Local background of the social innovations Stockholm is among the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Europe. In an OECD territorial review from 2006, Stockholm was stated to be “one of the most successful metropolitan regions in the OECD”. The strengths of Stockholm that were highlighted in the report were research and development, concentration of advanced…
Local background of the social innovations The history of social policies in Navarra during the last 30 years shows a certain degree of ambivalence. The regional and local governments have frequently boasted of having a level of social service provision clearly above the Spanish average and of being a pioneer in the development of social…
Local background of the social innovations The administrative decentralisation of the political structure in Spain grants regional and local councils a set of legislative and executive competencies which, in the case of social welfare services, are very far-reaching (Aguilar et al. 2011). This decentralisation of competencies has given considerable leeway to each territory in the…
Local background of the social innovations Innovation is defined in many ways by social scientists, people connected with business or technology. In short, it is a way to improve the systems that already exist, making them better, faster and cheaper (Iuri and Kuhn 1998). The meaning of “better, faster, cheaper” depends on the area of…
Local background of the social innovations Innovation is defined in many ways by social scientists, people connected with business or technology. Shortly speaking, it is a way to improve the systems that already exist, making them better, faster and cheaper (Iuri and Kuhn 1998). What means “better, faster, cheaper” depends on the area of interest.…
Local background of the social innovations Over time, a strongly left-wing political culture emerged in Nijmegen. Its key values related to the protection of the less well off: solidarity, equal opportunities to participate in society and the urge for an “undivided” city. Over the past few years, a fear of increasing divisions between residents in…
Local background of the social innovations The context of welfare innovations in Münster is dominated by the overarching logic of competitiveness and investment (see City Report Münster, WP4). This discursive frame was established in the 1990s, when a coalition involving stakeholders from local politics and administration, the university and local entrepreneurship joined forces to promote…
Local background of the social innovations Social innovations do not come “out of the blue” but capitalise on different resources, e.g. human capital and public support, available at the locality where they are developed and put into practice. Moreover, social innovations, perceived as indicators and messengers, respond to social problems occurring at a particular time…
Local background of the social innovations An unequal distribution of responsibilities between national and local governments in the WILCO policy fields: Taking into consideration the three WILCO policy fields, multi-governance is the predominant situation with more or less shared responsibilities between national and local governments. However, we can clearly distinguish labour market policy where local…
Local background of the social innovations The role and recognition of civil society in Varaždin has strengthened since 2000. Before, civil society was a rather marginal phenomenon. However, over the last decade, civil society organisations have grown respectably in their number, and have gained a growing policy role. Some of recognisable areas of civil society…