Social Innovation Labs: A Neoliberal Austerity Driven Process or Democratic Intervention?
http://www.alternateroutes.ca/index.php/ar
Meghan Joy, John Shields, Siu Mee Cheng
“We contend that the SIL trend speaks to a dual and contradictory desire on the part of governments for more participatory policymaking and cost saving. Thus, while SILs may create opportunities for the democratization of social policy, they are also motivated by efforts to do more with less in an environment shaped by austerity and neoliberalism.
The question is whether the use of entrepreneurship and markets in practice can in fact be value neutral or if they are embedded within logics that compromise social justice goals and democratic processes (Roy & Hackett, 2016).
Roy, M.J. and Hackett, M.T. (2016). Polanyi’s ‘Substantive Approach’ to the Economy in Action? Conceptualising Social Enterprise as a Public
Health ‘Intervention’. Review of Social Economy, 75(2): 1-23.