New Methodologies to tackle wicked problems

The objective of this commentary is to launch the Social Innovation Unit of A-id (Agenda for International Development) think thank. A young and independent think tank devoted to proposing novel solutions to equitable international development. The unit on Social Innovation is responsible of the research activities related to social innovation practices ( teams, funds, labs, units, living labs, design factories, hybrid spaces, etc.), cultural and creative entrepreneurship and community-led policy making, with a strong focus on their role within the knowledge economy paradigm.We experiment, map and develop methodologies that work in and at the edge of different territorial settings, aiming at engaging different local actors, systematising interests and responsibilities related to the design of new solutions in the field of social inclusion and other complex socio-environmental issues. The methods experimented are based on the identification of shared objectives among stakeholders designing “local arenas” to achieve common knowledge, sharing competences and resources to tackle specific issues and finally delivering experimental solutions. Through the implementation, evaluation and dissemination of social innovation-based experimental activities we want to make the most from network effects that results from the interaction between different actors, creating environments for open innovation processes and commoning of resources. We aim at defining an updated framework of Research and Innovation (R&I) strategies with feedback coming from the bottom-up: experiencing pathways for collaborative and place-sensitive approaches in policy design, fostering entrepreneurial initiatives able to match experimental urban and regional development agendas, fostering mechanisms of peer exchange of knowledge and dissemination of creative practices among different communities.