According to the literature, social innovation could generate many benefits for community development; However, there are very few empirical studies that support this statement.
Paper long abstract:
According to the literature, social innovation could generate many benefits for community development; However, there are very few empirical studies that support this statement. To find out what the benefits or drawbacks of social innovation are, this project compares two rural communities in the municipality of Atzitzihuacan in the state of Puebla, Mexico.
The community of San Pedro Ixhuatepec has been subject only to federal policies that seek to promote social and economic development. In contrast, the community of Santiago Atzitzihuacan, in addition to public policies, has participated in several development projects that seek social innovation and involve external actors such as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and a state public university.
In both communities, development indicators are reviewed and key informants are interviewed.