Resumo

The interest for both social innovation (SI) and the sustainable development goals (SDG) has been growing over the last years. The possibility to integrate these two approaches is important in twofold, firstly to deliver society innovative solutions for long lasting as well as new social, economic and environmental problems, and secondly to respond to their needs in a sustainable manner. Research matching these two approaches are deemed important given that only little knowledge about what social innovation can deliver to sustainable development exist.

Delivering society innovative services and, at the same time, responding to social, economic and environmental challenges in a sustainable manner, form the basis of social development. In this work, we analyzed the possibility to increase the dialogue between SI and SDGs, helping researchers and practitioners to chart future policies and principles for both SI and SDGs, at different levels. As such, this research has sought to contribute to this dialogue by addressing the following research question: How have SI initiatives been contributing to achieve the SDGs?

Due to the nature of the SI approach, it aligns with the framework of the SDGs, contributing to achieve the targets settled in those SDGs. However, despite the importance of these two approaches, the current literature still knows little about what the SI addresses for sustainable development, especially its contribution for the SDGs (Eichler & Schwarz, 2019; Weaver & Marks, 2017). According to Millard (2018), SDGs and SI have much in common, since both have been deploying social principles and practices in the recent years, also bringing together mutual benefits for the society.

In this paper, a qualitative research approach was adopted based on the literature review method. This method corresponds to a systematic procedure for reviewing extant literature on the topic under research. The research was developed based on different steps, in order to obtain information about how SI and SDGs literatures can be brought together, by framing SI into the sustainable development discourse.

The analysis undertaken showed that despite SI initiatives, there are few works addressing and discussing their importance and contribution for the SDGs. The first results showed that SI provides fertile ground for SGDs, since the interlinkage between them has been an anonymous bedrock in the current literature of sustainable development. Results obtain from the analysis of two well-known examples of social innovations showed that by intensifying the interlinkage concerning those approaches could have an important role to play in achieving sustainable solutions into the global economy.

This research proposes a conceptual model which discloses the interlinkage between social innovation and the sustainable development goals in promoting social changes and sustainable development. It can, also, support researchers and practitioners to chart future policies and principles for social innovation and sustainable development at different levels.

Eichler, G. M., & Schwarz, E. J. (2019). What sustainable development goals do social innovations address? A systematic review and content analysis of social innovation literature. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(2). Weaver, M. P., & Marks, B. M. (2017). Social innovation resourcing strategies and transformation pathways : a first-cut typology. TRANSIT: EU SSH.2013.3.2-1.