Keywords
local action groups
local development associations
rural regions
Austria
Portugal
How to Cite
Abstract
Social innovation entered the academic discourse several decades ago and has since been seen as a way of tackling existing problems in various contexts. Although an extensive body of research has been conducted into the role of social innovation in urban context, there is still a gap when it comes to studying the role of social innovation in the development of rural areas. In this paper, an attempt is made to look at the role of Local Action Groups (LAGs) and Local Development Associations (LDAs) as promoters of social innovation in rural areas in Austria and Portugal, aiming to understand the role of such organisations and the challenges faced by the latter in promoting social innovation.
Funding
This research has been carried out in the framework of the RurAction project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 721999.
References
Angelidou M., Psaltoglou A., 2017. An empirical investigation of social innovation initiatives for sustainable urban development. Sustainable Cities and Society 33: 113–125.
Bock B.B., 2012. Social innovation and sustainability; how to disentangle the buzzword and its application in the field of agriculture and rural development. Studies in Agricultural Economics 114 (1316-2016-102759): 57–63.
Bock B.B., 2016. Rural marginalisation and the role of social innovation; a turn towards nexogenous development and rural reconnection. Sociologia Ruralis 56(4): 552–573. DOI: 10.1111/soru.12119
Bosworth G., Rizzo F., Marquardt D., Strijker D., Haartsen T., Aagaard Thuesen A., 2016. Identifying social innovations in European local rural development initiatives. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research 29(4): 442–461.
Dax T., Fischer M., 2018. An alternative policy approach to rural development in regions facing population decline. European Planning Studies 26(2): 297–315.
Dax T., Strahl W., Kirwan J., Maye D., 2016. The LEADER programme 2007–2013: Enabling or disabling social innovation and neo-endogenous development? Insights from Austria and Ireland. European Urban and Regional Studies 23(1): 56–68. DOI: 10.1177/0969776413490425.
Di Iacovo F., Moruzzo R., Rossignoli C., Scarpellini P., 2014. Transition management and social innovation in rural areas: Lessons from social farming. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 20(3): 327–347.
Dobele L., Grinberga-Zalite G., Kelle L., 2015. Sustainable economic development: Scenarios for promotion of social innovation in Latvia. Journal of Security & Sustainability Issues 5(2): 149–158. DOI: 10.9770/jssi.2015.5.2(2).
Dargan L., Shucksmith M., 2008. LEADER and innovation. Sociologia ruralis 48(3): 274–291. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00463.x.
European Commission 2008. The EU Rural Development Policy: Facing the Challenges. Online: https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrd-static/fms/pdf/2067BB37-F930-016B-4338-41FC992B5F58.pdf (accessed: 5 November 2019).
Eurostat 2016. Rural development statistics by urban-rural typology. Online: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Archive:Rural_development_statistics_by_urban-rural_typology&oldid=294503 (accessed: 15 November 2019).
Eurostat 2019. Database. Online: ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database (accessed: 25 October 2019).
García-Llorente M., Rossignoli C., Di Iacovo F., Moruzzo R., 2016. Social farming in the promotion of social-ecological sustainability in rural and periurban areas. Sustainability 8(12): 1–15. DOI: 10.3390/su8121238.
Gobattoni F., Pelorosso R., Leone A., Ripa M.N., 2015. Sustainable rural development: The role of traditional activities in Central Italy. Land Use Policy 48: 412–427.
Hulgard L., Ferreira S., 2019. Social innovation and public policy. In: Howaldt J., Kaletka C., Schröder A., Zirngiebl M. (eds), Atlas of social innovation. 2nd volume – A world of new practices. oekom Verlag GmbH: Munich.
Margaras V., 2019. Demographic trends in EU regions. European Parliamentary Research Service. Online: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/633160/EPRS_BRI(2019)633160_EN.pdf (accessed: 17 December 2019).
Marques P., Morgan K., Richardson R., 2018. Social innovation in question: The theoretical and practical implications of a contested concept. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 36(3): 496–512. DOI: 10.1177/2399654417717986.
Moulaert F., Sekia F., 2003. Territorial innovation models: A critical survey. Regional Studies 37(3): 289–302. DOI: 10.1080/0034340032000065442.
Moulaert F., Martinelli F., Swyngedouw E., Gonzalez S., 2005. Towards alternative model (s) of local innovation. Urban Studies 42(11): 1969–1990. DOI: 10.1080=00420980500279893.
Moulaert F., 2010. Social innovation and community development: Concepts, theories and challenges. In: Moulaert F., Swyngedouw E., Martinelli F., Gonzalez S. (eds), Can neighbourhoods save the city? Routledge, Oxford: 20–32.
Navarro F., Labianca M., Cejudo E., de Rubertis S., Salento A., Maroto J.C., Belliggiano A., 2018. Interpretations of innovation in rural development. The cases of LEADER Projects in Lecce (Italy) and Granada (Spain) in 2007–201 Period. European Countryside 10(1): 107–126. DOI: 10.2478/euco-2018-0007.
Neumeier S., 2012. Why do social innovations in rural development matter and should they be considered more seriously in rural development research? Proposal for a stronger focus on social innovations in rural development research. Sociologia Ruralis 52(1): 48–69. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2011.00553.x.
Neumeier S., 2017. Social innovation in rural development: Identifying the key factors of success. The Geographical Journal 183(1): 34–46. DOI: 10.1111/geoj.12180.
Noack A., Federwisch T., 2019. Social innovation in rural regions: Urban impulses and cross-border constellations of actors. Sociologia Ruralis 59(1): 92–112. DOI: 10.1111/soru.12216.
Phillips W., Lee H., Ghobadian A., O’Regan N., James P., 2015. Social innovation and social entrepreneurship: A systematic review. Group & Organization Management 40(3): 428–461. DOI: 10.1177/1059601114560063.
Pol E., Ville S., 2009. Social innovation: Buzz word or enduring term? The Journal of Socio-Economics 38(6): 878–885.
Ray C., 2006. Neo-endogenous rural development in the EU. In: Cloke P., Marsden T., Mooney P. (eds), Handbook of rural studies. SAGE Publications Ltd: 278–291.
Richter R., 2019. Rural social enterprises as embedded intermediaries: The innovative power of connecting rural communities with supra-regional networks. Journal of Rural Studies 70: 179–187.
Statistics Portugal 2019. Database. Online: https://www.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpid=INE&xpgid=ine_main (accessed: 18 December 2019).
Strahl W., Dax T., 2010. Leader mainstreaming – new challenges to innovative local activities. Case study Austria, RuDI report, Work package 8. Vienna, Bundesanstalt fuer Bergbauernfragen: Wien, Austria.
Shucksmith M., Cameron S., Merridew T., Pichler F., 2009. Urban–rural differences in quality of life across the European Union. Regional Studies 43(10): 1275–1289.
Schumpeter J.A., 1911. The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle, transaction books (1983). New Brunswick/New Jersey.
Tregear A., Cooper S., 2016. Embeddedness, social capital and learning in rural areas: The case of producer cooper¬atives. Journal of Rural Studies 44: 101–110.