The oscillation of the content around social innovation is accompanied by a proliferation of other conceptualisations that point to alternative practices and policies regarding the development of technology and its democratisation, both in terms of its use and its production. In Latin America, for some decades already, the concept of Social Technology has been used for two generations. In Asia, there is already an abundance of literature on the phenomenon of innovation, on frugal innovation and even
jugaad innovation. In Europe, we also find several proposals for social entrepreneurship (i.e., 'social business') instrumentalising the concept of social innovation. The literature on grassroots innovation has also lived on some hype in South America, Africa and the far East. Among the many others that one may discuss (e.g., mundane technology, inclusive innovation, common innovation, convivial innovation), we seek to identify the seminal texts, their
momentum, and the experiences they have given rise to, both in terms of the social movement, the technological trajectories involved, and in terms of both political formulation and policy experimentation.
The aim of this study is to begin a systematic comparison based on structured text analysis (i.e., discourse and content analysis based on textual coding), likewise organising the main categories and ideas of those policy-frameworks, that have been shaping for several years already an activist praxis – and, more occasionally, the formulation of policies on Technology and Innovation over the last 20-30 years. With promises of counter-hegemony transformation, those policy frameworks look to find alternative solutions to the Schumpeterian mantra of incessant innovation practices centred on business dynamics and corporate accumulation. Thus, we search to understand the kind of policy proposal, support programme and/or activist strategy that each of these concepts has been inspiring in the Global South.
