Bridging Social Innovation in Education and Organisational Learning

Abstract

This article combines two research approaches so far not connected but mutually reinforcing each other: social innovation and organisational education. On the one hand, theoretical and practical development of social innovation in education is a growing research area. On the other hand, organisational education, through its outlined Research Memorandum Organizational Education, is strengthening research of organisations and learning processes, especially on learning in, by and between organisations. To unfold the potential of social innovation in education, new cooperation and governance structures are needed to integrate all the relevant stakeholders to solve educational demands and mismatches. This is a prerequisite for making the formal education system more receptive to social innovations. The organisational education approach is focusing on a yet neglected part of the social innovation process: the change of organisations by mutual learning processes within an innovation ecosystem bringing together stakeholders from education and research, economy, policy, and civil society. The article shows the connections between both approaches by drawing on examples in practice from different applied research projects.