Analysing social innovation through the lens of poverty reduction: five key factors

Tuur Ghys

Authors

Tuur Ghys Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon

Abstract

In the last decades social innovation has attracted much research attention, with a variety of projects studying how social needs are approached in innovative ways. However social innovation is rarely analyzed through an understanding of the specific social problem they react to. This article develops an analytical framework to study social innovations in relation to structural poverty reduction. After explaining the underlying theory on poverty, it described five key factors and twelve sub-factors to be taken into account for the design of research on social innovation in the field of poverty. This includes: the relation to the structural production of poverty; the relation to the position of people in poverty; the relation to solidarity and political conditions; the diffusion, scale and continuation and finally the relation to government and existing poverty programs.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir.17-2.1

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Tuur Ghys, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon

Tuur Ghys is currently an associate professor at the faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon (Mexico), where he leads the research group on Societal and Transnational Issues and Critical Alternatives (STICA). He obtained his PHD in social sciences from the University of Antwerp (Belgium), where he worked on the topic of poverty reduction.

References

Bibliography

Alcock, P. (2005). ‘Maximum Feasible Understanding’ – Lessons from Previous Wars on Poverty. Social Policy and Society, 4(3), 321-329.

Andreotti, A., Mingione, E., Polizzi, E. (2012). Local Welfare Systems: A Challenge for Social Cohesion. Urban Studies 49(9), 1925–1940.

Avelino, F., Wittmayer, J. (eds). (2014) Game-changers & Transformative Social Innovation. Working paper, policy insights, lessons for facilitation tools and workshop report. TRANSIT Deliverable 2.1. TRANSIT: EU

Bales, K. (2007). Ending Slavery: How we Free Today’s Slaves. University of California Press.

Bergmark, A., Minas, R. (2010). Actors and Governance Arrangements in the Field of Social Assistance. In: Y. Kazepov, (Ed.). (2010). Rescaling Social Policies: Towards Multilevel Governance in Europe. Ashgate.

Brandsen, T. (2014). Wilco Final Report. Retrieved online: http://www.wilcoproject.eu

Bureau of European Policy Advisers (2011). Empowering people, driving change: Social Innovation in the European Union. Retrieved online: http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/13402/

Cahill, G. (2010). Primer on social innovation: a compendium of definitions developed by organizations around the world. The Philanthropist, 23(3), 259-271.

Cantillon, B., Collado, D., Van Mechelen, N. (2015). The end of decent social protection for the poor? The dynamics of low wages, minimum income packages and median household incomes. Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.

Chambon, J.-L., David, A., Devevey, J.-M. (1982). Les innovations sociales. Paris, Presses Universitaires de France.

Davies, A., Simon, J. (2013). Growing social innovation: a literature review. A deliverable of the project: “The theoretical, empirical and policy foundations for building social innovation in Europe” (TEPSIE). Brussels: European Commission, DG Research

Davies, A. (2014). Spreading Social Innovations: A Case Study Report. A deliverable of the project: “The theoretical, empirical and policy foundations for building social innovation in Europe” (TEPSIE). Brussels: European Commission, DG Research

Dierckx, D., Ghys, T. (2013). Solidariteit en herverdeling in structurele armoedebestrijding. In: D. Dierckx, J. Coene, A. van Haarlem, P. Raeymaeckers. (Eds.). Armoede en sociale uitsluiting - Jaarboek 2013. Leuven/Den Haag: Acco.

Dierckx, D., Vranken, J., Kerstens, W. (Eds.). (2009). Faith-based organizations and social exclusion in European cities. Leuven: Acco.

Eizaguirre, S., Pradel, M., Terrones, A., Martinez-Celorrio, X., Garcia, M. (2012). Multilevel Governance and Social Cohesion: Bringing Back Conflict in Citizenship Practices. Urban Studies, 49(9), 1999–2016.

Elchardus, M. & Pelleriaux, K. (2001). De nieuwe sociale kwestie: begripsverduidelijking en discussienota. TOR 2001(1).

Esping-Andersen, C. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Fairbanks II, R. (2009). How it works. Recovering Citizens in Post-Welfare Philadelphia. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Fontan, J.M. (2016). Social Innovation and Transformation: Coaching and Describing Societal Extension Through Research Partnerships. Paper for ImPRovE conference, February 2016.

Gans, H. (1996). The war against the poor. New York: Basic Books.

Garland, D. (2014). The Welfare State: A Fundamental Dimension of Modern

Government. European Journal of Sociology, 55(3), 327-364.

Ghys, T. (2014). Naar een structurele theorie van armoede. In: G., Verschraegen, C. de Olde, S. Oosterlynck, F. Vandermoere, D. Dierckx (Eds.). (2014). Over gevestigden en buitenstaanders: Armoede, diversiteit en stedelijkheid. Leuven: ACCO.

Ghys, T. (2016). Sociale Innovatie en Structurele Armoedebestrijding. Antwerpen: OASeS.

Ghys, T., Oosterlynck, S. (2013). Governance uitdagingen voor sociale innovatie en armoedebestrijding. VLAS-Studies 8, Antwerpen: Vlaams Armoedesteunpunt.

Godin, B. (2012). Social innovation: utopias of innovation from c.1830 to the present, Working Paper 11. Project on the Intellectual History of Innovation, Montréal: INRS. Retrieved online: http://www.csiic.ca/PDF/SocialInnovation_2012.pdf

Haddock, S.V., Tornaghi, C. (2013). A transversal reading of social innovation in European Cities. In: F. Moulaert, D. MacCallum, A. Mehmood, A. Hamdouch, (eds.). The international handbook of social innovation. Collective action, social learning and transdisciplinary research. Edward Elgar.

Harvey, D. (1999). The limits of capital (2nd ed). Verso.

Hick, R. (2012). The Capability Approach: Insights for a New Poverty Focus.

Journal of Social Policy, 41(2), 291-308.

Hirschman, A. (1991). The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Holman, R. (1978). Poverty. Explanations of Social Deprivation. London: Martin Robertson.

Horton, T., Gregory, J. (2010). Why solidarity matters: the political strategy of welfare design. The Political Quarterly, 81(2), 270-276.

Huddart, S. (2010). Patterns, principles, and principles in social innovation. The Philantropist, 23(3), 221-234.

Jenson, J., Harrisson, D. (2013). Social innovation research in the European Union. Approaches, findings and future directions. Policy review. European Commission. Retrieved online: http://www.net4society.eu/_media/social_innovation.pdf

Jordan, B. (1996). A theory of poverty and social exclusion. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Lambie-Mumford, H. (2013). ‘Every Town Should Have One’: Emergency Food Banking in the UK. Journal of Social Policy, 42, 73-89.

Lepianka, D., Oorschot, W., Gelissen, J. (2009). Popular Explanations of Poverty: A Critical Discussion of Empirical Research. Journal of Social Policy, 38(3), 421–438.

Leubolt, B., Novy, A., Beinstein, B. (Eds.) (2009). Governance and Democracy – Katarsis survey paper. Retrieved online: http://www.academia.edu/214469/Governance_and_Democracy_-_KATARSIS_Survey_Paper

Martinelli, F. (2012). Social Innovation or Social Exclusion? Innovating Social Services in the Context of a Retrenching Welfare State. In: H.W. Franz, J. Hochgerner, J. Howaldt (Eds.), (2012). Challenge Social Innovation. New York: Springer.

Martinelli, F., Moulaert, F., Swyngedouw, E., Ailenei, A. (2003). Scientific period progress report month 18. SINGOCOM.

Marx, I., Vanhille, J., & Verbist, G. (2010). Werkend en toch arm in de actieve welvaartsstaat. In: J. Vranken, S. De Blust, D. Dierckx, A. Van Haarlem, A. (Eds.). Armoede en sociale uitsluiting - Jaarboek 2010. Leuven: Acco.

Mingione, E. (2014). The contemporary dynamics of Capitalism and the tensions of the crisis interpreted within a theoretical frame centred on the double movement. International Karl Polanyi Conference, 6‐8 November 2014.

Moulaert, F., Martinelli, F., Swyngedouw, E., González, S. (2005), Towards Alternative Model(s) of Local Innovation. Urban Studies, 42(11), 1969-1990.

Moulaert, F., MacCallum, D., Mehmood, A., Hamdouch, A. (2013). The international handbook of social innovation. Collective action, social learning and transdisciplinary research. Edward Elgar.

Moulaert, F., Mehmood, A., MacCallum, D., Leubolt, B. (2017). Social Innovation as a Trigger for Transformations - The Role of Research. European Commission. Retrieved online: http://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/pdf/policy_reviews/social_innovation_trigger_for_transformations.pdf

Mumford, M. (2002). Social Innovation: Ten Cases From Benjamin Franklin. Creativity Research Journal, 14(2), 253-266.

Mumford, M., Moertl, P. (2003). Lessons from two innovations in the 20th century. Creativity Research Journal, 15, 261-266.

Novy, A., Leubolt, B. (2005). Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre: Social Innovation and the Dialectical Relationship of State and Civil Society. Urban Studies, 42(11), 2023–2036.

Oosterlynck, S., Y. Kazepov, A. Novy, P. Cools, E. Barberis, F. Wukovitsch, T. Sarius & B. Leubolt (2013). The butterfly and the elephant: local social innovation, the welfare state and new poverty dynamics. ImPRovE Discussion Paper No. 13/03. Antwerp: Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy.

Oosterlynck, S., Cools, P. (2012). Lokale initiatieven als bouwstenen voor sociale innovatie. In: D. Dierckx, S. Oosterlynck, J. Coene, A. Haarlem. (Eds.). (2012). Armoede en Sociale uitsluiting - Jaarboek 2012. Leuven: Acco.

Piven, F., Cloward, R. (1979). Poor People’s Movements. Why they succeed, how they fail. New York: Random House.

Polanyi, K. (1944/1968). The Great Transformation. The political and economic origins of our time. Boston: Beacon Press.

Pruijt, H. (2003). Is the institutionalization of urban movements inevitable? A comparison of the opportunities for sustained squatting in New York City and Amsterdam. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 27(1), 133-157.

Ranis, P. (2016). Cooperatives Confront Capitalism. Challenging the Neo-Liberal Economy. ZED books.

Robinson, W. (2004). A theory of global capitalism. London: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Royce, E. (2015). Poverty and power. The problem of structural inequality. Rowman & Littlefield.

Schumpeter, J. (1976). Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. Routledge.

Somers, R., Block, F. (2005). From Poverty to Perversity: Ideas, Markets, and Institutions over 200 Years of Welfare Debate. American Sociological Review 70(2), 260-287.

Simmel, G. (1908/1965). The Poor. Social Problems, 3(2). 118-140.

Simon, J., Schon, R., Kitcher, H., Millard, J., Carpenter, G., Ingermann, A. (2014). Growing the field of social innovation in Europe. A deliverable of the project TEPSIE. Brussels: European Commission, DG Research.

Sinclair, S., Baglioni, S. (2014). Social Innovation and Social Policy. Promises and Risks. Social Policy & Society,13(3), 469–476.

Standing, G. (2011). The Precariat. The New Dangerous Class. London: Bloomsbury.

Tarasuk, V., Dachner, N., Loopstra, R. (2014). Food banks, welfare, and food insecurity in

Canada. British Food Journal 116 (9), 1405-1417.

Taylor-Gooby, P. (2013). Why do people stigmatise the poor at a time of rapidly increasing inequality, and what can be done about it? Political Quarterly, 84(1), 31-42.

Townsend, P. (2010). The meaning of poverty. The British Journal of Sociology, 61. Issue supplement s1.

Vranken, J. (1977). Armoede in de welvaartsstaat: een poging tot historische en structurele plaatsing. Antwerpen: Universiteit Instelling Antwerpen.

- (2001). Unraveling the social strands of poverty: differentiation, fragmentation, inequality, and exclusion. In: H.T. Andersen, H.T, R. Van Kempen. (Eds.).

Governing European Cities. Aldershot: Ashgate.

- (2014). Thatcher aan de Schelde. Antwerpen: EPO.

Westley, F. & Antadze, N. (2009). Making a difference. Strategies for scaling social innovation for greater impact. The innovation journal: the public sector innovation journal, 15(2), 1-19.