Co-delivery of social innovations: exploring the university’s role in academic engagement with society

The Role of Social and Institutional Contexts in Social Innovations of Spanish Academic Spinoffs

“…Two key figures of social innovation can be derived from these definitions. First, social innovations originate from the intention to meet a social need or to try to solve a social problem, promoting social progress and prosperity [5,36,37]. Second, social innovations are diffused by organizations with a social purpose and tend to be located in the so-called "third sector", which consists of nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations [38].…”

“…Within academic entrepreneurship literature, recent studies are emphasizing the relevant role that universities may have in developing and promoting mechanisms that support the creation and development of social innovation and sustainable entrepreneurship [3][4][5][6][7]37]. In line with this argument, Tiemann et al [46] argued that universities have internalized a third central role aimed at developing and supporting innovations oriented towards social challenges.…”

“…Therefore, understanding the factors that facilitate the transfer of ASOs' scientific knowledge into practical applications with a significant positive impact on society constitutes the key for reaping the benefits from public investments in scientific research. Indeed, accordingly, universities are increasingly aware of the need to include aspects related to sustainability in their training plans in order to educate future social entrepreneurs, which is reflected in their strategic plans' priority areas related to corporate social responsibility and financing the creation of firms aimed at developing social innovations [37]. Moreover, universities are providing appropriate systems and infrastructures to guide academic entrepreneurs toward the commercialization of science and technology from a social and sustainable perspective [46].…”

Applying Strategic Niche Management to understand how universities contribute to the development of social innovation niches: the case of the Social Innovation Scientific Park in Colombia

“…The term 'social innovation' (Si) has gained momentum over the last decade, and it is very popular among policy makers, academics and practitioners (Cajaiba-Santana, 2014). Si can be defined as a novel activity or organisational mode that is not, or at least not primarily, motivated by earning profits for individuals but is primarily intended to address complex societal challenges (Pol and ville, 2009;McKelvey and zaring, 2017).…”

“…a study by Salter and Martin (2001) identified six major mechanisms by which Heis can help: increasing the stock of useful knowledge, educating skilled graduates, developing new scientific instrumentation/ methodologies, shaping networks and stimulating social interaction, enhancing the capacity for scientific and technological problem-solving and creating new firms. Yet, little literature has looked at the role of universities contributing to the development of grassroots social innovations (Perkmann et al, 2013;Benneworth and Cunha, 2015;British Council, 2016;McKelvey and zaring, 2017). in seeking to develop a good understanding of how Heis can contribute to the development of Si, this paper draws upon the Strategic niche Management (SnM) theory and applies this within the Colombian context (Schot and Geels, 2014).…”