L'innovation sociale, une notion aux usages pluriels : Quels enjeux et défis pour l'analyse ?

The current crisis fosters a renewed interest in innovation, a way to experiment a new growth regime. In this context social innovation appears to be the new solution, likely to promote not only growth, but a form of fairer sharing and even to redefine social policies. It is often presented as a way to combine the desire for change and a form of guarantee of fairness and social justice that would build on creativity of actors and particularly private actors. But its definition remains unclear. We present three main approaches to social innovation, then we identify three dominant issues: the nature of innovation, the meaning and scope of the "social" dimension of innovation, and finally, characteristics of entrepreneurship (individual or collective), in connection with the form of governance and the participation of a number of stakeholders. JEL Codes: A13, A14