Social innovation in public institutions and organizations: A research on perceptions of managers

In a globalizing world, traditional methods are increasingly seen as insufficient to address challenges such as war, migration, and socioeconomic inequalities. The need for sustainable and innovative approaches is growing, and social innovation emerges as a significant tool. Social innovation contributes to organizing the services of public institutions and organizations in a more inclusive and sustainable manner by offering effective, collaborative solutions to societal issues. Furthermore, it supports the long-term development of communities by enhancing the efficiency of public services. The importance of social innovation for the public sector lies in its ability to both increase societal benefits and ensure more efficient service delivery. Social innovation enables public institutions to become not only policymakers but also drivers of social change. This approach fosters trust between citizens and public institutions by involving local communities in the process and supports the implementation of social innovations through the promotion of social enterprises. This study aims to understand the perceptions of managers working in public institutions and organisations in Turkey towards the concept of social innovation and to analyse current practices in this field. Within the scope of the study, information about the concepts of innovation and social innovation is given and the types of social innovation applied in public institutions and organisations are explained with examples. Based on the analysis of in-depth interviews with 20 public administrators working in Malatya, themes related to the perception of social innovation by public administrators were identified and solution suggestions for raising awareness were presented. The findings reveal that social innovation is a strategic tool in increasing social benefit and achieving sustainable development goals. In this framework, the importance given to social innovation by public institutions and organisations plays a critical role in solving social problems and increasing the welfare level of the public.