Social Research Center Connects Science and Social Innovations
- Top News
- Research
Major societal challenges, such as climate or demographic change, cannot be solved by technological innovation alone. They also call for social innovations. These encompass a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from social entrepreneurship geared to the common good to more extensive and sustainable solutions for society. As an example, multi-generation housing creates affordable living space for younger residents who, in return, help their older housemates with everyday tasks such as shopping or cleaning. Other examples of social innovations include car-sharing and loans for micro-businesses.
New challenges and opportunities
With the “National Strategy for Social Innovation and Social Enterprises”, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, together with the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, aims to strengthen this type of innovation by setting up the “Platform for Social Innovations and Social Enterprises”. In the shape of digital and analog services, the platform has been informing, empowering and networking social innovators, funding partners and stakeholders from research, teaching and knowledge transfer since fall 2023. It offers, for example, an overview of regional expertise and contact points, provides information on best practices for financing projects and recommends tools.
Within the project, the Social Research Center is especially focusing on formats for scientific discourse and the development of the “Netzwerk Wissenschaft” for stakeholders from higher education and scientific institutions. “To successfully initiate and accompany social innovations, the active involvement of universities is indispensable,” says Dr. Christoph Kaletka, project manager and deputy director of the Social Research Center. “Many new challenges and development opportunities are emerging for the academic system. We are discussing these in the network and will continue the discussion at a first conference in September, which will represent a real milestone in the project.”
Bundling experience
The Social Research Center at TU Dortmund University has been conducting research since 2010 into the emergence of social innovations, how they can be shaped and their benefits for society. Over the past 15 years, it has contributed to the greater visibility of social innovations in science, practice and politics as a topic in their own right. Alongside research into transformation processes, areas in which universities themselves are actively involved in social innovations are increasingly coming to the fore, for example hubs for social start-up concepts or courses on the topic. “Our strategic goal is for social innovations to be anchored in universities’ understanding of innovation at eye level with new technological developments. There is a lot of experience at the European and now also the national level that we want to bundle and further develop on the platform, interactively and in dialog with the stakeholders,” says Dr. Kaletka.
Conference invitation
The “Netzwerk Wissenschaft” is now extending an invitation to its first conference in Dortmund on 17 September, which is aimed at stakeholders from research, teaching and knowledge transfer who are involved or interested in social innovation. On the agenda are keynote speeches by international scientists and dialog sessions to foster interdisciplinary exchange between the participants. At the end of the conference, a panel of experts will discuss the strategic consequences of establishing social innovation at universities. Participation in the conference is free of charge, but participants are asked to register.