Digital Social Innovation for Better Connected Government: The Case of Republic of Macedonia

Abstract

Social Innovation (SI) refers to new products, processes and methods that, in a creative and sustainable way, offer a better solution to social demands; which often requires changes in the practices of existing social systems. Digital Social Innovation (DSI) is ICT-based SI that uses digital technologies to invoke such changes. This chapter presents an insight into DSI in the Republic of Macedonia, and reports the results of a survey to show the level of understanding, awareness, and knowledge of DSI in the country. Although the idea of DSI is to bypass the governments, motivate people to self-organize, and solve their societal problems; results suggest that without a good strategy, enough funding, and suitable societal governance, it is difficult to tackle the challenges of raising the awareness of an individual or a community that it is they themselves who are the change-enablers as members of a social network.