The research project “Social Entrepreneurship and Social Intrapreneurship” which is conducted from 2022 – 2024 at the University of Siegen(Germany) and funded by the regional Ministry of Economic Affairs in Northrhine-Westfalia wants to explore the potential of entrepreneurial approaches for innovation in local social service systems. Within this framework, the project works on the development and testing of innovative teaching and learning concepts in the field of social services that deal with the implementation of innovations in the social sector. The focus is on the establishment of new social enterprises of different types (social entrepreneurship) as well as on the entrepreneurial design of innovation projects in existing social enterprises (social intrapreneurship). The teaching and learning material will contain technical, business management and structural elements and provide a didactic and methodological basis for a regular teaching programme. On that basis it is aimed to develop and test a localized curriculum for training courses on social entrepreneurship and social intrapreneurship”.
For practical reasons the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein was selected as model region. The district of Siegen- Wittgenstein can be regarded as rather typical Northrhine-Westfalian semi-rural district, strongly industrialized with typical socio-economic and demografic conditions. Therefore results might have significance beyond district borders, even though idiosyncrasies create a specific developmental path.
In a first step, with desk top research project work concentrated on mapping and analysing how the local social economy in the given district is structured e.g. in terms of legal forms of the services, in terms of provider structures of the social enterprises, their economic profile (i.e. non-profit / for profit) or structural differentiations with regard to certain fields of activity (e.g. youth care, disability services, long-term-care etc. ).
In addition, in an empirical study management staff of all social services in the district was asked on personal profiles and to assess the situation of their services with regard to current challenges, innovation needs and openness for innovation. The study was firmly supported by local government officials and representatives of the free welfare provider organisations in Siegen- Wittgenstein. Results of these two empirical studies are currently evaluated.