Open Social Innovation is about new ways to bring together different actors from diverse sectors – to identify the problem, creating and prototyping potential solutions, and then scaling the outcomes. In some sectors, such as those where decisions are life-critical, the involvement of stakeholders with different perspectives can help to reduce risk and increase the value of innovations. Maria Isabella Leone of Luiss University is chair of track 6.1 at the 2025 R&D Management Conference, which is looking at open social innovation and public governance.
Luiss University was recently (2021) awarded six Projects of Significant National Interest (PRIN). These are large-scale projects of strategic importance to the country. Maria Isabella is lead for the ‘Open Social Innovation for a Next Generation of Public Governance PRIN’ alongside her team at Luiss and three other research units from Milan-Bicocca University (Prof. Alessandro Sancino), University of Bergamo (Prof. Mariarosa Scarlata), and Politecnico of Milan (Prof. Irene Bengo).
She explains: “Our primary objective is to focus on Open Social Innovation initiatives that generate not only economic but also social impact, thereby contributing to the enhancement of collective well-being. These initiatives entail more complex innovation collaborations involving multiple stakeholders from various sectors, aimed at producing diverse impacts across multiple dimensions.
“This topic is particularly relevant given the urgent necessity to address complex societal issues (such as grand challenges) through multi-stakeholder partnerships, as emphasised by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17, ‘Partnerships for the Goals’.
“Consequently, this track necessitates the combined efforts and contributions of diverse scholars who approach this topic from multiple perspectives, including entrepreneurship, public governance, impact measurement, and impact investing. Only with a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon can we develop an in-depth knowledge of its characteristics and operating principles to fully harness the potential of Open Social Innovation!”
6.1 Open Social Innovation for a Next Generation of Public Governance
Open Social Innovation (OSI) is increasingly relevant in the current competitive scenario to tackle complex societal problems through collaborative efforts.
OSI projects require the collaboration of different actors that together work towards impact generation aiming to increase the collective welfare. The engaged actors play different roles in these initiatives and the public sector has often proved to have a crucial role in their structuring and governance. Comprehending the roles played by different impact makers is essential to facilitate collaborative dynamics and establish a place-based public governance of OSI.
R&D Management Conference 2025:
Innovation & Biodiversity
Institute of Management of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa
30 June – 2 July 2025
Track 6.1 Open Social Innovation for a Next Generation of Public Governance
Track chair: Maria Isabella Leone, Luiss University and Luiss Business School
Co-chairs:
Alessandro Sancino, University of Milan-Bicocca
Mariarosa Scarlata, University of Bergamo
Irene Bengo, Politecnico di Milano
