Exploring structures of urban social innovation ecosystems: cases of Manchester, Utrecht, Stockholm, Sofia and Budapest.

Following the rise of academic interest in the concept of social innovation, scholarly attention turned towards the concept of social innovation ecosystems (SIE). Despite multiple emerging viewpoints on the composition and spatial level of SIE, the empirical evidence of structures of
SIE is limited. Using interviews with 35 informants and documentary analysis, this paper explores structures of SIEs in Manchester, Stockholm, Utrecht, Budapest, and Sofia, and identifies features of urban and national cultures, institutional relations, networks, and infrastructures that influences social innovation activity in selected areas. The research concludes that insufficient urban-level support forces social innovators to rely on non-urban factors in supporting social innovation.