The role of knowledge in supporting the revitalisation of traditional landscape governance through social innovation in Slovakia

Abstract

In this paper, we determine the role of knowledge in the development and consolidation of social innovation (SI) on the revitalisation of traditional farming in marginalised rural settings. We seek to address the following questions: (i) how the co-production of knowledge in SI initiatives for the revitalisation of traditional farming might influence its development path, and (ii) how the networking of local and external actors accelerates knowledge co-production and triggers the reconfiguration of social practices towards sustainability transformation. To answer these questions, we applied mixed-method approach by investigating the example of SI initiative (the case of Vlkolínec UNESCO site in Slovakia). We conducted a focus group, semi-structured and structured interviews, historical analysis and social network analysis with the actors involved in the SI. Based on the empirical results we revealed how mix of local and external knowledge and knowledge co-production can enhance the development of SI through the networking of numerous local stakeholders, particularly science and policy representatives. This knowledge sharing and knowledge co-production strengthened the development path of the SI in seeking to initiate effective measures for local people to return to traditional small-scale farming, supporting traditional crafts, creating new green jobs and conditions for improving the quality of life for local people, and new services for sustainable tourism. Our results highlight the importance of external knowledge in the expansion of bonding social capital, and the establishment of a regional knowledge network of local and external actors to trigger SI in rural areas. The analyses reveal that multi-actor networks that support knowledge exchange play an important role in SI development paths.