Advanced Introduction to Social Innovation

Frank Moulaert, Emeritus Professor of Spatial Planning, KU Leuven, Belgium and Diana MacCallum, Senior Lecturer, Urban and Regional Planning, School of Design and Built Environment, Curtin University, Western Australia

'Committed to finding common ground beyond the rift and confusion that has characterised debates around social innovation over the past 10 years, Moulaert and MacCallum offer an authoritative contribution that depicts social innovation as a continuum of positions cross-cutting academia, grassroots movements and policy practice. Focusing on the ethics of this continuum, they argue, can open a path to a more inclusive world. The book is conceptually and methodologically rigorous and empirically informed, yet written in a didactic and accessible manner. It will form a key reading for academics, policy makers and activists who want to clarify and enrich their thinking and practice around social innovation.'--Maria Kaika, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands'A long needed exercise to define and clarify a multifaceted concept, this book succeeds in giving a clear overview of social innovation by rooting it in successful and meaningful field experiments and cases. The intellectual and geographical scope of this work shows that social innovation can be practised in a variety of contexts as long as it is aimed at reaching a more equitable, democratic and inclusive world.'--Pierre Morrissette, Centre d'action bénévole de Montréal Volunteer Bureau, Canada

• Contents: 1. Introduction to Social Innovation 2. A History of Social Innovation Thought and Practice 3. The Contemporary Landscape of Social Innovation Scholarship 4. Experiences of Social Innovation Across Three Continents 5. Spaces of Social Innovation 6. Social Innovation Action Research 7. Some Final Reflections, While Looking Ahead References Index