Even though social innovation in its essence is as old as mankind (Cajaiba-Santana, 2014), its academic relevance as a field of study in the social sciences has gained momentum only over the last decade in particular (Edwards-Schachter & Wallace, 2017). The shortcomings of techno-capitalism as a driver of social change (Mulgan et al., 2008; Perez, 2009), led to the rising prominence of the concept of social innovation rooted in various fields, spanning from business and management studies to community development (van der Have and Rubalcaba, 2016) and recently to the arts and the wider creative economy (Upstart Co-lab, 2017).  The creative industries are per their definition linked to a constant strive for innovation and with that hold a role as a source for wider economic paradigm shifts (Potts, 2011). And with their affinity to apply their problem-solving skills beyond their own economic sector, creative industries’ agents increasingly establish social enterprises and aim to address fundamental societal problems and needs (Jaaniste, 2009; Williams, 2017). Along with the shifting roles of the public, private and social sector (Phills et al., 2008) they can thus become trailblazers of social innovations. Novel business models and financial approaches, such as the recent interest of social finance in the creative industries (Rockefeller Foundation, 2017), can support this development further.  The arising creative social sphere is an emerging phenomenon that this special issue aims to investigate further. Gaps in knowledge and theory concerning (1) understanding the process of the creation, legitimisation, absorption and institutionalisation of creative social innovations and (2) creative social enterprises in general are of interest.  

 

We invite empirical and conceptual papers addressing these two broad subject areas, as well as on topics such as (and this list is not intended to be exhaustive):

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• The creative economy has formed an integral part in policy and economy debates and agenda settings in many countries in recent years. Likewise, social innovation as a process and phenomenon is widely recognized in social policy debates (Adams and Hess, 2010; DCMS,2016; UNESCO, 2018). (How) Do the two relate, inform, overlap or hinder each other?

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• In particular what is the role of policy and institutional frameworks in support and hindering the development of a socially driven creative sector?

 

• The creative industries lie outside the realm of common social enterprise domains (e.g. health, sustainability, education) that are focus of much research.  What old and new business models are adopted by creative social enterprises? (How) Does that influence their ability to attract social finance and capital?

 

• Creativity and e.g. design thinking methods have developed into highly desirable skills and tools in enterprises in basically any given industry (Newbigin, 2017). What are tools that creative entrepreneurs and enterprises possess, that are relevant specifically for social enterprises and social entrepreneurs and vise versa? 

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• The creative economy is dominated by micro and small and medium-sized businesses (European Commission, 2013).Entrepreneurial expertise and business acumen is often limited. Do social entrepreneurs and enterprises poses means to address that need?

 

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We welcome papers with specific geographical focus and case studies. Given the location of the event we welcome also papers about Singapore and its institutional framework in relation to creative social enterprises.

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DEADLINE TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT:

5th October 2018

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SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT 

We are interested in contributions from all interested scholars, including PhD students, as well policy makers and practitioners, by email, a paper proposal (abstract) of around 500 words by no later than 1st October 2018 to the event organisers at: denderah.rickmers@kcl.ac.uk

 

Abstracts must include full contact details and a short 250 words biography of the presenter.

Applicants will be contacted by 10th of October 2018 to confirm their acceptance.

 

Presenters will be also invited to submit to a forthcoming (2019) special issue of the Social Enterprise Journal following feedback from the workshop 

 

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REFERNCES 

Adams, D., & Hess, M. (2010). Social Innovation and Why it has Policy Significance. Economic and Labour Relations Review, 21(2), 139–156.

 

Cajaiba-Santana, G. (2014). Social innovation: Moving the field forward. A conceptual framework. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 82(1), 42–51.

 

DCMS. (2016). Classifying and measuring the Creative Industries. Department for Culture, Media & Sport. London.

 

Edwards-Schachter, M., & Wallace, M. L. (2017a). ‘Shaken, but not stirred’: Sixty years of defining social innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 119, 64–79.

 

European Comission. (2013). Survey on access to finance for cultural and creative sectors. Retrieved June 9, 2018, from http://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/culture/library/studies/access-finance_en.pdf

 

Jaaniste, L. (2009). Placing the creative sector within innovation: The full gamut. Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice, 11(2), 215–229.

 

Low, L. (2001). The Singapore developmental state in the new economy and polity. The Pacific Review, 14(3), 411–441.

 

Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R., & Sanders, B. (2008). Social Innovation: What it is, why it matters and how it can be accelerated. Oxford.

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Newbigin, J. (2017, November 16). What is the creative economy ? British Council. Retrieved from https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/guide/what-creative-economy/

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Pereira, A. (2007). Attitudes towards Entrepreneurship in Singapore: The Role of the State in Cultural Transition. Asian Journal of Social Science, 35(3), 321–339.

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Perez, C. (2009). Technological revolutions and techno-economic paradigms. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34(1), 185–202.

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Phills Jr, J. A., Deiglmeier, K., & Miller, D. T. (2008). Rediscovering Social Innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall, 34–43.

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Potts, J. (2011). Creative Industries and Economic Evolution. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.

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Rao-Nicholson, R., Vorley, T., & Khan, Z. (2017). Social innovation in emerging economies: A national systems of innovation based approach. In Technological Forecasting and Social Change (pp. 228–237). Elsevier Inc.

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UNESCO. (2018a). Creative Industries. Retrieved August 15, 2018, from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/creativity/creative-industries/

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Upstart Co-lab. (2017). A Creativity Lens for impact investing. Upstart Co-lab.

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van der Have, R. P., & Rubalcaba, L. (2016). Social innovation research: An emerging area of innovation studies? Research Policy, 45(9), 1923–1935.

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Williams, G. (2017). Are Artists the New Interpreters of Scientific Innovation ? Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/12/t-magazine/art/artist-residency-science.html