This article presents a constructed reflection that reworks and develops previous contributions, based on the author’s involvement in the field of Spanish social services as an independent consultant, and on a review of a host of recent bibliographical references. The starting point is the outline of a general reference framework on how knowledge ecosystems and innovation dynamics operate within different sectors of activity, and on the role of agents such as academia (and the disciplines or areas of knowledge), professions, service provider organisations, research institutions, social movements and others. Subsequently, reference is made to the strategic crossroads that our social services find themselves in, essentially at a turning point, limited and contradictory in terms of their approach and execution, from a comprehensive and residual service to a sector-based and universal one. A number of challenges and innovation trends in our social services are identified below in three sections. 1. Innovation in the operational activity of social intervention, with references to innovation in diagnosis and evaluation, personalisation and empowerment of recipients, digitisation, incorporation of a community and preventative approach, and others. 2. Innovation in organisational aspects, with references to participatory transformations, vertical and horizontal integration, multi-agent
collaborative dynamics on a local or regional level, and other issues. 3. Innovation in shaping the knowledge-based smart governance ecosystem, with references to professional qualification, the relationship between disciplines, and others. Lastly, it concludes with the identification of drivers and obstacles to innovation in our social services and various proposals.
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Lines of innovation for our social services
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