NETWORK Setups Driving Social Innovation

An organisational and a cross-organisational network setup were implemented to foster social innovation: Both networks endorse cross-organizational, -sector and -disciplinary collaborative social innovation by conceptualizing and implementing novel collaboration setups, new strategies, concepts and ideas meeting social and societal needs. In addition to this type of process innovation targeting sustainable transition of governance relations the crossorganisational network as well focuses on the inclusion of diverse population groups via participation within education and science. This paper illustrates key elements of network setups driving social innovation and is structured as follows: section 1 is devoted to current environmental demands for social innovation, section 2 describes the positive impact of context management; section 3 carries out clarification of central terms; section 4 illustrates implementation phases of two case studies; section 5 points out presumptions for social innovation in terms of network system learning; section 6 will conclude with the network challenges transforming professional identity of social entrepreneurs and driving process innovation in and between organisations.