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Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
1
Shaping Social Innovation by Social Research
Challenge Social Innovation
Parallel Session 2.5: Social sciences and social innovation
20th September 2011
Prof. Dr. Jürgen HowaldtSozialforschungsstelle Dortmund – TU Dortmund
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
2
My Topics
I want to
outline the main characteristics of a sociologically enlightened new paradigm of innovation
touch upon the increasing relevance of social innovation as important part of the new innovation paradigm
provide a definition of social innovation
draft the possible new role of social sciences
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
3
Basic assumption
Transition from an industrial to a knowledge and services-based society corresponds to a paradigm shift of the innovation system.
This paradigm shift also implies an increasing importance of social innovation as compared to technological innovation.
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
4
Main characteristics
Co-ordination and mediation between different groups of stakeholders 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”
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
5
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.
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
6
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
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
7
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/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
8
Areas of social innovation
civil society: the increase in the significance of cohabitation or the environmental movement
state action: the introduction of social security and national insurance
business world: the advent of assembly line work, knowledge management and fast food chains
(cf. Gillwald 2000)
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
9
In recent years, social science research has contributed largely to developing the social preconditions for innovations and the social character of innovation processes.
The social sciences have analysed the innovation process.
But the question regarding their contribution to the development and organization of innovations remains open.
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
10
Division of Labor
"Natural and engineering sciences are different than social sciences and the arts primarily in that the former produce innovations or the prerequisites for innovations while the latter reflects on the emergence, the implementation and the success of innovation or also seek to explain the process”
(Blättel-Mink 2006, 31).
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
11
Zapf emphasizes that it is precisely the application-oriented "tools for making decisions [delivered by the social sciences] – forecasts, incremental planning, social experiments, evaluation, practices for mobilization and motivation – (…) that [can] indeed enhance the ability of modern societies to solve problems and direct themselves" (Ibid.: 183).
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
12
Potential contributions the social sciences can make to social innovation:
Decision-making help (survey research, personality tests, advisors risks and technology repercussions, human resources planning, etc.)
Sources of social technologies (quality compass, co- determination model, group therapy)
Approaches for general theory in order to better understand innovation and productivity
(Zapf 1989: 182 et seq.)
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
13
The core competence of the social sciences in innovation activities lies in the shaping of social contexts in which
the exchange of knowledge circulates between problem-solvers, experts, key users and the users of various sub-systems in society,
and learning processes can be initiated
(cf. Gustavsen 2005)
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
14
Social Innovation is to be
"regarded as the interface point between sociological reflection and social action as it requires reflecting on social problems and intentional action."
Kesselring and Leitner (2008, p. 14 et seq.)
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
15
Main characteristics of research projects
Orientation towards being useful by solving specific practical problems
Problem development and definition as a process of consensus building and negotiation
Problem solving and knowledge production in the framework of cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional networks
New approaches, methods and tools of working
Multi-dimensional criteria of evaluation
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
16
“More than a few social scientists believe that a stronger emphasis on application and innovation would give their discipline a better status, better career opportunities and greater relevance.”
(Zapf 1989)
Howaldt/Wien September 2011
Sozialforschungsstelle DortmundCentral Scientific Institute
17
Social Innovation: Concepts, Research Fields and International TrendsStudies for Innovation in a Modern Working Environment 5
Jürgen Howaldt/Michael Schwarz