A case study by Anne Vorre Hansen, Clara Dawe and Anders Folmer Buhelt
The objective of the present case study is to strengthen the understanding of social innovation and its potential while sharing drivers and barriers to working with it in a Danish context. Moreover, the knowledge gained from the case study is key to disseminating and reinforcing a mature mindset and understanding of social innovation in Danish organisations and among policymakers.
In literature on social innovation, two streams of thought are acknowledged to shape the field: a practical perspective and a critical perspective (Moulaert & McCallum, 2019). The practical perspective is focusing on finding solutions to social needs, based on mainstream entrepreneurship theory – this perspective is highly prevalent in the public sector and in the domain of, e.g., social enterprises. The critical perspective rather emphasizes the transformative and emancipatory potential in social movements and collective action for social change.
The unit of analysis in the current case study is how cases of social innovation can be understood as drivers of social and societal change. Hence, the study is positioned in the critical perspective of social innovation. This is due to the Danish history of collective mobilizing, democratic processes, and tradition for cross-sectoral collaboration. Still, the current perception of social innovation at a policy level is mainly as a niche approach to innovation, perceived to be mainly concerned with the socially marginalized. Therefore, there is a foundation for and a need to showcase how Danish history and the specific Danish conditions can spur social innovation as an approach to societal change.
The case study encompasses five inspirational cases alongside two historical cases of socially innovative movements crucial for shaping today’s Danish society.
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