Polish social innovations and opportunities for their development in comparison to other countries

Abstract

Social innovation gain interest in both developed and developing countries. To increase the well-being of the citizens, policy makers try to introduce new solutions, improving the quality of everyday life. Whether these solutions can be labelled social innovations, they need to undergo certain stages and meet specific criteria, which will be discussed in this chapter. The aim of the chapter is to evaluate the level of social innovation in Poland and to compare it with the levels in other European countries. The method used in this study is a review of literature as well as EU’s analyses in this area. Each country has different potential in terms of introducing social innovations and uses that potential to a different degree. Authorities should support the activities of entities that introduce such ideas, taking the interests of the country into consideration. In order to achieve that, different financial support programs are launched. They are created on a national as well as supranational level (EU). Examples of such programs will be discussed in the chapter. The chapter will allow to formulate conclusions regarding the respectively low level of social innovation in Poland, as well as to present opportunities for enhanced growth in this area.