Innovations and social problem solving: a comparative study Innovationer och sociala problem—en komparativ studie

摘要

This article explores the practical implementation of two innovative projects in Denmark and Sweden. The research is motivated by the high political interest in innovations as a modern quick fix to societal problems. Innovations are regarded as an all-round solution; however, research has mainly been focused on technical and economic factors without considering social problem solving. Utilizing ethnographic methodology, the study reveals that the same innovative process solves problems on one structural level, but creates new problems on another. Faith is generally seen as an important element of innovations geared to social problem solving. Results show that faith is bound to certain structural levels and that a given innovative process runs the risk of creating conflicting perceptions at different levels. The research demonstrates the importance of including components such as value differences, conflicts of interest, and ideology when promoting innovations and when studying innovative efforts. I denna artikel utforskas två innovativa projekt i Danmark och Sverige. Forskningen motiveras av det stora politiska intresset för innovationer som en modern snabblösning på allehanda samhälleliga problem. Hittills har forskningen om innovationer främst varit inriktad på tekniska och ekonomiska faktorer utan hänsyn till social problemlösning. Genom att använda etnografiska metoder visar studien hur samma innovativa process kan lösa problem på ett plan, men skapar nya på ett annat. Tillit betraktas allmänt som en viktig del av innovativa processer. Studien visar att tillit är bundet till vissa nivåer och att en innovativ process riskerar att skapa motstridiga uppfattningar på en annan nivå. Studien demonstrerar vidare vikten av att ta hänsyn till aspekter såsom intressekonflikter och ideologi när man vill främja eller studera innovationer. View full textDownload full textCorrectionKeywordsInnovation, Social Problem, Social Work, Faith, ActivationKeywordsInnovation, Sociala Problem, Socialt Arbete, Tillit, AktiveringRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2010.490061