Presenters: Professor Filippo Barbera (University of Torino and Collegio Carlo Alberto)
Chair: Professor Paul Chaney
Location: Cardiff University
As part of the 2016 WISERD Civil Society Seminar Series this seminar explores the role of “social innovators” in Italy through qualitative research. It critiques the contemporary trend of portraying social innovation purely as a functional reaction to market and state failure. It thus engages with the analytical challenge of understanding whether social innovation practices satisfy supposedly unmet needs in new ways – and whether such interaction really differs from market-like exchange.
This seminar explores the role of “social innovators” in Italy. Drawing on a qualitative research design using respondent-driven sampling (including network analysis) it gives rich insights into the connections between the not-for-profit sector and for-profit sectors. This locus of enquiry is timely because social innovation points to new kinds of production and exchange markets where profit and non-profit organizations interact in distinctive ways. Many of the most successful innovators have learned to operate across sectoral boundaries – and innovation thrives most when there are effective alliances between small organisations and entrepreneurs. This presentation critiques the contemporary trend of portraying social innovation purely as a functional reaction to market and state failure. It thus engages with the analytical challenge of understanding whether social innovation practices satisfy supposedly unmet needs in new ways – and whether such interaction really differs from market-like exchange.