The opportunities and challenges of social innovation have increasingly become the subject of scientific and political debate in recent years. Against this background, international experts discussed new conceptual and analytical approaches to understanding social innovation in the service sector as well as policy options for promoting and supporting these innovations in an invited session at the Schumpeter Conference on June 11 in Gothenburg.

After introductory remarks by Paul Windrum (Nottingham University Business School), Atila Havas (Austrian Institute for Technology) addressed some aspects of the conceptual discussion in the research field. Jürgen Howaldt (TU Dortmund University) then presented new approaches for government innovation policy to promote and support social innovation in society. The focus was on the developments in German innovation policy towards a comprehensive strategy aimed at tackling major societal challenges as well as experiences from the European Union and its member states. Special mention was made of Portugal's experience in promoting social innovation through the establishment of a national agency.

On the day before the conference, experiences on the status of the development of national ecosystems in the field of social innovation were exchanged in a roundtable with representatives of the Alberta government and national networks in Canada.

Further information: https://www.gu.se/en/u-gotkies/iss2024

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