What is the best way of implementing social innovation? A practical investigation

Abstract

Social innovation is currently one of the leading drivers for social change. It is well established that the success of social innovation is an essential part of pushing our society forward into greater resilience. This study aims to determine the best way of implementing social innovation. Specifically, it investigates whether the established theory up to this point and a proposed hypothesis based on that theory can be backed up by the experience of working social innovation projects. In this context, social innovation projects are defined by being projects that implement social innovation in any of the forms that it can take.

To test the various theories and hypotheses and see what factors should be taken into consideration for the implementation, a series of predetermined questions were asked to social innovation projects. Candidates were given the opportunity of answering through a face-to-face interview or via an online questionnaire. Out of 15 selected projects, answers were collected from Venvirotech, Ampros, Helpsy and Solar Ear. These responses were later analysed by dividing the answers into their 5 different categories based on the theoretical framework. However, the results obtained differed from what was expected, and it could therefore be seen that a part of the theory and the hypothesis did not align with reality.

These results suggest that establishing a concrete methodology on implementing social innovation is not only difficult but counterintuitive. Nevertheless, there are key factors and steps that will ensure projects are moving in the right direction. Based on this, social innovation projects should ideally take into account the key factors and steps mentioned in this paper and tailor each to suit their own implementation.