Why do Social Innovations in Rural Development Matter and Should They be Considered More Seriously in Rural Development Research? – Proposal for a Stronger Focus on Social Innovations in Rural Development Research

The article discusses social innovation from a rural development perspective. The central questions addressed are: What are social innovations and why are they important for rural development? How can we gain more insights into the role and functioning of social innovations in rural development? Drawing on different approaches to conceptualise social innovations pursued in economy, management, sociology, psychology and regional economics, planning and development studies, the article outlines the central aspects on which the concept is built. Based on these insights a proposal for a concise basic definition of social innovations is given and a model of the social innovation process is introduced. Reasoning that a lack of social innovation is often one of the strongest restraints of the vitality and further development of rural communities in developed, democratic, capitalist, industrial countries, the second part orf the article highlights the need to put a stronger focus on social innovations in future rural development research. Building on these insights, the third part addresses open research questions and explains why an actor‐oriented network approach seems to be a promising potential methodological way to approach social innovations in rural development research.