Democratizing Science, Politicizing Innovation: The Innovation Support Ecosystem Through the Lens of A Revisited Social Innovation Approach

Innovation, long associated with progress, is now the subject of criticism due to its inability to fully address major societal challenges. This text proposes a renewed reflection focused on the societal and transformative dimension of innovation, questioning its purposes, its processes, and the public policies that support it. Drawing on the work carried out by the cooperative Ellyx, it examines the dynamics of social innovation in France. The analysis highlights the weak connection between grassroots initiatives and the traditional innovation ecosystem, structured around technology and the market. In response, new frameworks are emerging, such as disruptive social innovation, social research & development, and the Societal Readiness Level scale, which emphasize the central role of actors operating on the margins of the innovation ecosystem. These approaches contribute to shaping new interactions and fostering the emergence of collective capacities better suited to contemporary challenges.