Experimenting social innovation for transformative change: comparison between six Portuguese initiatives

This paper presents the preliminary results of a research project (TRUST) on sustainability transition (ST) initiatives supported on social learning and innovation. TRUST aims to explore forms of social innovation (SI) that have the potential to drive community change and create locally based transition processes, through strategies that enable change in approaches, routines, practices, systems, and mind-sets. The aim of this paper is therefore to share the results of an empirical investigation on how to enable social innovation for transformative change. For this, we explore the extent to which innovative initiatives promote social innovation and if they are capable of leading transformation processes. Specifically, we intend to explore a) What role can SI play in initiative processes for sustainable transition processes? and b) How can innovative initiatives promote (or create) transformative change? “The ultimate manifestation of transformative change is systemic change” (de Haan and Rotmans, 2018: 285); We therefore aim to understand the pursuit of systemic change (instead of marginal or incremental), which implies dynamic interactions between social, environmental, institutional, political and economic goals and underlying values, ultimately ‘transforming’ social values in an irreversible and persistent way. One possible way to study such processes of social change is through the lens of SI. This prompts us to question, as others, “how SI [social innovation] interacts with systemic and transformative change processes” (Murray et al., 2010; McGowan and Westley, 2015; Avelino et al., 2019), considering that the basis for any innovation are the underlying values of the actors involved. We have selected six innovative initiatives in three different Portuguese regions (Centre, Alentejo and Lisbon Metropolitan Area). The six initiatives act as knowledge producers containing people's stories and empirical based experiments. To understand the extent to which the initiatives promote social innovation, and if they are capable of leading transformative change, a qualitatively driven approach is adopted, using exploratory work through a mixed method case study. The methodological strategy in this paper is grounded in four spheres of transformation: the personal (the individual(s) within the initiative), the interactive (the initiative’s network as constituted by relationships), the practical (the action-oriented model of the initiative), and the institutional (the collective formal and informal structures of relationships and norms). Comparative results between the innovative initiatives are presented. We discuss the potential transformative role (and impact) of SI and opportunities for SI to lead transformational change, the capacity of the initiatives context to foster SI, and how the initiatives influence (and are influenced by) the environment they are inserted, the actors network dynamics of the initiatives and within a broad social sphere. Lessons are shared on how we are building the understandings of the people’s values, motivations and behaviours driven by contextual dynamics, the governance system capacity to foster SI for transformative change and the overall contextual system patterns for transition

Social Lerning and innovation in Sustinability Transitions – Seven Portuguese initiatives compared

TRUST (social innovation sTRategies for sUSTainability transitions) is a research project that focus on sustainability transition (ST) initiatives in urban and rural Portugal, supported on social learning and innovation. The research aims to investigate forms of social innovation (SI) that can drive community change at local scale, in the context of different social-ecological systems. The analytical process is based upon seven selected initiatives, which have as common purpose to create locally based ST, and the adopted strategies that can enable change in approaches, routines, practices, systems and mind-sets – which we recognize as components of SI. The state of art has been reviewed on three core concepts - SI, ST and Governance - and a conceptual model was developed for SI to enable ST for transformative change. A participatory research approach is adopted and applied to local communities in specific urban and rural social-ecological contexts in Aveiro, Évora and Lisboa. Results from empirical observation are compared in seven case studies: (i) “A Avó veio trabalhar” about active ageing and intergenerational relationships (ii) “Bela Flor Respira” about sustainable systems and transformation of behaviours; (iii) “Ciclaveiro” about sustainable mobility and cultural habits; (iv) “Civic Lab” about community well-being and empowerment; (v) “Cooperative Minga” about business models and knowledge transfer; (vi) “Montado” about business models and ecosystem services; (vii) “Organisation of Fisherwomen in Murtosa” about gender equality and transformation of mind-sets. In this presentation we will share the results of the analysis so far available, through comparison of these seven initiatives by looking into actors’ values, motivations and behaviours driven by contextual dynamics, and the governance system capacity to foster SI for transformative change. Lessons are shared on to what extent these initiatives promote SI (and how they do it) and if they are able of leading transformative changes, as an experiment to theoretically and empirically explore how to enable social innovation for transformative change

social lerning and innovations in sustainability transitions: a research in progress

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