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There has been global growth in the number of social innovation initiatives launched in the university sector over the last decade. These initiatives aim to address complex social problems and to promote institutional change. This surge is occurring without a well-developed empirical knowledge base. This article provides a comprehensive description and analysis of the landscape of social innovation initiatives in the Canadian university sector. Findings show that nearly half of Canada’s 96 universities are associated with at least one initiative; many are interdisciplinary and emphasize collaborative problem-solving with sectors outside the university; and government agencies and charitable foundations are the most common funding sources. Findings suggest there is room for growth and for linking and clustering initiatives. The article concludes with directions for future research. RÉSUMÉLa dernière décennie a été marquée par une croissance mondiale du nombre d’initiatives d’innovation sociale lancées dans le secteur universitaire. Ces initiatives visent à résoudre des problèmes sociaux complexes et à induire des changements institutionnels et systémiques. Cette poussée de l’activité d’innovation sociale se produit sans une base de connaissances empiriques bien développée. Nous y contribuons en fournissant une description et une analyse complètes de toutes les initiatives d’innovation sociale auxquelles participe le secteur universitaire canadien, de leurs caractéristiques et du paysage qu’elles constituent. Résultats notables: près de la moitié des 96 universités canadiennes sont associées à au moins une initiative; de nombreuses initiatives sont interdisciplinaires et mettent l’accent sur la résolution de problèmes en collaboration avec des secteurs extérieurs à l’université; Les agences gouvernementales et les fondations caritatives sont les sources de financement les plus courantes. Les résultats suggèrent: il existe un potentiel de croissance de l’innovation sociale dans le secteur; il y a moins de liens internes et de regroupement d’initiatives que ne le recommande la théorie de l’innovation; l’accent mis sur la collaboration extérieure rejoint la «troisième mission» des universités, qui existe depuis longtemps, mais les innovateurs sociaux ont des objectifs, des méthodes et des processus distincts pour mener à bien cette mission. Nous concluons avec les orientations pour les recherches futures. Keywords / Mots clés: Universities; Higher education; Social innovation; Community engagement; Service mission; Social change; Canada / Universités; Établissements d’enseignement supérieur; Innovation sociale; Engagement communautaire; Mission de service; Changement social; Canada

La dernière décennie a été marquée par une croissance mondiale du nombre d’initiatives d’innovation sociale lancées dans le secteur universitaire. Ces initiatives visent à résoudre des problèmes sociaux complexes et à induire des changements institutionnels et systémiques. Cette poussée de l’activité d’innovation sociale se produit sans une base de connaissances empiriques bien développée. Nous y contribuons en fournissant une description et une analyse complètes de toutes les initiatives d’innovation sociale auxquelles participe le secteur universitaire canadien, de leurs caractéristiques et du paysage qu’elles constituent. Résultats notables: près de la moitié des 96 universités canadiennes sont associées à au moins une initiative; de nombreuses initiatives sont interdisciplinaires et mettent l’accent sur la résolution de problèmes en collaboration avec des secteurs extérieurs à l’université; Les agences gouvernementales et les fondations caritatives sont les sources de financement les plus courantes. Les résultats suggèrent: il existe un potentiel de croissance de l’innovation sociale dans le secteur; il y a moins de liens internes et de regroupement d’initiatives que ne le recommande la théorie de l’innovation; l’accent mis sur la collaboration extérieure rejoint la «troisième mission» des universités, qui existe depuis longtemps, mais les innovateurs sociaux ont des objectifs, des méthodes et des processus distincts pour mener à bien cette mission. Nous concluons avec les orientations pour les recherches futures. Keywords / Mots clés: Universities; Higher education; Social innovation; Community engagement; Service mission; Social change; Canada / Universités; Établissements d’enseignement supérieur; Innovation sociale; Engagement communautaire; Mission de service; Changement social; Canada

The dependence on digital technologies has seen a significant increase during COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that social connectivity and work goes on, in spite of lockdowns and the physical controls on movement. Though digital learning is expected to create abundant life-long learning opportunities for learners worldwide in this challenging time, there is a danger to further impose inequalities and inadequate access to quality education and life-long learning for the unconnected or poorly connected population. This paper shares our experience of reengineering a MOOC platform as `Community led MOOCs' to serve the learning needs of most under represented single mother communities in Bario - a remote settlement of Kelabits in the Borneo Island of Malaysia. This paper then explores TRIZ based heuristic models to address the socio-technological barriers to lifelong learning and proposes TRIZ principles that can trigger social innovation and creativity in designing lifelong learning solutions for rural communities.

The dependence on digital technologies has seen a significant increase during COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that social connectivity and work goes on, in spite of lockdowns and the physical controls on movement. Though digital learning is expected to create abundant life-long learning opportunities for learners worldwide in this challenging time, there is a danger to further impose inequalities and inadequate access to quality education and life-long learning for the unconnected or poorly connected population. This paper shares our experience of reengineering a MOOC platform as `Community led MOOCs' to serve the learning needs of most under represented single mother communities in Bario - a remote settlement of Kelabits in the Borneo Island of Malaysia. This paper then explores TRIZ based heuristic models to address the socio-technological barriers to lifelong learning and proposes TRIZ principles that can trigger social innovation and creativity in designing lifelong learning solutions for rural communities.

Current social innovation initiatives towards societal transformations bring forward new ways of doing and organizing, but new ways of knowing as well. Their efforts towards realizing those are important sites for the investigation of contemporary tensions of expertise. The promotion of new, transformative ways of knowing typically involves a large bandwidth of claims to expertise. The attendant contestation is unfolded through the exemplar case of the Basic Income in which the historically evolved forms of academic political advocacy are increasingly accompanied by a new wave of activism. Crowd-funding initiatives, internet activists, citizen labs, petitions and referenda seek to realize the BI through different claims to expertise than previous attempts. Observing both the tensions between diverse claims to expertise and the overall co-production process through which the Basic Income is realized, this contribution concludes with reflections on the politics of expertise involved in transformative social innovation.

Current social innovation initiatives towards societal transformations bring forward new ways of doing and organizing, but new ways of knowing as well. Their efforts towards realizing those are important sites for the investigation of contemporary tensions of expertise. The promotion of new, transformative ways of knowing typically involves a large bandwidth of claims to expertise. The attendant contestation is unfolded through the exemplar case of the Basic Income in which the historically evolved forms of academic political advocacy are increasingly accompanied by a new wave of activism. Crowd-funding initiatives, internet activists, citizen labs, petitions and referenda seek to realize the BI through different claims to expertise than previous attempts. Observing both the tensions between diverse claims to expertise and the overall co-production process through which the Basic Income is realized, this contribution concludes with reflections on the politics of expertise involved in transformative social innovation.

The role of big finance and technology in social change is rapidly evolving. This book examines why large financial players are entering the social sector through social finance. Drawing on empirical research, the authors analyse the opportunities this new interest and commitment presents as well as the potential harm that can be done to vulnerable people when beneficiaries are not treated as partners and the social needs of people are not placed at the centre of the investment model. This book introduces a ‘Deliberate Leadership’ framework to help big finance tackle problems with no easy solutions. The book also analyses how current technologies (including blockchain) are being used and the benefits and drawbacks of different features of these technologies from the standpoint of the beneficiary and investor. The authors derive a series of insights into the model of technology for social finance and impact investing. Written as a practical book for students alongside a field book based on an action learning methodology, this volume will be useful to those in social finance and impact investing.

The role of big finance and technology in social change is rapidly evolving. This book examines why large financial players are entering the social sector through social finance. Drawing on empirical research, the authors analyse the opportunities this new interest and commitment presents as well as the potential harm that can be done to vulnerable people when beneficiaries are not treated as partners and the social needs of people are not placed at the centre of the investment model. This book introduces a ‘Deliberate Leadership’ framework to help big finance tackle problems with no easy solutions. The book also analyses how current technologies (including blockchain) are being used and the benefits and drawbacks of different features of these technologies from the standpoint of the beneficiary and investor. The authors derive a series of insights into the model of technology for social finance and impact investing. Written as a practical book for students alongside a field book based on an action learning methodology, this volume will be useful to those in social finance and impact investing.

There are currently several social innovation initiatives being developed in isolation, where each one has its own path. In this context, actors want to collaborate and be coordinated in a network in order to increase the development and dissemination of social innovations. The use of collaboration mechanisms gives rise to the expectation that actors playing in groups tend to achieve quantitative and qualitative performance higher than individual performances. While the potential benefits of collaboration are recognized, effectively achieving collaboration is still a challenge for social innovation. In this context, the objective of this study is to identify how the concepts of collaboration are recognized in social innovation environments. In addition, we investigated which mechanisms are used and what are the difficulties faced by actors in this context. To do so, a survey research on the aspects of collaboration in social innovation environments was conducted. Results shown that engagement is the most cited challenge related to human factors; from 30 techniques mentioned, Design Thinking is the most applied; and from 41 tools, Google Drive is the most cited. Results from qualitative analysis shown that collaboration is considered essential to social innovation environments, although there are several challenges reported.

There are currently several social innovation initiatives being developed in isolation, where each one has its own path. In this context, actors want to collaborate and be coordinated in a network in order to increase the development and dissemination of social innovations. The use of collaboration mechanisms gives rise to the expectation that actors playing in groups tend to achieve quantitative and qualitative performance higher than individual performances. While the potential benefits of collaboration are recognized, effectively achieving collaboration is still a challenge for social innovation. In this context, the objective of this study is to identify how the concepts of collaboration are recognized in social innovation environments. In addition, we investigated which mechanisms are used and what are the difficulties faced by actors in this context. To do so, a survey research on the aspects of collaboration in social innovation environments was conducted. Results shown that engagement is the most cited challenge related to human factors; from 30 techniques mentioned, Design Thinking is the most applied; and from 41 tools, Google Drive is the most cited. Results from qualitative analysis shown that collaboration is considered essential to social innovation environments, although there are several challenges reported.

Ethical, social and environmental accounting is the practice of assessing organisations' performances in sustainability and business ethics topics. The organisations typically publish the results in a sustainability or non-financial report. We aim at offering a novel perspective from which researchers investigate, practitioners apply and policy-makers regulate ethical, social and environmental accounting (ESEA). The large quantity of ESEA methods and tools causes managerial problems, affecting the identity of social enterprises and complicating policy making. We will develop a domain-specific modelling language to specify existing ESEA methods and capture the advantages of model-driven engineering. We will create a repository where method models can be stored. These models contain the data structure and configuration of the methods. We will also develop openESEA, a run-time model interpreter that automatically executes ESEA method models. We will offer features to allow organisations to tailor the methods to their needs, to support model management operations, and to compare existing methods to inform policy makers about their similarities and differences. This project combines expertise in information science and social entrepreneurship with the intention to pave the way to future research avenues in ESEA and, eventually, to profound changes towards a fair and sustainable economy.

Ethical, social and environmental accounting is the practice of assessing organisations' performances in sustainability and business ethics topics. The organisations typically publish the results in a sustainability or non-financial report. We aim at offering a novel perspective from which researchers investigate, practitioners apply and policy-makers regulate ethical, social and environmental accounting (ESEA). The large quantity of ESEA methods and tools causes managerial problems, affecting the identity of social enterprises and complicating policy making. We will develop a domain-specific modelling language to specify existing ESEA methods and capture the advantages of model-driven engineering. We will create a repository where method models can be stored. These models contain the data structure and configuration of the methods. We will also develop openESEA, a run-time model interpreter that automatically executes ESEA method models. We will offer features to allow organisations to tailor the methods to their needs, to support model management operations, and to compare existing methods to inform policy makers about their similarities and differences. This project combines expertise in information science and social entrepreneurship with the intention to pave the way to future research avenues in ESEA and, eventually, to profound changes towards a fair and sustainable economy.

L’objectif de cette contribution est d’analyser les rôles que peuvent jouer les communautés de pratique dans des démarches d’exploration nécessitant de l’innovation collective. L’analyse se fonde sur une étude longitudinale de 16 mois. Les résultats montrent que des communautés de pratique dédiées à des méthodes d’exploration peuvent jouer un rôle majeur dans l’ouverture des processus d’innovation d’une organisation. Dépassant les fonctions d’un intermédiaire d’innovation, ces collectifs autonomes accompagnent cette dynamique en sensibilisant et en légitimant l’importance d’explorer certains enjeux d’innovation avec des partenaires, en structurant et en animant des démarches d’innovation collective, tout en interprétant et documentant les apprentissages et les résultats liés à ces initiatives.

L’objectif de cette contribution est d’analyser les rôles que peuvent jouer les communautés de pratique dans des démarches d’exploration nécessitant de l’innovation collective. L’analyse se fonde sur une étude longitudinale de 16 mois. Les résultats montrent que des communautés de pratique dédiées à des méthodes d’exploration peuvent jouer un rôle majeur dans l’ouverture des processus d’innovation d’une organisation. Dépassant les fonctions d’un intermédiaire d’innovation, ces collectifs autonomes accompagnent cette dynamique en sensibilisant et en légitimant l’importance d’explorer certains enjeux d’innovation avec des partenaires, en structurant et en animant des démarches d’innovation collective, tout en interprétant et documentant les apprentissages et les résultats liés à ces initiatives.

In this paper, we discuss how universities can become more essential players in the digital innovation and artificial intelligence (DI&AI) ecosystem and increase their capacity to support the “responsible” development and use of these technologies. The four sections of Part I explore the different ways in which universities can change the future of DI&AI and how DI&AI might transform the world of universities. Concrete examples of innovative and inspiring academic practices related to various challenges and opportunities explored in the paper are highlighted throughout. In section 1, we recognize that academics in the social and human sciences (SHS) have started to develop knowledge, tools and methodologies around the concept of responsible DI&AI. However, these have yet to be integrated in organizations and policy, which struggle to anticipate the societal impact of producing and using cutting-edge DI&AI systems. Collaboration between SHS scientists, their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) colleagues and non-academic actors in the DI&AI ecosystem is not yet commonplace. We explore some of the impediments to this collaboration, while stressing its increasing importance in the face of growing public mistrust of organizations operating DI&AI and collecting and using personal data. Universities have not yet adopted changes required to capitalize on their status as trust brokers and engage with civil society and other stakeholders on issues of responsible innovation.

In this paper, we discuss how universities can become more essential players in the digital innovation and artificial intelligence (DI&AI) ecosystem and increase their capacity to support the “responsible” development and use of these technologies. The four sections of Part I explore the different ways in which universities can change the future of DI&AI and how DI&AI might transform the world of universities. Concrete examples of innovative and inspiring academic practices related to various challenges and opportunities explored in the paper are highlighted throughout. In section 1, we recognize that academics in the social and human sciences (SHS) have started to develop knowledge, tools and methodologies around the concept of responsible DI&AI. However, these have yet to be integrated in organizations and policy, which struggle to anticipate the societal impact of producing and using cutting-edge DI&AI systems. Collaboration between SHS scientists, their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) colleagues and non-academic actors in the DI&AI ecosystem is not yet commonplace. We explore some of the impediments to this collaboration, while stressing its increasing importance in the face of growing public mistrust of organizations operating DI&AI and collecting and using personal data. Universities have not yet adopted changes required to capitalize on their status as trust brokers and engage with civil society and other stakeholders on issues of responsible innovation.

Social Innovation is one of the key indicators within the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Currently, service Design and its design thinking processes play a significant role in Innovation for businesses; it proved its social innovation impact in many projects building sustainable solutions. This study aims to highlight the value of implementing service design through the design thinking process in finding a sustainable solution for different social issues. Researchers achieved the aim of this study using qualitative methodology, implementing case study analysis as a method, were 28 design students have been asked to redesign missing social experiences during pandemics. These case studies explain how sustainable solutions can be generated via service design through the design thinking processes. The findings of this research highlight the value of implementing service design with its design thinking process to generate sustainable solutions for different social issues, concluding that this process can be taught and applied by designers to change their mindsets from `final outcome' to the concept of `final demand', aligning then with sustainability for social Innovation.

Social Innovation is one of the key indicators within the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Currently, service Design and its design thinking processes play a significant role in Innovation for businesses; it proved its social innovation impact in many projects building sustainable solutions. This study aims to highlight the value of implementing service design through the design thinking process in finding a sustainable solution for different social issues. Researchers achieved the aim of this study using qualitative methodology, implementing case study analysis as a method, were 28 design students have been asked to redesign missing social experiences during pandemics. These case studies explain how sustainable solutions can be generated via service design through the design thinking processes. The findings of this research highlight the value of implementing service design with its design thinking process to generate sustainable solutions for different social issues, concluding that this process can be taught and applied by designers to change their mindsets from `final outcome' to the concept of `final demand', aligning then with sustainability for social Innovation.

Inspired by recent calls for a transformation of management scholarship, we conduct a scoping review of empirical studies during 1998–2015 on the phenomenon of social innovation within organizations. Social innovations are novel solutions that address social problems and create value for society as a whole. We make several problem-based observations and suggest how the social innovation phenomenon can be empirically grounded and contextualized to make future research intellectually relevant and meaningful for practice. We propose that the way forward lies in using abduction as a logic of discovery, adopting complexity theorizing, and using set-theoretic analytical methods to reflect multiple realities. The application of these three methods will help link theory and research methods with practice, thereby improving the ability of research to tackle managerial and societal issues and hence strengthening management scholarship.