This document discusses developing social innovation ecosystems in cities. It defines social innovation and notes that social innovations emerge from addressing social needs and challenges. It finds that social innovations involve multi-sector collaboration between public, private, and civil society partners. Effective social innovation ecosystems provide resources and address barriers to support social innovations from idea to established practice. Cities are important places for social innovations to emerge and be tested through experimentation.

1. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 693883.
Developing Social
Innovation Ecosystems in
Cities
Dmitri Domanski & Christoph Kaletka
(TU Dortmund University)
22 SEPTEMBER 2016

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Today’s focus:
1. Social Innovation (ecosystems):
Theoretical and empirical perspectives
2. Significance of the local/urban level
3. The role of intermediaries
4. Concrete examples of SI in cities
(Dortmund, Zagreb)
5. Further work on Tilburg cases
2

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Key challenges
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1. We need to understand the
conditions under which (urban)
social innovations develop,
flourish and sustain and finally
lead to social change.
2. This understanding can help us
create an (urban) ecosystem for
social innovation.

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What is social innovation about?
Some theoretical reflections …
22 SEPT 2016DEVELOPING SI ECOSYSTEMS IN CITIES 4
Social innovation …
• is about doing things differently (science talk: “new social
practices”)
• is more than invention
• is not only about social entrepreneurs
• is developed in an intentional targeted manner with the goal of better
satisfying or answering needs and problems than is possible on the
basis of established practices
• initiatives use co-creation, cross-sector fertilization, network-based
learning processes
• may finally be institutionalized

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… and empirical findings
• a highly diversified list of practice fields and social initiatives emerging
• and local social demands as the second main drivers of social
innovations (after societal challenges)
• although mainly all initiatives are scaling there is almost no or limited
(local, regional) transfer of the solution
• two of three initiatives are embedded in networks, social
movements, umbrella organisations or policy programmes 
guaranteeing impact
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… and more empirical findings
• In almost half of the initiatives there is a direct user / beneficiary
involvement
• All societal sectors can be actively involved in social innovation
(multi-sectoral approach instead of focusing on single sectors, such as
social economy)
• Even more: to overcome social demands and societal challenges
cross-sector collaboration is crucial, actively involving public,
economic and civil society partners (including active user/beneficiary
involvement)
 Social innovations take place in ecosystems, which need to be
further developed
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Sectoral involvement in SI
initiatives (1.005 cases)
Private Sector;
1119; 38%
Public Sector;
1041; 35%
Civil Society/
NGO/NPO
802; 27%
N = 3.007 Partners

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44,6%
9,9% 8,1%
0,7%
3,6%
8,6% 8,0%
1,2%
5,4%
18,4%
19,2%
7,8%
1,6% 4,2%
13,4%
9,2%
1,1%
6,9%
12,1%
9,7%
5,2%
3,1%
4,4%
10,0%
9,1%
2,5%
9,1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3
Main Drivers for SI initiatives

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Main Barriers for SI initiatives

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• Cities are the places where inventions become visible first (Tarde
1890)
• It is the place where diverse societal challenges need to be tackled
in the most direct way
• Cities and their districts and neighbourhoods are places for
experimentation, they are laboratories for new solutions resulting in
new social practices
• Development of social innovation infrastructures is a crucial
component especially in urban social innovation ecosystems
• Intermediary actors and institutions become increasingly
important, such infrastructures can be created as social innovation
parks, centres, labs or incubators
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Social innovation in cities

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Social innovation in cities:
SI-Labs / Social innovation intermediaries
What they can be
• Places - where social
innovations are initiated
• Competence centres -
where clients are supported
with design and process
expertise
• Incubators - harbouring
social start-ups
• Promoters - of change, in
a city, region, or sector

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Towards social innovation ecosystems
• “Actors who drive the supply of social innovations”, “Actors who drive
the demand for social innovations” and “The intermediaries who act
as brokers (Hansson et al. 2014, 10)
• “… resources (financial, human, social/political, and intellectual
capital) […] and the environmental conditions” (CASE 2008, iv)
• “An ecosystems framework, in contrast [to Porter’s cluster approach],
incorporates the broader environment within which organizations
operate. It captures the elements of Porter’s economic analysis, adds
other potentially important actors, and incorporates the nonmarket
forces…” (Bloom and Dees 2008, 48)
22 SEPT 2016DEVELOPING SI ECOSYSTEMS IN CITIES 12

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Towards social innovation ecosystems
• “… a set of complex, interdependent relationships that function
best through effective networks and communities” (Pulford 2011,
113).
• “… a paradigm shift where grass-root, bottom-up, spontaneous
movements and communities of change are shaping new
ecosystems…” (Sgaragli 2014, 9)
• “… replacement of existing governance models with ones that are
more open, inclusive and participatory…” (Sgaragli 2014, 9)
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Towards social innovation ecosystems
• developing a scientific concept of social innovation ecosystems is
much more demanding than just trying to adapt existing concepts,
such as innovation systems, triple-helix or quadruple-helix
• it implies a better understanding of what social innovation ecosystems
are about
• social innovation ecosystems are environments where innovations
emerge which are different from technological innovations
• such environments always exist, even if they may be poorly
developed or apparently invisible
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What are SI ecosystems?
They include
• Financial support: grants for early stage development,
crowdfunding, loans, venture philanthropy, prizes for social innovation,
• Non-financial support: Professional services, mentors and
coaching, labs for SI, accelerator programmes, incubators,
• Skills for innovation: tailored courses for innovators and
entrepreneurs
• Demand enhancement through campaigning and advocacy,
personalised budgets, commissioning and procurement
• Intermediaries: SI networks, centres, labs transferring knowledge,
about social innovation
• and probably more …
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Promote the change
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“Old school” After Tilburg Summer School
Trickle-down model:
pushing innovations into
society
Co-creation model: Making urban
societies the source of innovation
(Open Innovation, user involvement,
citizen participation, …)

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Two characteristics of an active
urban social innovation culture
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Absorptive capacity
A region / community is able to
recognize the value of such new
solutions, is able to implement and
test them, and is open to change
Social serendipity
A region / community is systematically
encouraging and supporting inventions
to overcome societal challenges

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Fostering social innovation ecosystems
Guiding questions
- What are social innovations about? E.g. new business models.
- How are they intertwined with other innovations? E.g. use of
technologies.
- What are the needs and challenges social innovations originate from?
E.g. local problems, global challenges.
- Who are the actors and what are their roles? E.g. developers,
promotors, supporters, knowledge providers.
- How does the governance model look like? E.g. bottom-up, top-down.
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Fostering social innovation ecosystems
Guiding questions
- Which resources and capabilities are available, which barriers inhibit
social innovation? E.g. financial resources, knowledge, personnel,
legal framework, politics.
- What are the process dynamics? From idea and invention to an
established social practice. E.g. the role of the ecosystem in scaling
and transfer.
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Checklist in short:
14 SEPT 2016THIS IS YOUR PRESENTATION TITLE 20

21. /This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 693883.
22 SEPT 2016 21
Thank you!
Dmitri Domanski (domanski@sfs-dortmund.de)
Christoph Kaletka (kaletka@sfs-dortmund.de)