Degrowth and social innovation. An analysis of social innovation initiatives in Berne

Given the countless negative side effects of the growth strategies pursued by western economies in the past centuries the time seems ripe for a paradigm shift. The concept of degrowth seems to be a promising approach for replacing the current growth paradigm. This research analyses if innovation and in particular social innovation would be appropriate drivers for such a change towards degrowth. Furthermore, it examines what would be relevant factors for such innovations to be successful. More specifically, the study looks at what factors of success, challenges and framework conditions, four social innovation initiatives in Bern face. The necessary data has been collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group. A qualitative content analysis has been conducted for analysing the data. The results show that not all types of innovations are equally suitable drivers of change towards degrowth. Non-material innovation, such as for example social innovation, are to be preferred compared to material innovations due to the growth effects of the latter. Moreover, several common factors of success for the social innovation initiatives in Berne were identified. Finally, possible solutions for one particular challenge of the analysed social innovation initiatives were developed during the focus group