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The logo of the Social Research Centre Dortmund
Department of Social Sciences
Studierende sitzt am Arbeitsplatz und schaut auf den Laptop. © Aliona Kardash​/​TU Dortmund
International Research Stay

Eu-SPRI ECR Award supports social innovation research in Manchester

Photo: A tunnel painted with graffiti in Manchester © Katrin Bauer​/​TU Dortmund
Street Art in Manchester: Impressions from a region in transition
Supported by the Eu-SPRI Forum Early Career Researcher Circulation Award, Dr. Katrin Bauer spent three months at the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research from April to July 2026. As a researcher at the Social Research Center (sfs) at TU Dortmund University, she advanced her work on Social Innovation Orientation, the public sector and AI.

From April to July 2026, Dr. Katrin Bauer, assistant professor at the Social Research Center (sfs), Department of Social Sciences at TU Dortmund University, spent three months at the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIOIR), University of Manchester. The stay was made possible through the Eu-SPRI Forum Early Career Researcher Circulation Award.

Katrin was invited by MIOIR to collaborate with Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo. The stay focused on the further development of her research on Social Innovation Orientation. The concept addresses how individuals and organizations, particularly in the public sector, are oriented towards enabling social innovation. This research links directly to a key area of work at the sfs: understanding, shaping and enabling social innovation in societal transformation processes.

During the stay, Katrin discussed and pre-tested her scale for measuring Social Innovation Orientation with researchers and practitioners in Manchester. The exchange focused on item clarity, the international transferability of the approach and the role of different institutional contexts. A particular emphasis was placed on artificial intelligence and how AI can be understood not only as a technology for efficiency gains, but also as part of an enabling infrastructure for social innovation.

Photo: Dr. Katrin Bauer stands in front of the participants and presents her pretest on a smartboard © MIOIR
Dr. Katrin Bauer during the scale development pretest

In addition to the work on the research project, Katrin participated in workshops, seminars and formats on innovation policy, evaluation and regional innovation systems. Particularly relevant were discussions on policy evaluation and a roundtable on regional innovation policy. These formats opened up new perspectives on similarities and differences between Greater Manchester and the Ruhr Area, especially regarding structural change, regional transformation, co-creation and the societal impact of innovation.

Looking at Greater Manchester also revealed meaningful points of connection with the Ruhr Area, the home region of TU Dortmund University. Both regions have been shaped by industrial heritage, structural change and diverse transformation processes, even though their institutional and policy contexts differ. The exchange in Manchester therefore offered new perspectives on how regional innovation policy, public actors and local networks can help make innovation socially impactful.

The R&D Management Conference 2026 in Manchester was also part of the research stay. At the conference, Katrin presented research connected to the Platform for Social Innovations and Social Enterprises. In a session on the UK innovation ecosystem, the study introduced Germany as a case and discussed how social innovation is taken up in higher education institutions.

The research stay enabled through the Eu-SPRI ECR Award provided important impulses for Katrin‘s ongoing work at the sfs. The scale on Social Innovation Orientation will now be further developed, sharpened internationally and transformed into a scientific paper. For the sfs, the stay also contributes to international networking in the fields of social innovation, public sector innovation and science, technology and innovation policy.

Read Dr. Katrin Bauer's detailed report on her stay at MIOIR