Schedule

With Jürgen Howaldt , Social Research Center Dortmund (Germany) Innovation Policy in the Era of Multiple Crises - Shaping Societal Futures with Social Innovation Social Innovation has increasingly been attracting attention in recent years. As a novel approach to address complex problems in global health, social care, education, energy, and environmental policies, social innovation has been embraced by stakeholders and communities on the local, regional, and national level. The dynamics of this development and the widespread uptake of social innovation in the international discourse on innovation policy and innovation research are also reflected in the increasing number of (public) programs that initiate, support and analyse social innovation. Interest in social innovation in different policy arenas has grown, particularly since the global financial crisis in the mid-2000s. Against this background, the presentation focuses on the role of social innovation in times of multiple and deepening crises which increasingly affect all areas of social life. At the heart of the reorientation of innovation policy in the European Union lies the assumption that social innovations can significantly contribute to overcoming major societal challenges. This also involves the contribution of social innovations to strengthening the resilience of the social order. This is linked to a second perspective on social innovation: its role in shaping social change and societal transformation. This perspective becomes more important when it becomes clear that the established practices and institutions are no longer able to solve the problems but, in the contrary, create and reinforce them. Thus, social innovation has become the focal point of a new understanding of innovation that opens up to society and is supported by the interaction of diverse actors from civil society, business, politics and science, who work on the development of new social practices and institutions - from different sectoral perspectives and with diverging objectives, but often in a co-creative way. In this sense, social innovation can be seen as a new mode of social change and social transformation that is becoming increasingly important in view of the failure of the market and politics.

Faced with the worsening climate and environmental crisis, the inaction of political decision-makers and the pressure of industrial lobbies, a number of civil society initiatives are being implemented to take local action and contribute to the sustainability transitions. These initiatives are part of a new relationship with the territory and nature, and enable experimentation with practices that bring about social innovation. The panel will discuss examples of these initiatives with three people actively involved in such experiments or who have conducted action-research projects on them. with Tamatoa Bambridge, researcher, Rāhui Center (Polynésie française) René Audet, professor et researcher, Chaire de recherche sur la transition écologique (UQAM) (Canada) Yenny Vega Cárdenas, president, Observatoire international des droits de la nature (Canada) The panel will be moderated by Professor Sophie L. Van Neste (INRS).

As part of its 7th international conference, CRISES is organizing this science bar with three researchers who are experimenting with alternative research methods in different communities. Join in the discussion over a drink and nibbles! Laurie Guimond, Chairholder, and Maude Normandin Bellefeuille, Coordinator, Canada Research Chair in Northern Living Environments (UQAM), will present narrative maps produced as part of a project to tell the story of the territory and the transformations it is undergoing in the context of climate change. Jacinthe Rivard, Associate Researcher, Research Chair on the Evaluation of Public Actions with Regard to Youth and Vulnerable Populations, and two co-researchers (Annie and Francine) will present different approaches used as part of a research project conducted with women who have experienced or are still experiencing homelessness. Emilie Fortin-Lefebvre, Director of the Centre d'études pour l'autonomie économique des peuples autochtones, will talk about the use of artistic methods to document and transmit knowledge. The capsule The Cree Way presents an immersive, sensitive approach to indigenous knowledge. The second part highlights an illustrated guide to Inuit entrepreneurship, offering a different perspective on the transmission of knowledge. Moderator: Caroline Dufresne, doctoral student and member of the Canada Research Chair in Northern Living Environments (UQAM) This event is organized with the support of the Canada Research Chair in Northern Living Environments (UQAM).