A moeda social como instrumento de inovação social: o caso do banco Palmas

Abstract

Although technological advances demonstrate the increasingly dynamic emergence of innovations, social problems resulting from crises, government inefficiencies, and market failures are still evident (MULGAN et al., 2007; CLOUTIER, 2003). In this perspective, social innovation refers to the establishment of new solutions that seek to meet the needs and demands of the individuals that make up a given community, in order to aggregate quality of life and socioeconomic inclusion (MAURER, 2011; BIGNETTI, 2011). In this sense, Tardif and Harrisson (2005) developed a model that seeks to study cases of social innovation through five dimensions of analysis of social innovation: Transformations, Innovative Character, Innovation, Actors and Processes, thus defining five categories of research. The present research aims to investigate how the dimensions of social innovation, according to Tardif and Harrisson (2005), are reflected in forms of organizations based on the use of social currencies. The research is qualitative and descriptive in nature, using a single case study, through a bibliographical, documentary and field survey. The techniques of data collection adopted in the field were documentary research, direct observation technique, and semi-structured interview. For data analysis, was used the content analysis method, using the Atlas.ti version 7.5.18 qualitative data analysis and research software. From the perspective of the model used, the results showed that: a) the context of community social struggles caused by the crisis led to the creation of community development bank and social currency; b) the innovative character was established by the new institutional arrangements and social regulations leading to a governance model and a "new" social economy; c) the innovation promoted is of local scale and directed towards the common good; d) there is the participation of different actors, from the social actors, as well as organizational, institutional and intermediary actors; e) The main processes identified were participation, mobilization, learning, diffusion, and empowerment. The interviewees pointed out limitations in relation to insufficient resources to meet the demands of the community and institutional rigidity in the aspect of legality for the functioning of the institution. In this context, social innovation in the case in question has been able to establish new relationships among the actors using the social currency, contributing to the empowerment of individuals and generating well-being for the community.