CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL INNOVATION

AND SOCIAL POLICY EXPERIMENTATION

European Commission

DG EMPLOYMENT

Brussels, Crown Plaza Hotel

26 November, 2012

Elements of a Social Innovation Strategy for the EU

Josef Hochgerner

Zentrum für Soziale Innovation

Social change, development,

crisis and ‚Grand Challenges‘:

Resources and solutionsEvolution

of Brains

Innovative

Technologies

Why SOCIAL Innovation ?

Social Innovations

>> Cultural EvolutionCollaborative intelligence & intelligent collaboration

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Innovations embedded in social change

Acceleration ‚speed kills‘

Pressures

„Work-Life Balance“

Work-load

Weak ties in social relations: ‚Flexibility‘

Standardisation

‚Social innovations are new practices

for resolving societal challenges,

which are adopted and utilized

by the individuals, social groups and organizations concerned.‘

An analytical definition of „Social Innovation“ *)

*) Zentrum für Soziale Innovation, 2012:

„All innovations are socially relevant“

ZSI-Discussion Paper 13, p. 2, ... with reference to Schumpeter: They are

»New combinations of social practices«

Distinction between idea and implementation: an idea becomes an innovationin the process of social implementation – it changes and improves social practices

Theoretical considerations

The „4-i process“:

– Ideation >> What‘s the issue, what could be the solution?

– Intervention >> Conceptualisation, find methods and allies

– Implementation >> Overcoming resistance, stakeholders, life cycle!

– Impact >> Not necessarily ‚good‘, nor for the whole of society

Ideation Intervention Implementation Impact

The making of social innovation

Three perspectives to analyse objectives and impact:

� the „social demand“ perspective,

� the „societal challenges“ perspective, and

� the „systemic change“ perspective.

Agnès Hubert et al. (BEPA – Bureau of European Policy Advisors)

„Empowering people – driving change. Social Innovation in the European Union.“http://ec.europa.eu/bepa/pdf/publications_pdf/social_innovation.pdf

Elements of a European Union Strategy 1: Topical areas

Social demand perspective:

• Employment – EU2020: „75% of the workforce“ –

- Immediate issue: YOUTH unemployment!→ support programmes country by country► EU Budget, structural funds ?

• Education – EU2020: „Reducing school drop-out rates below 10% and

enabling 40% of age cohorts to complete third level education“ –

- Inter-generational learning, flexible schooling, training and re-training

• Social Services – EU2020: „Reducing the number of people in or at risk of

Poverty and Social Exclusion by 20 million“–

- MDG (Millennium Development Goals)

- Social innovation programmes for social service providers, national and

European levels: Analysis, objectives, measures, implementation, assessment

Objectives in critical sectors of social development (1)

Societal challenges perspective:

• Ageing –

- Co-ordination of policies (social, economic and education policies) for all

generations

- Reform of pension systems: consider birth rights, prevention and participation

instead of insurances

• Migration – integration – diversity:

- Balancing within the European Union, inclusion policies combined with

focused re-structuring of 3rd-country support measures

• Climate change –

- Focal points in ERDF, ESF, Cohesion Fund, DG ENV, DG REGIO ...

- Key issues are awareness, analysis, adaptation

Objectives in critical sectors of social development (2)

Elements of a European Union Strategy 2: Topical areas

Systemic change perspective – new priorities, innovation culture,

and changing frames of reference:

• Financialisation – (‚the problem behind the problems‘, F.-J. Radermacher):

- „Financialization“ is a „pattern of accumulation in which profit making occurs

increasingly through financial channels rather than through trade and commodity

production“ (Krippner, Greta, 2004: ‘What is Financialization?’; mimeo, UCLA Dpmt. of Sociology, p. 14.)

- It leads to depletion of productive economic resources due to financialisation

►Perhaps the most needed social innovation of the 21st century:

‚Management of abundance‘ Stop & reverse financialisation for SMART GROWTH

► Consider forms of money circulation without interest and compound interest (as

applied in cases of ‚regional currencies‘ and historic examples)

• Energy and resources – „20% less greenhouse gas emissions, 20% increase in

energy efficiency, 20% of energy from renewable resources“ –

- Energy for all, distributed/shared innovations, prevention of lock-in situations: cf.„The Hartwell Paper“, 2010: www2.lse.ac.uk/researchAndExpertise/units/mackinder/theHartwellPaper/Home.aspx

• Democracy / solidarity – what future to the EU: Federal state, trans-national entity,

relapse into rising nationalism and dissolution? Institutions and inclusion of citizens

Elements of a European Union Strategy 3: Topical areas (3)

Innovating innovation by research – 100 years

after Schumpeter * Vienna, Sept. 19-21, 2011

www.socialinnovation2011.eu

What is required from social science to meet the high expectations in social innovation?

• Elaboration on the particular features of the concept and definition

• Embedding the concept of social innovation in a comprehensive theory of innovation

• Development of coherent methodologies to identify and measure social innovations

Prioritised research topics (14 selected out of 56 by conference participants) → next slide

Elements of a European Union Strategy 4: Research (1)

The potential of SI

Competencies

of SSH

Measuring,

indicators

Value creation

ec/env/soc Processes of

co-operation

Workplace

innovation

Innovation

in services

Social media &

communication

Inclusion &

integrationPartic. combat

of poverty

LLL & socially

active ageing

Educ. impact on

quality of life

Civil

Society

Business, firms,

soc. entr.

Key issues in science and research on social innovationTopical research areas according to the Vienna Declaration

Public

sector

Elements of a European Union Strategy 5: Research (2)

Elements of a European Union Strategy 6: Support

• Research and education: EU2020 on RTDI: 3% of GDP, Horizon2020,

Structural Funds ... plus:• Establish the „European School of Social Innovation“ to boost research, education and training

• Initial elements in place:

• European School of Social Innovation (ESSI) – AT, DE, ES

• Course of study „M.A. in Social Innovation“Danube University Krems (AT), in collaboration with ZSIwww.donau-uni.ac.at/masi

• Promotion and awareness raising:• Continuation of www.socialinnovationeurope.eu

• Roadshow through Member States

• Network of „European Social Innovation Cities“ (initial core: Tilburg, Bilbao, Dortmund, Vienna)

• Awards and Prize competitions for social innovations (examples www.sozialmarie.org [rewarding] and

European Social Innovation Competition [initiating], http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/social-innovation/competition/index_en.htm)

• Direct funding and earmarked financial support to social innovation projects:• Incubators for social innovation and start-up social enterprises

• Development of programmes to initiate and manage socially innovative regions

• Support learning from each other across Europe (evaluation and assessment of cases ...)

Instruments with potentially major impact:

NEW – starting 2012 -2013

»The first academic educationof social innovators«

Prof. Dr. Josef Hochgerner

Centre for Social Innovation

Linke Wienzeile 246

A - 1150 Vienna

Tel. ++43.1.4950442

Fax. ++43.1.4950442-40

email: hochgerner@zsi.at

http://www.zsi.at

Thank you for your attention ☺