ISIRC2023
Keynotes
Adela García Aracil
INGENIO(CSIC-UPV), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Social Innovation is considered relevant to meet the great challenges faced by contemporary societies. Social innovation requires a commitment for solving social problems, involves different actors and interactions, and combines diverse knowledge to introduce solutions with manageable, if not predictable, long-term results. In this context, scientists are pointing to the need for a new contract between science and society to encourage stronger links between the scientific community and the rest of society. This need for societal transformation is reflected in European Union policies and calls for a transition from the knowledge society 1.0 to a knowledge society 2.0, from globalization 3.0 to industry 4.0, and recently to the promotion of innovation ecosystems as a more inclusive vision which emphasizes the ecologic and sustainable aspects of innovation systems. In this framework of societal transformation toward an innovation ecosystem, European universities are being required to reform and assume a role which includes societal engagement.
Since the 1980s, European universities have become increasingly centralized due to a process of strategic modernization based on payment-by-results and managerial autonomy introduced to improve the productivity and efficiency of public spending. This has affected the relationship between universities and society by framing the value of university activities in cash terms, ranking university activities based on their strategic importance, and encouraging universities to focus on a few strategically important activities. Prioritizing engagement with the business sector has meant that other social engagement activities have become less visible and less valued. European universities have always been linked to their host societies and to provide a more understanding of university-community engagement in terms of the university’s contribution to society is needed. This conference will provide new knowledge of scientific and social interest, and can help universities to create the right conditions for being actively involved in social innovation processes.
Alex Nicholls
Professor of Social Entrepreneurship
University of Oxford; Saïd Business School
Looking Back, Moving Forward.
Overview of session
Over the past twenty years, we have seen an extraordinary growth in social entrepreneurship (SE) research globally. I will explore this trajectory of SE research across five phases: origins; pioneers; growth; institutionalization; futures. I will explore current and new opportunities for new SE research to develop theory and practice that is innovative and has impact.
Ann Light
Professor of Design and Creative Technology
University of Sussex
Imagining Difference: Eco-social Innovation and Design
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Design and social innovation meet in a need for societal transformation. If we are, as the responsible species, to mitigate the sixth mass extinction event and begin regeneration, we need to rethink our structures of engagement as well as the deployment of our technological skills. All this requires a concern for social as well as ecological justice and an approach that brings together science, social science, the arts and humanities. I will share examples of new eco-social arrangements driven by cultural and creative producers motivated to reconsider how to dwell together with all life. Drawing on two recent projects that co-created designs for transformation - Creative Practice for Transformative Futures (CreaTures) and Social Justice in the Digital Economy (Not-Equal) - I offer a hopeful blend of concern, process and inclusion.
Filipe Almeida
Portugal Inovação Social
Portugal Social Innovation is a pioneering public policy initiative that mobilized, between 2015 and 2023, European Structural Funds to develop a Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship national ecosystem, fostering partnerships between the public, the private and the social sectors. To achieve this mission, it was created a specialized public agency and a set of new financing instruments adjusted to the specific needs of the Portuguese emerging ecosystem. Based on his experience as President of the Mission Unit that coordinates this public initiative, Filipe Almeida will present the underlying reasoning behind the creation of Portugal Social Innovation, its main features, the results achieved and key learnings that can help to improve public policies and deepen the understanding of how Social innovation can drive social change.
Institutional Support
