Innovation for the Reflective Society

Cultural innovation” sounds like an oxymoron. It is not, though. It is something real that tops up social and technological innovation. How can we measure “cultural innovation”? The answer is, as a result of co-creation. Items of cultural innovation are: content providers such as museums, science centres and libraries, as well as processes triggered by issues such as cosmopolitanism, inclusiveness, mobility, migration, heritage and creativity. Valuating the impact is fundamental to improve societal acceptance of public investment in culture, because these measurements may provide a basis for aligning research and innovation with the values, needs and expectations of society. In recent years, it has become clear that co-creation plays a central role within open innovation, because a “specific innovation can no longer be seen as the result of predefined and isolated innovation activities but rather as the outcome of a complex co-creation process involving knowledge flows across the entire economic and social environment” (Open Science, Open Innovation, Open to the World. EC 2016, p. 11). The paper offers migration-relate case studies for evaluating the impact of cultural innovation in societies that aim at being innovative, reflective and inclusive.