This ethnographic exploration explores the everyday workings of three grassroots initiatives, highlighting the practices driving social change. Readers will discover practical models for collective organizing within social innovation communities, offering insights for both activists and policymakers eager to effect change in urban life.
This book examines the transformative power of grassroots social innovations within dynamic urban landscapes. From addressing access to healthy food to navigating regulatory challenges, urban citizens are taking charge of their environments through collective action. This ethnographic exploration explores the everyday workings of three grassroots initiatives, highlighting the practices driving social change.Readers will discover practical models for collective organizing within social innovation communities, offering insights for both activists and policymakers eager to effect change in urban life. By emphasizing collaboration as a cornerstone of social innovation, this book illuminates how deep engagement fosters reflectivity, empathy, and sustainability within communities. Drawing on multidimensional collaboration models, readers gain practical tools for creating lasting social impact.Moreover, the book places these insights within a broader European context and references Elinor Ostrom's theory of the common good, appealing to readers worldwide interested in community-driven solutions. With qualitative research conducted in Poland, this book offers a rich tapestry of insights into the global phenomenon of grassroots social innovation, encouraging reflection and action among urban communities worldwide.
Introduction
1. The collective nature of social innovation
2.
Micro-institutional mechanisms of change
3. Research methods and approach
4.
Case studies of grassroots social innovation: the Open Jazdów Settlement,
Paca 40 Action Space, and Dobrze Food Cooperative
5. Transformative
collaboration in grassroots social innovation
6. Change as a learning process
7. Rotation and diffusion within communities
8. Discussion of research
results: Deep, experiential collaboration for the common good
9. Conclusions
Karolina Osterczuk, Ph.D., is Warsaw-based Researcher and Lecturer at SWPS University, Poland. Professionally, she specializes in social innovations, communities, and the theory of change. In particular, she is interested in micro-dimension of transformation and the role of bottom-up, grassroots initiatives in the process of change. She researches models of collaboration and co-creation and the mechanisms of community building and sustaining. For several years, she has been working with cooperatives, intentional communities, artisans, and business, in Poland, Nepal, India, and Portugal.
