainable way,” says Schröder. Analysis of social innovations shows that research institutes and universities are major players in a relatively small proportion of cases, a finding which surprised Howaldt. “Universities and research institutes played an important role in less than percent of the initiatives that we analysed,” he says. “I think there is undeveloped potential in social innovation.”
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