Participatory Action-Research in a systemic framework for improving Social Innovation. The case study of Centro Audiovisual Don Bosco (UPS- Ecuador)

Abstract

This paper stems from the need to respond to currently underway processes of knowledge management in the UPS. Knowledge management could be understood in terms of relationships between research and innovation. Research and innovation in their development processes produce tacit knowledge aimed at cultivating competences and capabilities into UPS community. A research-intervention project aims to define a model of social innovation supported by improving the nexus between research-teaching supported by ICT’s. To this scope, it’s necessary to get involved the stakeholders in a process of PAR-s. PAR-s is aimed at developing competences and capabilities into UPS community for responding to the growing social demand of innovation in education also supported by ICT’s. PAR-s is aimed to facilitate and monitor, through participative evaluation/planning methods and techniques, some innovative organizational/management processes in the Centro Audiovisual Don Bosco. This capacity for self-organization in UPS is embodied in organizational, managerial, improvement and in services aimed at matching the emerging educational challenges of the complexity in the social context. These processes are aimed at enhancing the supply and quality of services linking scientific production and hypermedia from the consistency with the social needs and the demands of education. In this direction, the social problem identified, has been re-configured as a research problem useful for planning the project of intervention.