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Social innovation (SI) impacts are long-term changes that affect different dimensions of territorial capital (i.e., economy, society, environment, governance) for the territory in which SI occurs. Yet, systematic empirical evidence and theoretically sound assessments of the impacts of SI are scarce. This paper aims to fill the gap and assess the different aspects of SI’s impacts in European and Mediterranean areas that are characterized by marginalization processes. To assess the impacts of SI in marginalized areas, we use the evaluation framework developed within the Social Innovation in Marginalized Rural Areas (SIMRA) Horizon 2020 project and apply it to nine SI initiatives related to the fields of agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and rural development. Our findings show that SI produces cross-sectoral (societal, economic, environmental, and governmental) and multi-level impacts (on individuals, community, and society), which have improved the societal well-being, and contributed to the reduction of certain forms of marginality, mainly inside the territory in which SI occurred.
Elisa Ravazzoli; Cristina Dalla Torre; Riccardo Da Re; Valentino Marini Govigli; Laura Secco; Elena Górriz-Mifsud; Elena Pisani; Carla Barlagne; Antonio Baselice; Mohammed Bengoumi; Marijke Dijskhoorn-Dekker; Arbia Labidi; Antonio Lopolito; Mariana Melnykovych; Manfred Perlik; Nico Polman; Simo Sarkki; Achilleas Vassilopoulos; Phoebe Koundouri; David Miller; Thomas Streifeneder; Maria Nijnik. Can Social Innovation Make a Change in European and Mediterranean Marginalized Areas? Social Innovation Impact Assessment in Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, and Rural Development. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1823 .
AMA StyleElisa Ravazzoli, Cristina Dalla Torre, Riccardo Da Re, Valentino Marini Govigli, Laura Secco, Elena Górriz-Mifsud, Elena Pisani, Carla Barlagne, Antonio Baselice, Mohammed Bengoumi, Marijke Dijskhoorn-Dekker, Arbia Labidi, Antonio Lopolito, Mariana Melnykovych, Manfred Perlik, Nico Polman, Simo Sarkki, Achilleas Vassilopoulos, Phoebe Koundouri, David Miller, Thomas Streifeneder, Maria Nijnik. Can Social Innovation Make a Change in European and Mediterranean Marginalized Areas? Social Innovation Impact Assessment in Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, and Rural Development. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (4):1823.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElisa Ravazzoli; Cristina Dalla Torre; Riccardo Da Re; Valentino Marini Govigli; Laura Secco; Elena Górriz-Mifsud; Elena Pisani; Carla Barlagne; Antonio Baselice; Mohammed Bengoumi; Marijke Dijskhoorn-Dekker; Arbia Labidi; Antonio Lopolito; Mariana Melnykovych; Manfred Perlik; Nico Polman; Simo Sarkki; Achilleas Vassilopoulos; Phoebe Koundouri; David Miller; Thomas Streifeneder; Maria Nijnik. 2021. "Can Social Innovation Make a Change in European and Mediterranean Marginalized Areas? Social Innovation Impact Assessment in Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, and Rural Development." Sustainability 13, no. 4: 1823.
Social innovations can tackle various challenges related to gender equity in rural areas, especially when such innovations are initiated and developed by women themselves. We examine cases located in rural areas of Canada, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, and Serbia, where women are marginalized by gender roles, patriarchal values, male dominated economy and policy, and lack of opportunities for education and employment. Our objective is to analyze five case studies on how women-led social innovation processes can tackle gender equity related challenges manifested at the levels of everyday practice, institutions, and cognitive frames. The analyses are based on interviews, workshops, literature screening, and are examined via the qualitative abductive method. Results summarize challenges that rural women are facing, explore social innovation initiatives as promising solutions, and analyze their implications on gender equity in the five case studies. Based on our results we propose a new concept: reconstructive social innovation cycle. It refers to is defined as cyclical innovation processes that engage women via civil society initiatives. These initiatives reconstruct the existing state of affairs, by questioning marginalizing and discriminative practices, institutions, and cognitive frames that are often perceived as normal. The new concept helps with to assessing the implications that women-led social innovations have for gender equity.
Simo Sarkki; Cristina Torre; Jasmiini Fransala; Ivana Živojinović; Alice Ludvig; Elena Górriz-Mifsud; Mariana Melnykovych; Patricia Sfeir; Labidi Arbia; Mohammed Bengoumi; Houda Chorti; Verena Gramm; Lucía López Marco; Elisa Ravazzoli; Maria Nijnik. Reconstructive Social Innovation Cycles in Women-Led Initiatives in Rural Areas. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1231 .
AMA StyleSimo Sarkki, Cristina Torre, Jasmiini Fransala, Ivana Živojinović, Alice Ludvig, Elena Górriz-Mifsud, Mariana Melnykovych, Patricia Sfeir, Labidi Arbia, Mohammed Bengoumi, Houda Chorti, Verena Gramm, Lucía López Marco, Elisa Ravazzoli, Maria Nijnik. Reconstructive Social Innovation Cycles in Women-Led Initiatives in Rural Areas. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1231.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSimo Sarkki; Cristina Torre; Jasmiini Fransala; Ivana Živojinović; Alice Ludvig; Elena Górriz-Mifsud; Mariana Melnykovych; Patricia Sfeir; Labidi Arbia; Mohammed Bengoumi; Houda Chorti; Verena Gramm; Lucía López Marco; Elisa Ravazzoli; Maria Nijnik. 2021. "Reconstructive Social Innovation Cycles in Women-Led Initiatives in Rural Areas." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1231.
Social innovation is considered a relevant concept to tackle societal challenges and needs in rural areas and to promote smart, inclusive and sustainable growth. The characterising sector of rural areas is agriculture; therefore, the focus of this paper is on social innovation in the field of social farming. Among the many factors leading to the emergence and development of social innovation, agency has been considered relevant in the literature on transformability and transformative social innovation as it is the ability to turn contextual difficulties into opportunities for social innovation and for inclusive growth. This paper proposes an evaluation framework to assess the different dimensions of agency by triangulating quantitative with qualitative data and by using indicators. This paper adopts a case study approach, analysing two cases of social farming in Italy and the Netherlands. The results show that the social innovation idea and the resilience of the agency are among the most relevant dimensions for the emergence and development of social innovations. Finally, this paper discusses the three most relevant factors for agency to lead to social innovation: idea and embeddedness of the agency, transformability of the context through agency´s resilience, and agency as catalyst for empowerment.
Cristina Dalla Torre; Elisa Ravazzoli; Marijke Dijkshoorn-Dekker; Nico Polman; Mariana Melnykovych; Elena Pisani; Francesca Gori; Riccardo Da Re; Kamini Vicentini; Laura Secco. The Role of Agency in the Emergence and Development of Social Innovations in Rural Areas. Analysis of Two Cases of Social Farming in Italy and The Netherlands. Sustainability 2020, 12, 4440 .
AMA StyleCristina Dalla Torre, Elisa Ravazzoli, Marijke Dijkshoorn-Dekker, Nico Polman, Mariana Melnykovych, Elena Pisani, Francesca Gori, Riccardo Da Re, Kamini Vicentini, Laura Secco. The Role of Agency in the Emergence and Development of Social Innovations in Rural Areas. Analysis of Two Cases of Social Farming in Italy and The Netherlands. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (11):4440.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCristina Dalla Torre; Elisa Ravazzoli; Marijke Dijkshoorn-Dekker; Nico Polman; Mariana Melnykovych; Elena Pisani; Francesca Gori; Riccardo Da Re; Kamini Vicentini; Laura Secco. 2020. "The Role of Agency in the Emergence and Development of Social Innovations in Rural Areas. Analysis of Two Cases of Social Farming in Italy and The Netherlands." Sustainability 12, no. 11: 4440.
In recent years, social farming has developed into an opportunity for income diversification in the South Tyrolean agricultural sector. In the northern Italian province, predominantly women farmers implement the provision of social services on farms. Starting from rural gender studies and women empowerment-literature, we hypothesize that social farming promotes the empowerment of the involved women. Accordingly, our study investigates the recognized impacts of offering farm-based childcare services on three types of power: power to, power with, and power within. In order to test our hypothesis, we conducted semi-structured interviews with seven women farmers that provide childcare services and with four experts. The results show that the provision of childcare services has enhanced the autonomy of women farmers and has had positive impacts on their skills and competences. This activity has changed their social role in the community by revalorizing rural lifestyles and by enabling the reconciliation of work and personal life for working mothers. Nevertheless, women farmers have recognized some negative effects on their workload, and on their interfamilial as well as other social relations. Finally, the study discusses the relationship between the specific ethno-linguistic context in South Tyrol and the effects of the activity of childcare provision on women farmers’ empowerment.
Verena Gramm; Cristina Dalla Torre; Andrea Membretti. Farms in Progress-Providing Childcare Services as a Means of Empowering Women Farmers in South Tyrol, Italy. Sustainability 2020, 12, 467 .
AMA StyleVerena Gramm, Cristina Dalla Torre, Andrea Membretti. Farms in Progress-Providing Childcare Services as a Means of Empowering Women Farmers in South Tyrol, Italy. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (2):467.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVerena Gramm; Cristina Dalla Torre; Andrea Membretti. 2020. "Farms in Progress-Providing Childcare Services as a Means of Empowering Women Farmers in South Tyrol, Italy." Sustainability 12, no. 2: 467.
Tendenze globali come la migrazione internazionale e l'agricoltura su larga scala hanno un impatto sulla società e sull'economia dei territori montani italiani. Le sfide socioeconomiche richiedono nuove soluzioni che le esistenti istituzioni pubbliche e organizzazioni private locali non riescono ad affrontare adeguatamente. L'innovazione sociale (di seguito IS) è diventata un paradigma importante per affrontare tali sfide. Riconfigurando le pratiche sociali esistenti, la IS introduce nuove soluzioni (ad esempio, servizi, pratiche e modelli di cooperazione) per rispondere meglio ai bisogni sociali, migliorando il benessere delle aree montane. In questo articolo, sono state selezionate due iniziative che mirano all’empowerment di due gruppi vulnerabili (donne contadine e rifugiati). Utilizzando il modello teorico structure-agency, è stata condotta una ricerca esplorativa di due casi di studio in due aree montane dell’arco alpino centro orientale per analizzare il processo di riconfigurazione delle pratiche sociali, gli esiti e i fattori che possono rendere possibili e ostacolare tali iniziative. I risultati mostrano che l'innovazione sociale ha trasformato il significato di simboli culturali e i ruoli socioeconomici dei due gruppi analizzati, portando ad un miglioramento del benessere dell'intera comunità.
Elisa Ravazzoli; Cristina Dalla Torre; Thomas Streifeneder. Trasformare il ruolo delle donne contadine e dei rifugiati: Due esperienze italiane di innovazione sociale nelle aree montane. Revue de géographie alpine 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleElisa Ravazzoli, Cristina Dalla Torre, Thomas Streifeneder. Trasformare il ruolo delle donne contadine e dei rifugiati: Due esperienze italiane di innovazione sociale nelle aree montane. Revue de géographie alpine. 2019; (107-2):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElisa Ravazzoli; Cristina Dalla Torre; Thomas Streifeneder. 2019. "Trasformare il ruolo delle donne contadine e dei rifugiati: Due esperienze italiane di innovazione sociale nelle aree montane." Revue de géographie alpine , no. 107-2: 1.
I cambiamenti nel quadro socioeconomico che hanno avuto luogo negli ultimi cinquanta anni hanno sconvolto i secolari modelli di equilibrata organizzazione vigenti nelle comunità montane. Si sono così andate profilandosi una nuova serie di sfide negli ambiti socio-economico, culturale e ambientale. Queste comunità, in maniera indipendentemente oppure con il supporto delle autorità pubbliche, hanno cercato di fermare o invertire questi processi. In alcuni casi, lo sforzo non è da ricondurre alla somma di azioni individuali, bensì ad un´azione collettiva dei diversi individui appartenenti o legati alla comunità. Processi di innovazione sociale stanno sorgendo in modo sparso in vari territori alpini, e molti di essi sono collegati ad un nuovo interesse nei confronti del settore primario da parte di residenti e nuovi abitanti. La combinazione dell’azione di entrambi, ma non esclusivamente, potrebbe essere considerata come la creazione di un nuovo modello di sviluppo del settore agricolo, il "new farming". Gli autori presentano due casi identificati nella parte nord orientale delle Alpi italiane, che possono essere associati a questo fenomeno. Gli elementi comuni che sono stati identificati includono la multi-funzionalità, la creazione di nuove opportunità di lavoro e di profili occupazionali. Essi combinano effetti sociali più sostanziali con la presenza di una serie di sfide. Azioni e progetti di innovazione sociale, che sono in grado di anticipare i cambiamenti e le sfide del futuro, allo stato attuale sembrano però in generale essere stati affrontati in modo inadeguato dalle istituzioni pubbliche e meritano una ulteriore attenzione.
Alessandro Gretter; Cristina Dalla Torre; Federica Maino; Andrea Omizzolo. Come rispondere alle sfide delle aree interne delle Alpi Italiane? Il "New farming" come esempio di innovazione sociale. Revue de géographie alpine 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleAlessandro Gretter, Cristina Dalla Torre, Federica Maino, Andrea Omizzolo. Come rispondere alle sfide delle aree interne delle Alpi Italiane? Il "New farming" come esempio di innovazione sociale. Revue de géographie alpine. 2019; (107-2):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessandro Gretter; Cristina Dalla Torre; Federica Maino; Andrea Omizzolo. 2019. "Come rispondere alle sfide delle aree interne delle Alpi Italiane? Il "New farming" come esempio di innovazione sociale." Revue de géographie alpine , no. 107-2: 1.