Efthymia Amanatidou

Research and innovation futures: exploring new ways of doing and organizing knowledge creation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of research and innovation futures, sketch the landscape of recent findings in this field with a focus on new ways of doing and organizing knowledge creation and position the contributions to this special issue within that landscape. Design/methodology/approach This paper includes a review of literature on the embedding of research and innovation in society, outlines the main domains of current drivers of change and summarises the contributions to the special issue. Findings Recent controversies about the future of research and innovation draw on a long-standing trajectory of debate about the role of science, technology and innovation in society, and the balance between autonomy in striving for scientific excellence on the one hand and the quest for social and economic relevance on the other. Six major domains of current and expected future changes in research and innovation are identified, and serve as the backdrop for positioning the more specific contributions to this special issue. Originality/value The main value of this contribution is to provide a condensed and original look at emerging directions of change in research and innovation practices and their organisational and institutional embedding in society.

Social engagement: towards a typology of social innovation

Social innovation has seen several different interpretations and definitions in recent years. Either considered as innovation with a ‘social twist’, or a facet of social entrepreneurship, or an innovation type that has to be distinguished from other types, social innovation has been central in academic and policy discourses especially in the context of dealing with societal challenges. Given this increasing importance, the aim of this paper is to identify the special features of social innovation and thus clarify the fuzziness around the multiple definitions, conceptualisations and interpretations. In particular the development of a typology of social innovation types is attempted largely based on the role of society in the innovation cycle. The paper concludes with reflections on the analysis and policy implications. Social engagement: towards a typology of social innovation 3