SIMPACT Statistic Briefs

Volume 2016 Issue 1

René WINTJES, Nordine ES-SADKI, Rüdiger GLOTT & Ad NOTTEN

Social innovation is explained as new combinations of social, economic and political capital (resources and capabilities). The value or impact of social innovation derives from the interaction between the supply and demand for social innovations. As producers and users of social innovations the stakeholders of the business, public and civic or third sector engage in interactive learning and co-creation of use value, or »value-in-context«. Based on the derived indicator requirements, indicator sets are proposed.

Volume 2016 Issue 2

Thijmen VAN BREE, Marcel DE HEIDE & Steven DHONDT

In this Statistics Brief we look at Social Innovation through a macro-economic lens. We explore the possibilities for integrating the economics of social innovation into National Accounts and discuss pros and cons of requirements to do so. At the same time, we acknowledge that key to measuring the full impact of Social Innovation is to refer to wider non-financial impacts, including the well-being of individuals and communities, social capital and the environment. We therefore emphasise the (macro-)economic dimensions of Social Innovation both in a National Accounts and a 'beyond GDP' perspective. We conclude that if one wants to set-up a measuring framework to fully address the economic relevance of Social Innovation at the national level, this could be done in a Satellite Account to the National Accounts ? building on the approach and thematic indicators as recommended by the Conference of European Statisticians to measuring Sustainable Development. However, this would first require a clear and standardized operationalisation of Social Innovation activities, inputs, outputs and impacts.