Navigating the ‘meaningless’ of social innovation: perspectives of social care practitioners in Scotland

Fiona Henderson, Simon Teasdale

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Social innovation is an umbrella concept that allows space for a diverse range of perspectives to co-exist. In this paper, we explore how practitioners negotiate this complexity. Conducting 19 interviews with stakeholders involved in social enterprise and social care in Scotland, we show that almost anything can be conceived of as a social innovation as defined by the European Union. The EU definition can be a useful tool for organizations to demonstrate to funders how and why they are socially innovative. However, in failing to interrogate the power dimension of social innovation, the EU definition neglects any transformative potential.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2901-2920
Number of pages20
JournalPublic Management Review
Volume26
Issue number10
Early online date20 Dec 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Oct 2024

Keywords

  • social care
  • social enterprise
  • social entrepreneurship
  • Social innovation
  • social innovation definitions

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Administration

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Navigating the ‘meaningless’ of social innovation: perspectives of social care practitioners in Scotland'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this