New Frontiers in Social Innovation Research

This book is open access under a CC BY license. Interest in social innovation continues to rise, from governments setting up social innovation 'labs' to large corporations developing social innovation strategies. Yet theory lags behind practice, and this hampers our ability to understand social innovation and make the most of its potential. This collection brings together work by leading social innovation researchers globally, exploring the practice and process of researching social innovation, its nature and effects. Combining theoretical chapters and empirical studies, it shows how social innovation is blurring traditional boundaries between the market, the state and civil society, thereby developing new forms of services, relationships and collaborations. It takes a critical perspective, analyzing potential downsides of social innovation that often remain unexplored or are glossed over, yet concludes with a powerful vision of the potential for social innovation to transform society. It aims to be a valuable resource for students and researchers, as well as policymakers and others supporting and leading social innovation.

Geoff Mulgan, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), UK Jürgen Howaldt, TU Dortmund University, Germany Ralf Kopp, TU Dortmund University, Germany Michael Schwarz, Freelancer, Germany Katharine McGowan, University of Waterloo, Canada Frances Westley, University of Waterloo, Canada Marie J. Bouchard, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada Catherine Trudelle, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada Louise Briand, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Canada Juan-Luis Klein, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada Benoit Lévesque, Université du Québec à Montréal and École nationale d'administration publique, Canada David Longtin, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada Mathieu Pelletier, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada Jane Jenson, Université de Montréal, Canada Adalbert Evers, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen/Universität Heidelberg, Germany Benjamin Ewert, University Hospital Bonn, Germany Carla Cipolla, Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS) Lab / UFRJ - Coppe, Brazil Patricia Melo, Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS) Lab / UFRJ - Coppe, Brazil Ezio Manzini, Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS) Network, Italy Eva Sørensen, Roskilde University, Denmark Jacob Torfing, Roskilde University, Denmark Jungwon Kim, Spreadi, UK Sojung Rim, Spreadi, UK Ahyoung Park, Cdot (C.), South Korea Sunkyung Han, Cdot (C.), South Korea Ola Tjornbo, University of Waterloo, Canada Lina Sonne, Okapi, India Roberto Mangabeira Unger, Harvard Law School, United States