A new innovation paradigm is needed to answer the societal, economic and environmental challenges the world and companies are facing. The EU funded Horizon 2020 SPIRE Project “Coordinating Optimisation of Complex Industrial Processes” (COCOP) is combining technological and social innovation within a steel company pilot case (Sidenor). The project aims at reducing raw materials consumption (and energy and emissions reduction as well) by plant-wide optimisation of production processes based on a software solution and at the same time changing social practices. Key for COCOP is a methodology integrating technological innovation within a social innovation process of co-creation and co-development by involving (potential) users of the future software system and relevant stakeholders right from the beginning; thereby improving effectiveness and impact of the innovations and the implementation process. This involvement is instructed and measured by social key performance indicators (social KPIs) and operationalised in surveys (questionnaire and interviews) with future users, engineers and external experts (from different industry sectors not involved in the project). The article presents the results of the starting point of COCOP illustrating the future user perspective of the pilot steel company (Sidenor) contrasted by the view of external experts – seriously taking into account the interfaces between technology, human and organisation.

The sociotechnical systems approach and theory (STS) helps to deal with today's rapid digital transformations in designing best suitable work, organisations and jobs. Not surprisingly, related approaches based on STS assumptions, such as modern sociotechnical thinking (MST) and workplace innovation (WPI) theory, are rapidly developing in Europe. Yet, research and (theoretical) analyses that place STS in today's digital industry challenges and WPI are sparse. The basics of sociotechnical concepts and new research, needs and perspectives for further development of STS in today's context need to be explored. Therefore, against the background of empirical experiences in

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The sociotechnical systems approach and theory (STS) helps to deal with today's rapid digital transformations in designing best suitable work, organisations and jobs. Not surprisingly, related approaches based on STS assumptions, such as modern sociotechnical thinking (MST) and workplace innovation (WPI) theory, are rapidly developing in Europe. Yet, research and (theoretical) analyses that place STS in today's digital industry challenges and WPI are sparse. The basics of sociotechnical concepts and new research, needs and perspectives for further development of STS in today's context need to be explored. Therefore, against the background of empirical experiences in

New digital solutions are often lacking integration and acceptance by potential users. Therefore, only a small amount of innovative software solutions is really in use. The article describes a co-creation process by integrating end-users and relevant stakeholders right in the beginning in a social innovation process. Within this process, technology is seen as an enabler of innovation getting its relevance from new social practices of the people using it (e.g. working practices). Against the background of EU funded projects conducted by the authors (GT-VET, GREEN STAR, COCOP, and ROBOHARSH) the relevance of mutual learning processes of engineers / researchers / trainers on the one side and end-users / beneficiaries / learners on the other side will become evident. Moreover, new (digital and analogue) skills of employees have been identified as key for a successful digital transformation. Thereby, this article shows a twofold perspective on social innovation in education: new skills demands for employees and mutual learning processes of developers and users/stakeholders. To obtain needed skills, traditional innovation practices have to be changed by setting up a social innovation process. Such a process design has to include stakeholder and user involvement beyond pure feedback on a new technology. Co-creation means that experience, knowledge and ideas of users will be considered to ensure high usability and impact of the new technology framed by organisational and people related measures. In this respect, the innovation process and the innovation itself is much more than technological functionality–it is a contribution to new social practices and performances of the people that innovate and use the technology.