Introduction. Dynamics of social innovations in rural communities

The point of departure in this article are the pressing challenges in countless rural communities that provide the backdrop for the emergence of socially innovative approaches. The pivotal point is that in the respective communities the conditions of daily life are unfavorable compared to many urban areas due to limited economic productivity, poor job prospects and deteriorating infrastructural facilities. Simultaneously, however, the emergence of rural social innovations can be observed. In clarifying what exactly can be understood as social innovation, it becomes clear that two different streams must be distinguished, each of which has developed its own understanding. However, it also becomes clear that the streams complement each other and are now even merging. In this broader understanding of social innovation, innovative initiatives develop where actors with different social backgrounds come together, collaboratively respond to societal challenges, and explore new ways to develop novel approaches to solving them. In this article we clarify the central concepts required for the analysis of the dynamics of social innovations in rural areas: “contexts and targets of social innovations”, “drivers and processes”, “social enterprises” as specific actors of social innovations, and the notion of “rural development”. Against this background, an introduction to the individual contributions of the special issue is given.