New Concepts and Policies of Innovation for Inclusive and Sustainable Development. Case Analysis from Global “Margins”

Tuesday, 8 July 2025: 09:30
Location: SJES020 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
Oral Presentation
Paula JUAREZ, Instituto de Estudios sobre la Ciencia y la Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Argentina
Lucas BECERRA, IESCT-UNQ/CONICET, Argentina
This proposal has two goals: 1) Present a critical analysis of mainstream innovation studies related to inclusive and sustainable development processes. 2) Using case studies, deliver new theoretical and policy insights, built up from global “margins” and opening the “development black box”.

From a socio-technical approach, social groups, technologies and policies are co-constructed. And also, technologies are no neutral, participate in the definition of which lives are possible and who will be excluded. In this sense, technologies play a key role in inclusive and sustainable development processes and gender equality. And, of course, technology is a key element of public policies oriented to the solution of local and regional problems.

The first goal of this proposal is carried out a critical analysis of mainstream ideas related with technological change oriented to socio-environmental transformation, developed by Innovation Studies. These mainstream ideas exclude from analysis, problematic dimensions as: Labor exploitation, xenophobe, racism, among other issues.

Then, in a second moment, we present new theoretical and policy insights, built up from global “margins” and from opening the “development black box” (including new actors, new problem-solution relationships, new knowledge and learning). In methodological terms, we use case studies of public policies in Latin America, Europe and Asia. The main output of case studies is a set of learning about how to overcome praxis problems of innovation and technological change oriented to development.

Finally, as a result of the analysis, the proposal ends with reflections on theoretical and policy praxis on Science, Technology and Innovation oriented to Inclusive and Sustainable Development.