XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

435

Mapping out Contemporary Practices of Innovation

RC23 Sociology of Science and Technology (host committee)

Language: English

The theme addresses the issues that arise with innovation, broadly referred to as the creation of a better or more effective product, process, technology or idea. Innovation can specifically refer to the creation of new customer value in the marketplace and thus giving rise, for example, to “frugal Innovation” for social groups that are demanding brilliant solutions to meet their unique needs, at an incredibly reasonable price point. Innovation can also broadly mean using knowledge inputs from science in a unique or different way or combination to drive social change and development, such as in the specific cases of grassroots innovation as well as other forms of open innovation. Innovation, whether for markets or in pursuit of social development can both be positive and negative: innovative products and practices bode well for energy conservation and sustainable consumption, but also heighten social inequalities. Innovative practices in social development further blur the boundaries between expert and local knowledge but it also raises issues of knowledge boundaries, ownership and control. The objective of the session is to map out the innovation landscape with a critical eye on what grassroots innovations, business models of innovation and various  forms of open innovation might (un)learn from each other.