1. Linking Social Innovation and Smart Specialisation
FP7 SmartSpec Project, Learning Journey Workshop,
Ljubljana, 29-30, September 2014
Ranald Richardson, Pedro Marques, and Kevin Morgan

2. Presentation Structure
Introduction: Key objectives of WP2
The (fuzzy) concept of Social innovation
Linking Social Innovation and Smart Specialisation
The Societal Challenge approach
Potential limitations of societal challenge approach
Open discussion: other approaches

3. WP2 Key Objectives
To explore the conceptual links between S3 and social innovation
To identify how social innovation can contribute to S3 strategies focusing in particular on:
The role of public service innovation around RIS
The involvement of users and citizens in processes of design and decision
The role of social enterprises as sources of social innovation
We look at these issues through the lens of the ageing societal challenge combining conceptual and empirical approaches
Our core deliverables are academic papers but we seek to contribute to directly to policy thinking

4. So what is Social Innovation?
“An idea longing for a theory….no consensus regarding its relevance or specific meaning… lacking in clarity…. ‘a Babel-like terminological confusion’” (Pol & Ville, 2009; Moulaert, et al, 2013;Oosterlynk, 2013)
A ‘quasi-concept’ whose utility lies in grouping researchers and policymakers around a set of issues and concerns to generate social knowledge of value to both” (Jensen and Harrison, 2013)
BEPA’s 3 broad ‘interdependent’ categories (BEPA, 2011)
grass roots: social innovation for unmet social demands
societal challenges: where ‘social’ and ‘economic’ boundaries blur in order to better meet society wide problems
systemic: fundamental changes in attitudes, values, strategies, policies, organisational structures and processes, delivery systems and services…re-shaping society itself
Our view: SI is context dependent - Our Context is S3
Angst-ridden SI academics searching for the meaning of life or least of SI, but perhaps not wanting to put themselves out of a job by finding it
A depoliticised technocratic, but still evangelical approach incorporating multiple trends, tendencies, topics and values under an instrumentalist social innovation rubric –
A pragmatic shoulder shrugging less ambitious – it’s a device for stimulating ideas and possibilities particularly between academics and policymakers
So we are in a good place today to test this theory!

5. Social innovations as processes and outcomes
“Social innovations are innovations that are social in both their ends and their means…new ideas (products, services and models) that simultaneously meet social needs (more effectively than alternatives) and create new social relationships or collaborations.
The process of social interactions between individuals undertaken to reach certain outcomes is participative, involves a number of actors and stakeholders who have a vested interest in solving a social problem, and empowers the beneficiaries. It is in itself an outcome as it produces social capital” (BEPA, 2010: 9-10, italics added)

6. ‘Disconnects’ between RIS and SI
Social Innovation
Social goals
Social policy
Social values
Resource redistribution
Just socio-economic arrangements
Critical of technology bias
Anti/post/operating-in-the- interstices of capitalism
Limited regional strategy role
Fragmented communities of social development practice
Economic goals
Economic-industrial policy
Market values
Wealth creation
Efficient socio-economic arrangements
Technology biased
European model of capitalism
Established regional strategy role
Fragmented communities of regional economic development practice
Separate multi-territorial governance silos

7. Emerging Models of Social and Economic Collaboration
Triple Helix + users model
Firm-centred LL model

8. Emerging Models of Social and Economic Collaboration
Citizen centred QH model
Public-sector-centred LL model

9. SI and the Four Cs Can SI contribute to Four Cs?
Choices: the selection of a few investment priorities based on a process of entrepreneurial discovery to identify promising areas of specialisation
Competitive advantage: building on current economic specialisation and mobilising talent by matching RTD+I with business needs and capacities
Critical mass: developing world class excellence clusters and providing arenas for related variety and cross-sectoral links which drive specialised technological diversification
Collaborative Leadership: collective endeavour involving the academic world, public authorities, business and innovation users
Can SI contribute to Four Cs?
Bring different values to motivate action
Extend domains of entrepreneurial discovery
Help move S3 beyond STI or at least complement STI bias
Enhance process and expand collective endeavour to underpin S3
Can S3 contribute to SI?

10. Focus on Societal Challenges
Societal challenges where ‘social’ and ‘economic’ boundaries blur in order better to meet society wide problems

11. Why choose ‘societal challenge’ (SC)
Why focus on societal challenges?
EU Grand Challenges
Global policy buy-in to ‘challenge’ approach – OECD, WEF, etc.
€30bn Horizon 2020 for SC
S3 strategies can… be a powerful instrument to tackle (societal) challenges (CEC, 2013)
Challenge perspective should be included in regional strategies
Early research indicates many regions adopting SC approach
Most promising space for empirics
Health, demographic change and wellbeing
Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research, and the bio-economy
Secure, clean and efficient energy
Smart, green and integrated transport
Inclusive, innovative and secure societies
Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials

12. The Ageing Challenge and Opportunity
Ageing society as a challenge and an opportunity
“Ageing isn’t a problem, but a source of innovation and growth” (Nellie Kroes)
Markets innovations
Innovation of new products and services
Innovative approaches to ageing consumers and citizens
Public service innovations
More cost effectively delivering public services
Planning and delivering public services
New sources of public service delivery
New sources of innovation funding
New sources of labour requiring labour market innovations
‘New’ sources of entrepreneurship: private , social and third sectors
Direct contribution to innovation processes “the wisdom economy”

13. Smart Spatial Specialisation (S3)
S3 has a dual territorial logic
At the European level S3 is about overcoming duplication, creating greater collaboration and a more diverse innovation system
At the (national) regional level it is about specialisation for competitive advantage around existing or credibly realisable excellence
European strength through diversity based on local ‘particularism’

14. Societal Challenge Innovation at the Europe Level: Health and Care Initiatives (Boekholt, 2013)
European Innovation Partnership AHA
Organisational change
Horizon 2020
Health, Demographic Change, Wellbeing
Cultural change
Ambient Assisted Living
Prevention chronic diseases
Social interaction of elderly people
Assisted daily living
Personalised medicines
Integrated care systems
Independent living
Bio Markers
Self management of daily life
Service integration
Early Diagnosis
User
Empowerment
Distant patient monitoring
Training
Interoperationability for e Health
Innovative Medicine Initiative
Digital Agenda for Europe
EU legislation cross border healthcare
Health for Growth

15. Innovation and the Ageing challenge Built-in technological bias?
Policies and initiatives
Technology Innovation and Ageing Societal Challenge
Demographic Change Grand Challenge
Digital Agenda for Europe: Ageing Societal Challenge (DG Connect)
Horizon 2020: Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing
European Institute for Technology (EIT): Innovation for Healthy Active Ageing Thematic Field and KICs Call
European Year of Active Ageing
European eHealth Forum: Technology for Health, Ageing and Economic Growth (DG SANCO)
EIP on Active Healthy Ageing
Ambient Assisted Living JP
JIP on Demographic Change
EJIP on Demographic Change: Technologies for Living
Partnerships for Robots in Europe (Health Care and Human Robotic Interaction

16. Regional market response strategy (EURADA, 2011)

17. But S3 requires specialisation
Adapted from Lower Saxony Region RIS3

18. S3 and Ageing Challenge: Supporting Alternative Innovation Domains?
Home region as test market, innovation test-bed, and a collective innovation environment for SC technologies, with extra-regional collaboration and market search
SI as ‘handmaiden’ of economic growth?
Medical tech
Health
Social isolation
ICTs & Smart Transport
Assistive
technologies
ILH
Medical & Life
Sciences
Built environment
ICT
Transport

19. S3 and Ageing Challenge: Supporting Alternative Innovation Domains?
Also use technology innovation as catalyst for SI in home region, through PPPPs, culture and org change, new training regimes , etc.
Or focus on non-technology innovation, e.g., developing new services process consultancy
Medical tech
Health
Social isolation
ICTs & Smart Transport
Assistive
technologies
ILH
Medical & Life
Sciences
Built environment
ICT
Transport

20. All regions face societal challenges, but is it an opportunity for all?
A number of ‘challenges’:
The Capacity Challenge
The Prioritization Challenge
The Stakeholder Engagement Challenge
The ‘Policy Mix’ Challenge
The Multi-level Governance Challenge
The Cross-border Challenge
The Smart (Evidence-based) Policy Making Challenge
The Policy Capacity Challenge

21. Some examples Capacity Challenge Prioritization challenge
Lack of private sector capacity in Societal Challenge theme(s) and of related variety proximity
Lack of critical mass to prioritize potential
Little regional power or responsibility
Prioritization challenge
Lack of integrated (social-economic) networks - missing actors in entrepreneurial search process
The ‘tyranny’ of traditional priorities

22. Some examples The Stakeholder Challenge Policy-mix Challenge
Interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, intra-organisational silos
Engaging civic organisations and users meaningfully and for long-term
Engaging public sector for innovative solutions in an era of austerity
Policy-mix Challenge
Integrating policymakers
Integrating funding streams
Multi-level governance Challenge
Vertical and horizontal alignment
Policy and responsibility split between social and economic

23. The Cross-border collaboration challenge
Difficult to design cross-border innovation strategies multiplied in context of national social strategies
Social policy actors tend to be concerned with their ‘own backyard’
The Smart Policy Making Challenge - evidence
Does social or economic have priority
Can you measure both
Social indicators and metrics underdeveloped
Policy Capacity Challenge
Can regions create the competencies mix and formal and informal new structures required?