The notion of social innovation (SI) has received significant attention in academic debates and policy, denoting the potential for bottom-up and ‘bottom-linking’ sociospatial transformations and solutions to societal challenges in times of crises. This article takes on a critical approach to how SI is being employed in institutional channels and urban policy, by suggesting a reconceptualization of the different dimensions or forms it may acquire in the context of austerity governance. The article engages with case studies of policy initiatives developed in the cities of Athens and Madrid in the post-economic crisis period, in order to contribute to a new line of investigation into how policy through the ‘co-paradigm’ reconfigures the meaning and practice of SI, by tapping into the innovative dynamic of the civil society. It then critically evaluates the possibilities and limitations for grassroots innovations to influence urban governance in an era of austerity.

社会创新 (SI) 的概念在学术辩论和政策中受到了极大的关注，它表示自下而上和“自下而上”的社会空间转型的潜力以及危机时期社会挑战的解决方案。本文对 SI 如何在制度渠道和城市政策中的应用采取了批判性方法，建议对其在紧缩治理背景下可能获得的不同维度或形式进行重新概念化。本文对后经济危机时期雅典和马德里城市制定的政策举措进行案例研究，以促进对政策如何通过“共同范式”重新配置意义和实践的新研究。 SI，通过利用公民社会的创新动力。