All innovations are socially relevant

Mission statement

Innovations are socially relevant. Alongside with the economic relevance of innovations in technology social innovations shall receive equally high attention in the public, politics and research.
Acting as a social-profit organisation, ZSI conducts research on the social embedding of all manner of innovation, and contributes to the designing of innovation processes and social change.
ZSI is an independent institution, acting globally by deployment of innovative research, education, advisory services and co-ordination of networks, to

• support socially appreciated forms of innovations,
• develop, research and disseminate social innovations,
• analyse, promote and evaluate scientific collaboration,
• strengthen an open and solidly united society, and thereby
• help to implement the visionary prospect of a better world.

Definition of social innovation

Social innovations are novel or more effective practices that prove capable to tackle societal issues and are adopted and successfully utilised by individuals, groups and organisations concerned. - For more information cf. 'Scientific comprehension and definition of social innovation'

Like new products and processes become innovations only with success in markets, social innovations must generate lasting value for target groups. As part of social change, social innovations include services, rules, procedures, and social practices more effective than comparable concepts. Turning an idea to become a social innovation, it needs to meet social demand, providing capability to resolve an issue, and receive acceptance by those concerned. Beyond resolution of particular needs, social innovations provide influence pertaining to adaptation and development of various modes of governance.
Increasing importance of social innovations is generated by globalisation – with high impact on large parts of the world society. Creation, implementation and research regarding social innovation attain significance not only in the domains of NGO’s and civil society, yet also in public administration, policy making, business enterprises and social partner’s institutions. Individual behaviour may be subject to social innovation as well as corporate development, education systems, teaching methods and learning, or rules of societal constitution (e.g. social security, pension and tax systems, health provision, measures concerning environment …).

Strategic principles

ZSI works in science and praxis, linking research systematic with application. Many ZSI-projects not only transcend scientific domains, and thus are interdisciplinary. They include collaboration with professionals and expertise from non-scientific realms. In such work the main criterion of trans-disciplinarity is fulfilled: The nexus between scientific and practical knowledge.

We involve people concerned.

Our success in competing for research funds and tenders rests on three pillars:

• Independence from dominant contractors, secured by continuing development of flexible fields of competence
• Diversity of services provided and simultaneous extension of international operations
• Creation and upgrading of collaborative networks to ensure long-term options for evolvement
• Co-operation within the ZSI, with partner organisations, stakeholders and users of our services and achievements is a core prerequisite to persist internationally.

However, we consider intensive and strategic collaboration not merely a tool to acquire advantages compared to competitors. Ultimately, our way of doing so should advance the role of co-operation in social development as opposed to the fetish of competition, allegedly ruling anything.

We co-operate in competition (“co-opetition”).

Download: Video of the 20th anniversary of ZSI, Vienna, September 2nd, 2010 (in German language)
http://download.zsi.at/e4qFXyZdLnei4yyJ/mencoder_video_videobitrate_1000_mono_196kbit.flv