Building social innovation ecosystems: a capability approach

Social innovation has recently attracted the attention of policymakers in many countries. The establishment of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation within the White House in 2009 and the development of the Social Innovation Initiative as part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 strategy demonstrate the increase in the concept’s recognition as an effective way to find solutions to contemporary social challenges (Ayob, Teasdale, & Falgan, 2016; Howaldt, Kaletka, & Domanski, 2016). This increase has produced an extraordinary amount of academic research dedicated to understanding the process by which social innovation initiatives emerge, flourish and diffuse (see for example Mulgan, 2006; Jarvis & Marvel, 2013; Davies & Simon, 2013).

This work is motivated by the will to contribute to the theoretical construction of a social innovation ecosystem that could serve as a reference and initial point to policy makers and scholars on the field. Its objective is to propose a framework that covers the complete process of social innovation and can apply to diverse contexts.