This theoretical paper presents a review of existing literature on the Social Investment (SI) approach to social policy and its underlying and under-explored territorial dimension. The SI approach has been debated and promoted mainly at national and supranational level, while the territorial dimension has been relatively underestimated in the policy as well as in the academic debate. A place-sensitive approach should be included within the analytical framework when addressing the territorial articulation of SI, as territorial-related variables may foster or hinder SI policies. Therefore, we provide a theoretical frame to articulate the territorial dimension of SI, and we discuss relevant points of contact between Social Investment and Territorial Cohesion. First, we provide a critical discussion about Social Investment approach, with the simultaneous aim of highlighting the gaps and the flaws, among which we focus on the territorial dimension of these policies. Second, we argue that this territorial dimension is related to the interaction between four main factors: (1) The reliance on the provision of capacitating services; (2) the process of institutional rescaling; (3) the persistence of spatial inequalities at subnational levels; and (4) the characteristics of the knowledge and learning economy. Third, we explore the relationship between place-sensitive Social Investment and Territorial Cohesion, discussing potential implications for sustainable development. The work is a theoretical reflection based on the HORIZON2020 project COHSMO “Inequality, Urbanization and Territorial Cohesion: developing the European social model of economic growth and democratic capacity”.

中文翻译：

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地方敏感型社会投资和领土凝聚力：对可持续性的影响

这篇理论论文回顾了关于社会投资 (SI) 社会政策方法及其潜在和未充分探索的领土维度的现有文献。SI 方法主要在国家和超国家层面进行辩论和推广，而领土维度在政策和学术辩论中被相对低估。在处理 SI 的领土表达时，应在分析框架中包含对地点敏感的方法，因为与领土相关的变量可能会促进或阻碍 SI 政策。因此，我们提供了一个理论框架来阐明 SI 的领土维度，并讨论社会投资和领土凝聚力之间的相关联系点。首先，我们对社会投资方法进行了批判性讨论，同时旨在突出差距和缺陷，其中我们关注这些政策的地域层面。其次，我们认为这一地域维度与四个主要因素之间的相互作用有关：（1）对提供能力服务的依赖；（二）制度调整过程；(3) 地方层面的空间不平等持续存在；(4)知识经济的特点。第三，我们探讨了地方敏感型社会投资与领土凝聚力之间的关系，讨论了对可持续发展的潜在影响。这项工作是基于 HORIZON2020 项目 COHSMO“不平等、城市化和领土凝聚力：发展经济增长和民主能力的欧洲社会模式”的理论反思。