ESRC IAA Cultivating Local Well-Being: Struggling for Authentic and Sustainable Social Innovation

Disgrifiad o Effaith

The first impact activity will be a knowledge exchange visit to Amsterdam (the Netherlands) to stimulate international learning about growing authentic and sustainable social innovations. Participants will visit community groups enhancing local well-being through activities in health, arts, urban gardening, and community development. The PI will facilitate reflection on innovative practices for obtaining funding, collaborating with institutions, and evaluating impact.
Back in Liverpool, five capacity building workshops will organised for Tree House members about making their innovation authentic and sustainable. Besides joint agenda setting and evaluation, the workshops will involve co-production of knowledge and action about communication of impact; collaborating and networking; and funding and support.
This will also involve co-producing a short film to evidence impact and generate support. A short film is the best medium to communicate Tree House’s ideas, practices, and impact, because it can be (1) collaboratively produced with members of Tree House and the local community, (2) a reflection of their diverse activities and personal experiences, and (3) used on the Tree House website and Facebook page and in meetings with funding bodies and public officials. A quote from a local filmmaking company for producing a professional and creative film is included in the budget.
These impact activities will have a direct and lasting impact on local well-being. Tree House lacks resources for travel abroad, capacity building workshops, and professional impact materials. These can extend the scope of their impact on local well-being by creating resources building and capacities for collecting, analysing, and communicating evidence vital to obtaining institutional support. Their new capacities and resources will also be used to stimulate further local knowledge exchange with local public services and Council departments about how to support communities in enhancing local well-being. This should enhance social innovation and local well-being beyond the funding period.

Disgrifiad o'r ymchwil sylfaenol

The PI conducted the underpinning research from September 2015 until July 2016 while at Bangor University. It explored struggles involved with cultivating local well-being through ‘social innovation’. In this era of austerity, it is increasingly the responsibility of communities to take charge of local well-being. But while a wealth of social innovations has emerged to this purpose, public officials tend to challenge and contest these and resist institutional transformation. This raises the question what reforms and capacities are needed to render social innovations authentic and sustainable. Therefore, the PI conducted qualitative research (including a wide range of interviews, participant observations, and analyses of documents and websites) of Tree House Liverpool. This community enterprise lacks institutional support and funding for running the organisation and compensating their volunteers, despite having far greater local knowledge, capacities and impact with regards to local well-being than public agencies. The research found that Tree House’s innovative approach makes a huge difference to the local community but is fundamentally at odds with institutional practices for providing funding, collaborating and evaluating impact. Consequently, further knowledge exchange is needed to collaboratively develop support systems and interpersonal capacities that could buttress communities and social innovations in enhancing local well-being.

The underpinning research fits within the ESRC’s disciplinary areas of social policy and political science. It analysed how social policy reforms aiming to enhance local well-being and social innovation affected the ability of community enterprises to have an authentic and sustainable impact. The PI collaborated with local research users (social innovators, public officials and communities) in better understanding what the social innovation at hand was trying to achieve, what difference it was making, and how it was (not) supported. The impact activity aims to enhance the capacities of local research users to develop more productive practices and support systems.

Buddiolwyr a cyrhaeddiad effaith ymchwil

Tree House is the main end user as the impact activities should lead them to securing vital institutional support, funding and collaborative relationships. The community of Tuebrook is the key beneficiary because its well-being should increase as a result. Liverpool City Council departments and public services responsible for well-being are important stakeholders and end users as they will acquire more knowledge and resources for supporting communities in cultivating local well-being. Finally, Bangor University will be a beneficiary as the impact activities will strengthen its research impact profile and collaborative relationships in social innovation, well being, and local governance.

Main external partner is Tree House, which offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with a community enterprise facing a fundamental challenge of social innovation. Its commitment to long term partnership could generate additional knowledge exchange projects as well as case studies for teaching and research. It offers a wealth of local knowledge of and connections with the community, public agencies and other community enterprises. As Tree House works on a voluntary basis, its members offer significant time-in-kind with no financial compensation.
The Municipality of Amsterdam is an external partner for the knowledge exchange visit. Building on previous research collaboration and knowledge exchange impact activities, a variety of local public professionals and citizens will contribute time-in-kind to share their expertise and several local facilities will be used for meetings, including tea/coffee, free of charge. The IAA grant would cover travel, accommodation and subsistence for Tree House participants and the PI.

Statws effaith	Ar Gau
Dyddiad effaith	6 Hyd 2016 → 31 Awst 2017