(Digtial) Social Innovation Through Public Internet Access Points

Abstract

The post-industrial innovation system with its distinct focus on social innovation allows for theoretical and conceptual connections between innovation research and new fields of social practice. In this article we elaborate on the potential of social innovation and especially digital social innovation to tackle digitally excluded persons needs. Public internet access points are key infrastructures driving the digital inclusion of marginalized persons. Empirical results presented in this paper shows that these players act socially innovative by creating collaborative spaces for digital inclusion, by developing hybrid staff competence pro files and by creating community-based, intergenerational learning content. The paper relates research perspectives from the social innovation and the digital inclusion discourse and argues against the background of research and development results of six EU funded projects on social innovation and/or digital inclusion in the years 2011