STREAM 13: UNIVERSITIES AS ‘GLOCAL’ LEADERS OF SOCIAL INNOVATION

Description:

The role that locality and geography plays in the creation of social innovation ecosystems has seen significant research over the last decade (Defourny and Nyssens, 2010; Galera and Borzaga, 2009; Hazenberg et al., 2016; Kerlin, 2013). However, whilst much of this previous research focus has been centred upon national and regional contexts globally, less attention has been paid to the differences and factors that influence social innovation ecosystems at the local level (i.e. town/municipality). The interplay between these localized contexts and global ecosystems is also poorly understood, especially when considering institutional factors in these systems. Among institutional actors that can shape social innovation, universities are key players within their localities since they have been shown to have significant economic and social impacts on their communities (Bonner, 1968; Glasson, 2003). Further, their links into national and international governance systems through policy, alongside their role as anchor institutions locally and knowledge exchangers internationally, means that they can potentially be significant institutional hubs for driving social innovation.

In this panel, we seek to build upon previous streams centred on this topic held at ISIRC 2020 and 2021, to explore the role that universities can play in driving the development and sustainability of social innovation ecosystems in their locality, and how this can then drive social innovation globally through research, education, knowledge exchange, international partnerships and policy development. Building on this initial panel, we wish to explore the role that international partnerships, global ranking and impact frameworks, as well as adherence to the Sustainable Development Goals can have on social innovation in higher education. Therefore, the themes to be explored include:

·       Universities as leaders of social innovation;

·       Research, teaching and community engagement;

·       Universities as anchor institutions;

·       Resource acquisition and provision;

·       Incubation and acceleration facilities;

·       Network creation and partnerships locally and globally;

·       Policy advocacy and innovation;

·       Global ranking and impact frameworks;

·       The UN SDGs.

References

1.     Bonner, E.R., (1968), The Economic Impact of a University on Its Local Community, Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 34(5), pp. 339-343.

2.     Defourny, J., & Nyssens, M. (2010), Conceptions of Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurship in Europe and the United States: Convergences and Divergences. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 1(1), 32–53.

3.     Galera, G., & Borzaga, C. (2009), Social Enterprise: An International Overview of Its Conceptual Evolution and Legal Implementation. Social Enterprise Journal, 5(3), 210–228

4.     Glasson, J., (2003), The Widening Local and Regional Development Impacts of the Modern Universities - A Tale of Two Cities (and North-South Perspectives), Local Economy, 18(1), pp. 21-37.

5.     Hazenberg, R., Bajwa-Patel, M., Roy, M.J., Mazzei, M. and Baglioni, S., (2016), The role of institutional and stakeholder networks in shaping social enterprise ecosystems in Europe, Social Enterprise Journal, 12(3), pp. 302-321.

6.     Kerlin, J. A. (2013), Defining Social Enterprise Across Different Contexts: A Conceptual Framework Based on Institutional Factors, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42(1), pp. 84–108.