Social innovations and the involvement of rural residents in the process of its renewal

One of the goals of village renewal is to involve residents in the process of its transformation. Its implementation can be supported not only by projects financed (in recent years) from the funds of individual Rural Development Programs, but also by others, including those that can be described as social innovations. The aim of the article was to show the relationship between the implementation of social innovations by rural public institutions and the implementation of such a defined goal of village renewal. The text presents selected results of a study conducted on a random sample of 330 public institutions from rural communes. Two questions were asked. Were those institutions that implemented social innovations distinguished by a higher level of involving residents in the implementation of actions taken to solve social problems affecting them? What did their involvement in the implementation of social innovations consist of? Empirical data obtained through the implementation of an online survey and two examples of social innovations (identified through free-form interviews with representatives of public institutions) were analyzed. Institutions that implemented social innovations were characterized by a higher level of involving residents of the commune in actions to solve social problems affecting them. They involved residents in various stages of implementing innovation, going beyond the model of providing a service and residents being only recipients. Social innovations contributed to the goal of village renewal, which is to involve residents in the process of solving social problems.