Opening the black box of social innovation in migration governance

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role played by social innovation inchallenging exclusion and marginality in relation to migration governance. Drawingon some reflections that have emerged fromfieldwork, this contribution proposes ananalytical framework that considers four interwoven dimensions: interculturalrelations, social infrastructures, discourses and imaginaries and forms ofparticipation. On the basis of these dimensions, social innovation can support andimplement creative solutions that bring together civil society actors and localadministrators. Although social innovations originate mainly at the level of civilsociety, we sustain that the study of socially innovative practices can be useful toexplore the growing involvement of non-state actors in the governance of migrationand their potentialities in terms of collective action.