Testing a Framework to Co-Construct Social Innovation Actions: Insights from Seven Marginalized Rural Areas

Valentino Marini Govigli, Sophie Alkhaled, Tor Arnesen, Carla Barlagne, Mari Bjerck, Catie Burlando, Mariana Melnykovych, Carmen Rodríguez Fernandez-Blanco, Patricia Sfeir and Elena Górriz-Mifsud
Additional contact information
Valentino Marini Govigli: Mediterranean Facility (EFIMED), European Forest Institute, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
Sophie Alkhaled: Management School, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YX, UK
Tor Arnesen: Inland School of Business and Social Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Science (INN), 2609 Lillehammer, Norway
Carla Barlagne: Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Group, The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
Mari Bjerck: Inland School of Business and Social Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Science (INN), 2609 Lillehammer, Norway
Catie Burlando: ETIFOR, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Mariana Melnykovych: Mediterranean Facility (EFIMED), European Forest Institute, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
Carmen Rodríguez Fernandez-Blanco: Mediterranean Facility (EFIMED), European Forest Institute, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
Patricia Sfeir: SEEDS-Int, Horsh Tabet, Sin El Fil, Lebanon
Elena Górriz-Mifsud: Mediterranean Facility (EFIMED), European Forest Institute, 08025 Barcelona, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-26

Abstract: Innovation actions within European Horizon 2020 (H2020) projects aim at testing research results in practice. When supporting social innovations in rural areas, such testing requires the alignment of several rural actors in order to entail behavioral changes beyond the individual level. Recently, social innovation has been recognized as an important tool for rural areas, developing new solutions to respond to wicked problems for improving local living conditions at the grassroots level. In this study, we analyzed the use of an operational framework to support the early governance of social innovation actions. This framework was applied to co-construct seven innovation actions across Europe and the Mediterranean basin applied to forestry, agriculture, and rural development. Our results showed that supporting social innovators and local actors at the early stage of social innovation processes is key for efficiently addressing and tackling challenges and opportunities. Additionally, we showed that the process of defining a social innovation is complex and requires recursive engagement, which might lead to evolution through time, especially in the first phases of the process. Lastly, conducting the feasibility assessment enabled strategic thinking on crucial dimensions for designing a promising social innovation action, such as social networks management, financial sustainability, and know-how. Such findings helped us to draw general lessons for the development and governance of social innovation actions in rural areas, potentially applicable to any rural sector.

Keywords: agriculture; feasibility assessment; forestry; knowledge co-construction; innovation management; multi-actor approach; participatory approaches; rural development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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