In the intersection between innovation and public services, contemporary methods and new approaches are substantially shaping our societal landscape. In this course you will examine the moral compass guiding these shifts, while addressing complex and intricate questions of fairness and development. Engage with critical theories and real-world applications that shed light on the evolving relationship between entrepreneurship and societal well-being, and gain insights into how these changes are actively shaping the way we care for each other.
Background
In most advanced welfare states, the organisation and provision of publicly funded welfare services have been deeply transformed by the international wave of New Public Management (NPM), following the neoliberal turn in politics. NPM has particularly affected the organisation and distribution of services in health and social care. In these sectors, NPM has, among other things, involved implementation of management models drawn from the private sector, outsourcing of service provision, and promotion of entrepreneurship as the new tool for supporting gender equality. Accordingly, the opening of the public sector to private business has been justified with arguments that women employed in the public sector should make use of their feminine gendered professional skills to establish new businesses to contribute to innovation and economic growth. In the same vein, immigrants and ethnic minorities have been encouraged to start up ethnically niched firms to meet the growing need for culturally adapted care services generated by an increasingly diverse population.
Intended learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
- Use theories of innovation and entrepreneurship to analyse the regulation, organisation and practices of innovation and entrepreneurship in publicly funded welfare services in different welfare state contexts
- Analyse how innovation and entrepreneurship interplay with gender and intersectional inequalities, such as race/ethnicity and class, in the context of welfare services
- Analyse ethical dilemmas attached to innovation and entrepreneurship in publicly funded welfare, such as equality between citizens and quality of services.
Content
This course focuses on how innovation and entrepreneurship is regulated, organised and practised in Sweden and internationally within three areas of welfare services; healthcare, residential care for children and youth, and long-term care for older and disabled people. The course presents research and critical theories about innovation and entrepreneurship and applies these to the practice of innovation and entrepreneurship in healthcare, residential care for children and youth and long-term care for older and disabled people in different welfare state contexts. The course also examines how innovation and entrepreneurship are informed by gender and intersectional inequalities, such as race/ethnicity and class, in different welfare states, and analyses the significance of these factors for innovation and entrepreneurship in welfare services in order to illustrate how innovation and entrepreneurship are shaped by the contexts in which they emerge. Finally, the course analyses ethical dilemmas attached to innovation and entrepreneurship in welfare services by critically exploring differences between various conceptualisations of the end-user of the services, such as, customer, client and patient.
The aim of this course is to provide in-depth knowledge about innovation and entrepreneurship in publicly funded welfare by exploring how innovation and entrepreneurship is regulated, organised and practised in three areas of welfare services; healthcare, residential care for children and youth and long-term care for older and disabled people. The motivating question of the course is: under what conditions can innovation and entrepreneurship in publicly funded welfare services benefit both quality and equality? Findings for Sweden will be compared and contrasted with research on Anglo-Saxon and Asian countries, where the context of welfare services differs compared to Sweden.
Teaching and learning activities
Instruction is in the form of lectures, seminars and workshops with active student participation. Certain elements of the course require mandatory attendance and/or written supplementary assignments.
Grades and form of assessment
Examination
The examination takes place continuously through the course’s various learning activities.
The examination elements are weighted in relation to weight and importance for the overall examination of the course. The student’s results from the various examination stages are summed up into a course score which is translated into a final grade.
Attendance
Certain elements of the course require mandatory attendance and/or written supplementary assignments.
Additional information
The course language is English.
The course is offered within the framework of the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship.
Responsible institution: Stockholm University
Literature and teaching aids
Literature will be announced in connection to the start and communicated to enrolled students.
