GRASSROOTS KOMUNITY AKO ZDROJ SOCIÁLNYCH INOVÁCIÍ V MIESTNOM ROZVOJI
GRASSROOTS COMMUNITIES AS A SOURCE OF SOCIAL INNOVATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF LOCALITY

Author(s): Michal Hrivnák, Peter Moritz, Jana Jarábková
Subject(s): Social development, Economic development
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: grassroots communities; communities; community development; social innovation; local economic development;
Summary/Abstract: Grassroots communities are still a relatively new phenomenon in the scientific literature of Central and Eastern Europe. These institutional units, which arise from the proactive approach of local communities towards addressing the specific social, environmental, cultural or economic development challenges, are, among other influences, a potential source of social innovation and new knowledge. The aim of the paper is to describe the ability of grassroots communities to generate public services, social innovation and bring new solutions in local development through pooling resources from within the community. We use data obtained from ongoing long-term research of grassroots communities in Slovakia. Based on the execution of mass guided interviews and data collection in the form of an extensive questionnaire, we characterize identified grassroots communities, their activities in local development, community parameters and forms of pooling resources from within the community. We also provide an overview of specific, identified social innovations. Information on the degree of novelty of grassroots community products and services at different spatial levels and information on the spatial scope of activities served us to create a specific typology of grassroots communities.

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