Linking Social Innovation and
Smart Specialisation
FP7 SmartSpec Project, Learning Journey Workshop,
Ljubljana, 29-30, September 2014
Ranald Richardson, Pedro Marques, and Kevin Morgan
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh
Framework Programme for research, technological development and
demonstration under grant agreement number 320131.
SmartSpec
Presentation Structure
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Introduction: Key objectives of WP2
The (fuzzy) concept of Social innovation
Linking Social Innovation and Smart Specialisation
The Societal Challenge approach
Potential limitations of societal challenge approach
Open discussion: other approaches
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WP2 Key Objectives
 To explore the conceptual links between S3 and social innovation
 To identify how social innovation can contribute to S3 strategies focusing in
particular on:
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The role of public service innovation around RIS
The involvement of users and citizens in processes of design and decision
The role of social enterprises as sources of social innovation
 We look at these issues through the lens of the ageing societal challenge
combining conceptual and empirical approaches
 Our core deliverables are academic papers but we seek to contribute to
directly to policy thinking
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So what is Social Innovation?
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“An idea longing for a theory….no consensus regarding its relevance or specific meaning…
lacking in clarity…. ‘a Babel-like terminological confusion’” (Pol & Ville, 2009; Moulaert, et al, 2013;Oosterlynk,
2013)
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A ‘quasi-concept’ whose utility lies in grouping researchers and policymakers around a set of
issues and concerns to generate social knowledge of value to both” (Jensen and Harrison, 2013)
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BEPA’s 3 broad ‘interdependent’ categories (BEPA, 2011)
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grass roots: social innovation for unmet social demands
societal challenges: where ‘social’ and ‘economic’ boundaries blur in order to better meet society
wide problems
systemic: fundamental changes in attitudes, values, strategies, policies, organisational structures and
processes, delivery systems and services…re-shaping society itself
 Our view: SI is context dependent - Our Context is S3
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Social innovations as processes and
outcomes
 “Social innovations are innovations that are social in both their
ends and their means…new ideas (products, services and
models) that simultaneously meet social needs (more effectively
than alternatives) and create new social relationships or
collaborations.
 The process of social interactions between individuals
undertaken to reach certain outcomes is participative, involves a
number of actors and stakeholders who have a vested interest in
solving a social problem, and empowers the beneficiaries. It is in
itself an outcome as it produces social capital” (BEPA, 2010: 9-10,
italics added)
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‘Disconnects’ between RIS and SI
RIS
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Social Innovation
Economic goals
Economic-industrial policy
Market values
Separate
Wealth creation
multiEfficient socio-economic
territorial
arrangements
governance
Technology biased
silos
European model of capitalism
Established regional strategy role
Fragmented communities of
regional economic development
practice
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Social goals
Social policy
Social values
Resource redistribution
Just socio-economic
arrangements
Critical of technology bias
Anti/post/operating-in-theinterstices of capitalism
Limited regional strategy role
Fragmented communities of
social development practice
Emerging Models of Social and
Economic Collaboration
Triple Helix + users model
Firm-centred LL model
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Emerging Models of Social and
Economic Collaboration
Citizen centred QH model
Public-sector-centred LL
model
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SI and the Four Cs
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1.
The Four Cs
Choices: the selection of a few investment
priorities based on a process of
entrepreneurial discovery to identify
promising areas of specialisation
2.
Competitive advantage: building on current
economic specialisation and mobilising
talent by matching RTD+I with business
needs and capacities
3.
Critical mass: developing world class
excellence clusters and providing arenas for
related variety and cross-sectoral links which
drive specialised technological
diversification
4.
Collaborative Leadership: collective
endeavour involving the academic world,
public authorities, business and innovation
users
 Can SI contribute to Four Cs?
 Bring different values to
motivate action
 Extend domains of
entrepreneurial discovery
 Help move S3 beyond STI or at
least complement STI bias
 Enhance process and expand
collective endeavour to underpin
S3
 Can S3 contribute to SI?
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Focus on Societal Challenges
 Societal challenges where
‘social’ and ‘economic’
boundaries blur in order
better to meet society
wide problems
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Why choose ‘societal challenge’ (SC)
Why focus on societal
challenges?
 Global policy buy-in to ‘challenge’
approach – OECD, WEF, etc.
 €30bn Horizon 2020 for SC
 S3 strategies can… be a powerful
instrument to tackle (societal)
challenges (CEC, 2013)
 Challenge perspective should be
included in regional strategies
 Early research indicates many
regions adopting SC approach
 Most promising space for empirics
EU Grand Challenges
 Health, demographic change and
wellbeing
 Food security, sustainable agriculture,
marine and maritime research, and the
bio-economy
 Secure, clean and efficient energy
 Smart, green and integrated transport
 Inclusive, innovative and secure
societies
 Climate action, resource efficiency and
raw materials
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The Ageing Challenge and Opportunity
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Ageing society as a challenge and an opportunity
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“Ageing isn’t a problem, but a source of innovation and growth” (Nellie Kroes)
Markets innovations
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Innovation of new products and services
Innovative approaches to ageing consumers and citizens
Public service innovations
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More cost effectively delivering public services
Planning and delivering public services
New sources of public service delivery
New sources of innovation funding
New sources of labour requiring labour market innovations
‘New’ sources of entrepreneurship: private , social and third sectors
Direct contribution to innovation processes “the wisdom economy”
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Smart Spatial Specialisation (S3)
 S3 has a dual territorial logic
 At the European level S3 is about overcoming
duplication, creating greater collaboration and a more
diverse innovation system
 At the (national) regional level it is about specialisation
for competitive advantage around existing or credibly
realisable excellence
 European strength through diversity based on local
‘particularism’
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Societal Challenge Innovation at the Europe Level:
Health and Care Initiatives
(Boekholt, 2013)
European Innovation
Partnership AHA
Organisational change
Cultural change
Prevention
chronic
diseases
Personalised
medicines
Social
interaction of
elderly people
Assisted daily
living
Integrated
care systems
Bio Markers
User
Distant
patient
Empowerment
monitoring
Self
management
of daily life
Independent
living
Early
Diagnosis
Training
Interoperationability
for e Health
EU legislation cross
border healthcare
Health for Growth
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Service
integration
Innovation and the Ageing challenge
Built-in technological bias?
Policies and initiatives
Technology Innovation and Ageing
Societal Challenge
Demographic Change Grand Challenge
Digital Agenda for Europe: Ageing
Societal Challenge (DG Connect)
Horizon 2020: Health, Demographic
Change and Wellbeing
European Institute for Technology (EIT):
Innovation for Healthy Active Ageing
Thematic Field and KICs Call
European Year of Active Ageing
European eHealth Forum: Technology
for Health, Ageing and Economic
Growth (DG SANCO)
EIP on Active Healthy Ageing
Ambient Assisted Living JP
JIP on Demographic Change
EJIP on Demographic Change:
Technologies for Living
Partnerships for Robots in Europe
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(Health Care and Human Robotic
Regional market response strategy
2011)
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(EURADA,
But S3 requires specialisation
Adapted
from Lower
Saxony
Region RIS3
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S3 and Ageing Challenge: Supporting
Alternative Innovation Domains?
Home region as test
market, innovation
test-bed, and a
collective
innovation
environment for SC
technologies, with
extra-regional
collaboration and
market search
SI as ‘handmaiden’
of economic
growth?
ICT
Built
environment
Medical & Life
Sciences
Transport
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S3 and Ageing Challenge: Supporting
Alternative Innovation Domains?
Also
use
technology
innovation
as
catalyst for SI in
home
region,
through
PPPPs,
culture and org
change,
new
training regimes ,
etc.
Or focus on nontechnology
innovation, e.g.,
developing new
services process
consultancy
ICT
Built
environment
Medical & Life
Sciences
Transport
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All regions face societal challenges,
but is it an opportunity for all?
 A number of ‘challenges’:
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The Capacity Challenge
The Prioritization Challenge
The Stakeholder Engagement Challenge
The ‘Policy Mix’ Challenge
The Multi-level Governance Challenge
The Cross-border Challenge
The Smart (Evidence-based) Policy Making Challenge
The Policy Capacity Challenge
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Some examples
 Capacity Challenge
 Lack of private sector capacity in Societal Challenge
theme(s) and of related variety proximity
 Lack of critical mass to prioritize potential
 Little regional power or responsibility
 Prioritization challenge
 Lack of integrated (social-economic) networks - missing
actors in entrepreneurial search process
 The ‘tyranny’ of traditional priorities
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Some examples
 The Stakeholder Challenge
 Interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, intra-organisational silos
 Engaging civic organisations and users meaningfully and for long-term
 Engaging public sector for innovative solutions in an era of austerity
 Policy-mix Challenge
 Integrating policymakers
 Integrating funding streams
 Multi-level governance Challenge
 Vertical and horizontal alignment
 Policy and responsibility split between social and economic
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 The Cross-border collaboration challenge
 Difficult to design cross-border innovation strategies multiplied
in context of national social strategies
 Social policy actors tend to be concerned with their ‘own
backyard’
 The Smart Policy Making Challenge - evidence
 Does social or economic have priority
 Can you measure both
 Social indicators and metrics underdeveloped
 Policy Capacity Challenge
 Can regions create the competencies mix and formal and
informal new structures required?
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