It is a stated political wish that Norwegian municipalities should collaborate with social entrepreneurs to promote new thinking and innovation.
That is, they should collaborate with those who can help solve in a new way the challenges we face as a society.
The study shows that it is far easier to wish for such cooperation than to achieve it in practice. The thesis focuses on the paradox of such collaboration-driven innovation.
"Innovation is triggered when different experiences, viewpoints and ideas complement and disrupt each other, while the study shows how equality between the social entrepreneur and the municipal actor is crucial if the actors are to collaborate," says Isaksen.
Kjersti Isaksen has carried out her research in the PhD programme Innovation in Services in the Public and Private Sectors (INSEPP).
"The innovative power that arises when actors with different perspectives, experiences and resources come together to 'think outside the box,' challenge each other and achieve something more than what would have been possible on their own is often referred to as collaborative innovation," writes the candidate to inn.no.
"If different actors are to learn and become good together, the study shows a need for a balance between homogeneity and heterogeneity between collaborating actors," she says.
- Read more about Kjersti Isaksen's thesis here: “Social entrepreneurs are the solution – what's the problem? – an exploratory study of an attempt at collaborative innovation in the meeting between a municipality and social entrepreneurs”.
The main findings of the PhD:
- A theoretical contribution concerns the importance of individuals in innovation processes. The study illustrates how a small number of people can have a big impact on the process, even in a large bureaucratic organization and when collaboration is thought to be the central innovation factor.
- The study illustrates how middle managers can play a central and decisive role in the process of realizing service innovations in a municipal context. It also points to power bases linked to this group of actors.
- The thesis uncovers and points to distinctive features and differences between public sector organizations and social entrepreneurs, which can affect their collaboration. How and in which areas social entrepreneurs and municipal actors have different ways of thinking is revealed.
Here you'll find more information about Kjersti Isaksen's public defence on 8 December 2023.
Contact information:
Error: https://www.inn.no/english/find-an-employee/kjersti-isaksen.html?vrtx=vcf does not exist