Dimensões da inovação social: o caso da Fundação Casa Grande – Memorial do Home Kariri

Abstract

Social innovations are understood as new ways of seeking viable alternatives to solve social problems, through the adoption of new practices that lead to changes in institutions and agents, aiming to improving the quality of life and the social inclusion of excluded groups (BIGNETTI, 2011; MOULAERT et al., 2005). However, despite the persistence and worsening of social needs nowadays, the process of social innovation remains little studied, constituting an area of knowledge under construction, which lacks epistemological and methodological consistency (MOULAERT et al., 2013; MULGAN, 2006). In this perspective, the researchers Tardif and Harrisson (2005) developed a model through which it is possible to study cases of social innovation, analyzing five dimensions: Transformations, Innovative Character, Innovation, Actors and Processes. In this way, the objective of this study is to investigate how the dimensions of social innovation, based on the model developed by Tardif and Harrisson (2005), are configured in Casa Grande – Memorial do Homem Kariri Foundation. For this purpose, it was conducted a case study, through documentary and field research, in an organization known for its work of socio-cultural development with children and adolescents, in the city of Nova Olinda (Ceará). Using the direct observation technique, the application of semi-structured interviews and the documentary analysis, the configuration of social innovation's dimensions was analyzed from the point of view of the organization's developers and beneficiaries. Thus, the dimensions of social innovation are configured as follows: the lack of socio-cultural development of the children and adolescents from Nova Olinda motivated the initiation of a social action characterized by the protagonism of children and adolescents and the inclusion of a portion of the population considered excluded; the institutionalization of the solutions adopted led to the constitution of a model of participatory governance and a "new economy" of knowledge; the social innovation developed has local impact and is directed towards the common good; the actors involved are multiple and come from different levels and sectors of society; the main processes used are mobilization, participation, learning, partnership and empowerment; and most of the restrictions identified occurred at the beginning of the initiative. In this way, as the initiative becomes institutionalized the limitations decrease, on the other hand, the processes acquire greater professionalization and formalization, which could reduce the innovative character, as Moulaert et al. (2005) suggest.