Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]

Background Collaborative Workspaces are rapidly growing and evolving across the world. Traditionally understood as an urban phenomenon, most research understands them as either ‘entrepreneurial-led’, as profit-driven and commercial spaces such as business incubators and accelerators, or ‘community-l...

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Main Authors: Colm Stockdale, Vasilis Avdikos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: F1000 Research Ltd 2025-01-01
Series:Open Research Europe
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Online Access:https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/4-205/v2
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author Colm Stockdale
Vasilis Avdikos
author_facet Colm Stockdale
Vasilis Avdikos
author_sort Colm Stockdale
collection DOAJ
description Background Collaborative Workspaces are rapidly growing and evolving across the world. Traditionally understood as an urban phenomenon, most research understands them as either ‘entrepreneurial-led’, as profit-driven and commercial spaces such as business incubators and accelerators, or ‘community-led’ as being bottom-up, not-for-profit ventures aimed at catering for the needs of their community. Recent years however have seen their diffusion beyond large urban agglomerations to small towns and villages, with their functions assumed to be more community-orientated. At the same time, social innovation, or social innovation processes have been gaining prominence in academia, policy, and practice, as they address societal problems and hold potential for new forms of social relations. This paper attempts to provide a novel framework towards understanding the transformative potential of rural collaborative workspaces, as they engage in processes of social innovation, by drawing from diverse and community economies literature and assemblage thinking. Methods The paper uses international case study comparison between rural Austria and Greece (One case from each country). Methods applied were: semi-structured interviews (N=28), participant observation and focus groups (2). Results Community-led rural collaborative workspaces hold transformative potential from i) their ability to assist rural actors with their capacities and realizing their desires and ii) changing individual subjectivities towards collective. Through changing social relations in praxis and perceptions, we examine how social innovation processes through collaborative workspaces can be understood as a means of opening new economic subjectivities towards creating community economies as their transformative potential. Conclusions Although rural collaborative workspaces hold potential for societal transformation, they require further institutionalization and support to move beyond the interstitial and symbiotic stages of transformation.
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spelling doaj-art-55eaa7579fbc464f8eb2397cb24564812025-01-24T01:00:00ZengF1000 Research LtdOpen Research Europe2732-51212025-01-01420821Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]Colm Stockdale0Vasilis Avdikos1Department of Economic and Regional Development,, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, L. Syggrou 136, 16761, GreeceDepartment of Economic and Regional Development,, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, L. Syggrou 136, 16761, GreeceBackground Collaborative Workspaces are rapidly growing and evolving across the world. Traditionally understood as an urban phenomenon, most research understands them as either ‘entrepreneurial-led’, as profit-driven and commercial spaces such as business incubators and accelerators, or ‘community-led’ as being bottom-up, not-for-profit ventures aimed at catering for the needs of their community. Recent years however have seen their diffusion beyond large urban agglomerations to small towns and villages, with their functions assumed to be more community-orientated. At the same time, social innovation, or social innovation processes have been gaining prominence in academia, policy, and practice, as they address societal problems and hold potential for new forms of social relations. This paper attempts to provide a novel framework towards understanding the transformative potential of rural collaborative workspaces, as they engage in processes of social innovation, by drawing from diverse and community economies literature and assemblage thinking. Methods The paper uses international case study comparison between rural Austria and Greece (One case from each country). Methods applied were: semi-structured interviews (N=28), participant observation and focus groups (2). Results Community-led rural collaborative workspaces hold transformative potential from i) their ability to assist rural actors with their capacities and realizing their desires and ii) changing individual subjectivities towards collective. Through changing social relations in praxis and perceptions, we examine how social innovation processes through collaborative workspaces can be understood as a means of opening new economic subjectivities towards creating community economies as their transformative potential. Conclusions Although rural collaborative workspaces hold potential for societal transformation, they require further institutionalization and support to move beyond the interstitial and symbiotic stages of transformation.https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/4-205/v2Collaborative Workspaces Social Innovation Diverse Economies Post Capitalism Assemblage Rural eng
spellingShingle Colm Stockdale
Vasilis Avdikos
Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]
Open Research Europe
Collaborative Workspaces
Social Innovation
Diverse Economies
Post Capitalism
Assemblage
Rural
eng
title Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]
title_full Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]
title_fullStr Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]
title_full_unstemmed Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]
title_short Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]
title_sort transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces assembling community economies in austria and greece version 2 peer review 1 approved 3 approved with reservations
topic Collaborative Workspaces
Social Innovation
Diverse Economies
Post Capitalism
Assemblage
Rural
eng
url https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/4-205/v2
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