Research activities at the DWI
Social Innovation Education (SIED)
From the idea ...
In the project ‘Social Innovation Education’ the partners develop, test and implement a training programme for managers in the field of social welfare. The further education programme strengthens competences in the methodical promotion of social innovations which contribute to the further development of social services in Europe. Through the close cooperation with our partners in Bilbao, Brussels, Trier and Oslo we link different regional actors within Europe and thus create synergy effects. The importance of the different welfare systems for the solution of societal challenges also becomes visible.
...about the practice...
- training in the promotion of social innovation and innovation management, e.g. through methodological knowledge such as Design Thinking
- acquiring new entrepreneurial skills by developing a prototype of social innovation
- getting to know different regional approaches to social innovation at four European locations, so that elements from these can be transferred into their own context
- at the end of the training, each manager has developed a social innovation up to market launch
- the social innovations with the greatest potential will be presented to the public in a multiplier event to highlight the importance of social innovations
...for implementation!
The teaching program combines different approaches such as classical seminar setting, getting to know innovations in practice, development of own solution approaches and a business plan for implementation in a lab phase and questions of dissemination and sustainability of social innovations. Different approaches are developed, tested, implemented and evaluated at the respective locations in order to gain a tailor-made, effective and sustainable teaching programme for the promotion of social innovations.
The consortium members of the project are:
Universität Heidelberg (Koordinator)
Universität Trier
VID Specialized University (VID), Oslo
Agirre Lehendakaria Center for Social and
Political Studies (ALC), Bilbao
Eurodiaconia, Brüssel
Duration: 09-2019 until 08-2022
Reality lab “Sustainable urban development in a knowledge society”
Starting from January 2015 the DWI will participate in one of the four subprojects which are part of the so called ‘reality lab’ led by the Institute for Geography of Heidelberg University (Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gerhard). Using the ‘Internationale Bauausstellung’ (IBA) as an example the reality lab aims at exploring the connection between knowledge and urban development. In the context of their subproject the DWI and the Institute of Gerontology (Prof. Dr. Andreas Kruse) examine innovative and pioneering living concepts and provide scientific support for the development of a multigenerational house designed by the architecture firm Frey and the consulting office Innovatio in Heidelberg’s ’Bahnstadt’ district..
Potentials of “young” and “old” old age. An interdisciplinary approach to social spaces of opportunity in different age groups
Starting from April 2014 the Institute for the Study of Christian Social Service in co-operation with the Institute of Psychology (Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Wahl) and the Ecumenical Institute (Prof. Dr. Friederike Nüssel) of Heidelberg University participate in a project which aims at exploring the potentials of ‘young’ and ‘old age’. The project is funded within the innovation fund Frontier of the Excellence Initiative II which is part of the Institutional Strategy of Heidelberg University.
The use of technology in outpatient care networks for people with dementia
The project is a co-operation with the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) and funded within the Heidelberg Karlsruhe Research Partnership (HeiKa), a long-standing cooperation of Heidelberg University with the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT). The project identifies critical factors for network formation and the use of innovative technologies in outpatient care networks for people with dementia
InnoServ – Social Services Innovations
The INNOSERV project identifies key factors for innovation as well as possible future trends in the field of social services. The results are published and disseminated on a social platform
Generation 59+
This project addresses the topic of demographic and social change in our society and seizes it as an opportunity.
Mapping of the research landscape in the scientific field of Christian Social Service
This project is long-term oriented and aims at strengthening the visibility of the Study of Christian Social Service as an interdisciplinary field of research and an independent scientific discipline
