A case-based analysis of the social innovation process in real life contexts

Increasing attention is being paid towards the potential of social innovation in responding to society’s greatest challenges. While measures have been taken to support the flourishing of these innovations, they have thus far been made on ideal models of development, misaligned with what occurs in reality. This has led to the creation of supporting infrastructures that fail to respond to the real needs of social innovators. The paper seeks to provide a picture of the real social innovation development process through a case-based discussion coming from the results of the EU research project, SIMPACT. The paper will also present areas of improvement and reflection, on which to develop an evidence-based model of SI development.