The social innovation capacity of cities: workshop at MSoG on 9 february 2015

Prof Jenny Lewis (Melbourne School of Government) and Prof Erik-Hans Klijn, visiting from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, discussed the findings of a large EU-funded project on social innovation with a group of CEOs from local governments and other enthusiastic attendees. This study looked at how governance structures and the local socioeconomic context, and networks and leadership are related to innovation capacity in Copenhagen, Barcelona and Rotterdam.

Presentation of the findings led to a lively discussion about their relevance for social innovation in Australia, both in municipalities and other levels of government.

Publications from the LIPSE (Learning from Innovation in Public Sector Environments) project can be read online.

Policy brief to the European Commission (560kb pdf). Report to the European Commission (8.24MB pdf).