Social Innovation Policy in the European Union

Abstract

This chapter provides a detailed overview of the development of social innovation policy in the European Union. It makes an important analytical distinction between policy for social innovation and policy as social innovation. In the context of these two policy agendas, not only has social innovation been understood as a means to achieve an end in this regard, it has also been recognized as an end in itself. These agendas have been advocated by the European Commission and across various individual states. This chapter establishes how the concept of social innovation has been understood, applied, and managed in pan-European policy agendas over recent years. It examines the key policy agendas from the perspective of institutions, cognitive frames, and networks: the Europe 2020 strategy (2010–20), the Social Business Initiative and the Social Investment Package.