The contribution of Fondation de France to territorialized and territorializing processes of social innovation

We analyze the philanthropic support for the territorial development through a program launched in 2013 by Fondation de France (FdF). The evaluative assessment of the first two territorialized devices (2014-2018), the first one deployed on a rural territory and the other one on an urban territory, showed that the FdF contributes to the territorialized and territorializing processes of social innovation. Social innovation, which we consider as endogenous to the territory, manifests itself in processes revealing forms of territorial, individual and community empowerment. The study of devices highlights both properties of social innovation processes: dependence on territory and configuration of territory. Social innovation processes depend on proximities between associated beneficiaries and on the nature of the resources in use. They also tend to engender these proximities and to generate the creation-valorization of these resources. JEL Codes: O35, A14, A12