Peeling the Onion. An Exploration of the Layers of Social Innovation Ecosystems. Modelling a context sensitive perspective on driving and hindering factors for social innovation

Abstract

This article builds on the emerging discourse on "ecosystems of social innovation" and develops a model to identify and analyse driving and hindering factors for social innovation initiatives. Social innovation -especially in the context of social entrepreneurship -is increasingly gaining momentum in the European welfare landscape. That growing importance challenges the scientific discourse as it asks for criteria of how to support, foster and sustain social innovation. This article utilizes two case studies illustrating different levels of drivers and barriers and develops a model for understanding contexts of social innovation. Four interrelated context levels are identified which constitute social innovation ecosystems: actors, structures, functions, and norms. The "onion"-model can be used by social innovators, financiers and policy makers alike in order to better and more strategically support social innovations themselves and to improve the framework conditions promoting or impeding them. The model allows for a better understanding of the diversity of supporting and hindering factors initiatives can face in any given urban or national social innovation ecosystem.

Entrepreneurial Education for Persons With Disabilities—A Social Innovation Approach for Inclusive Ecosystems

“…In line with these principles (2), a co-creative/co-productive approach is suggested and furthermore (3), perspective is shifted to the framework conditions. This is done by taking an ecosystem-perspective as suggested by Kaletka et al (2016).…”

“…In this context, successful social innovations on the microlevel are seen as solutions to specific demands and needs of specific (local) target groups like the need for an inclusive approach to entrepreneurial education as suggested in this article. Innovation and their basic characteristics, specifically those of the ecosystem-perspective (Kaletka et al, 2016) and the co-creation approach (Brandsen and Honingh, 2018) will also be presented and linked to IEEPD before the discussion in section Discussion: Building a Framework for Entrepreneurial Education Embedded in an Inclusive Ecosystem.…”

“…A sociological perspective, therefore, provides the basis for the focus on actor-relations, their cooperation and collaboration. Furthermore, this perspective does also open the door for a discussion of actors' roles and the context (Kaletka et al, 2016) framing the interactions. Hence, IEEPD is not just a social innovation itself, it is also linked to a set of contextual factors put in the limelight when understanding IEEPD as social innovation.…”

“…For the IEEPD framework, the chosen social innovation ecosystem perspective is particularly relevant for understanding the contextual factors supporting (or hindering) the realization of inclusive entrepreneurial education. Hence, the approach of Kaletka et al (2016) will guide the discussion of context factors.…”

Unpacking the social innovation ecosystem: an empirically grounded typology of empowering network constellations

“…Instead of reducing the SI ecosystems to supportive structures for certain innovation heroes, Howaldt, Kaletka, and Schröder (2017a) and Kaletka, Markmann, and Pelka (2017) argue that ecosystems are populated with a multitude of actors and organizations that co-shape social innovations. In order to develop such non-reductionist understanding, they argue the need to move beyond emblematic empirical examples of what "SI ecosystems" mean and compriseobserving instead, in comparative fashion, how SI ecosystems come in a broad miscellany of forms.…”