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Integrating social innovation and public policy: lessons from early childhood education and care in Barcelona, Spain

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Social innovation has broadly been defined as citizen-led initiatives aimed at improving community welfare through collaborative relationships. However, numerous studies demonstrate that social innovation might actually create new inequalities. In this paper, we address the following questions: how might socially innovative projects influence public policy? How can we understand a policy shift leading to institutions not only giving support to social innovation projects but even promoting their own social innovation schemes? Is institution-led social innovation different from citizen-led efforts? If so, how? We provide evidence of local public policy change occurring in 0–3 education and care in Barcelona between 2015 and 2021. We explain how this happened, examining who redefined the issue and how, how the policy domain was reorganized, and how the policy subsystem was restructured. Our conclusions show how and why citizens and institutions define social innovation differently and how innovative 0–3 policy in Barcelona was adopted.

Source: Journal of Public Policy

DOI: 10.1017/s0143814x24000230

Authors: Raquel Gallego, Lara Maestripieri

Institution: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Language: English

Topic: Social Sciences and Governance

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450