The Dictatorship of No Alternative

Abstract

Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland has become increasingly recognized as a leader in the field of social innovation for its pioneering work in embedding international social innovation networks in universities. The Southeast Asian Social Innovation Network (SEASIN) (http://www.seasin-eu.org/) has been established between eight higher education institutions (HEIs) in Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Cambodia along with four non-HEI social innovation organizations and three European universities. The approach argues that universities should support social innovation in a systematic way beyond ad hoc initiatives and sporadic activism. All these projects seek to demonstrate the potential of universities to use their knowledge by developing new paradigms and tools for targeted exchange between actors from all societal sectors. At the same time, they have demonstrated how universities can learn from other organizations with more experience in supporting social innovation.