Targeting Education in NGOs: Supporting the Implementation of Social Innovations

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) address social issues through proven services or social innovations (SI). This study examined whether NGO type (implementing vs. non-implementing SI) and member status (leader vs. non-leader) influence attitudes toward SI. Using the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Social Innovation (IATSI), data from 226 randomly selected Polish NGO members were analyzed with a two-factor ANOVA model. Results showed that only the implementation of innovations affected attitudes, not member status. These findings challenge assumptions about the role of organizational position and suggest educational programs for NGO members should focus on fostering positive attitudes toward SI rather than differentiating by status.

REFERENCES:

• Bohner, G., Wanke, M. (2002). Attitudes and Attitude Change. Psychology Press.
• Brown, L.D., Kalegaonkar, A. (2002). Support organizations and the evolution of the NGO sector. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 31(2), pp. 231–258.
• Cacioppo, J., Gardner, W., Berntson, G. (1997). Beyond Bipolar Conceptualizations and Measures: The Case of Attitudes and Evaluative Space. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 1(1), pp. 3–25.
• Chaiken, S., Stangor, C. (1987). Attitudes and attitude change. Annual Review of Psychology, 38, pp. 575–630.
• Charycka, B., Gumkowska, M., Bednarek, J. (2022). Kondycja organizacji pozarządowych 2021 / The condition of non-governmental organizations 2021. Stowarzyszenie Klon/Jawor.
• Cheng, B. S., Boer, D., Chou, L.-F., Huang, M.-P., Yoneyama, S., Shim, D., Chou-Yu, T. (2014). Paternalistic leadership in four East Asian societies: Generalizability and cultural differences of the triad model. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 45(1), pp. 82–90.
• Fazio, R. (2007). Attitudes as Object-Evaluation Associations of Varying Strength. Social Cognition, 25(5), pp. 603-637.
• Fennell, S., Kaur, P., Jhunjhunwala, A., Narayanan, D., Loyola, Ch., Bedi, J., Singh, Y. (2018).
• Examining linkages between Smart Villages and Smart Cities: Learning from rural youth accessing the internet in India. Telecommunications Policy, 42(10), pp. 810– –823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2018.06.002.
• Galego, D., Moulaert, F., Brans, M. Santinha, G. (2022) Social innovation & governance: a scoping review. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 35(2), pp. 265–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2021.1879630.
• Górniak, J., Kubica W., Worek, B. (2022). Bilans kapitału ludzkiego. Rozwój kompetencji – uczenie się dorosłych i sektor szkoleniowo-rozwojowy / Human capital balance. Competence development - adult learning and training and development sector. UJ Press.
• Götz, N. (2019). The emergence of NGOs as actors on the world state. In T. Davies (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of NGOs and International Relations, pp. 19–31, Routledge.
• Huq, J.-L. (2019). Conditioning a Professional Exchange Field for Social Innovation. Business & Society, 58(5), pp. 1047–1082. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650318758321.
• Kim, H. Y. (2013). Statistical notes for clinical researchers: assessing normal distribution using skewness and kurtosis. Restorative Dentistry & Edodontics, 38(1), pp. 52– –54. https://doi.org/10.5395/rde.2013.38.1.52.
• Kinowska-Mazaraki, Z. (2021). The Polish Paradox: From a Fight for Democracy to the Political Radicalization and Social Exclusion. Social Sciences. 10(3), p. 112. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10030112.
• Letki, N., Mieriņa, I. (2014). Inequality and social capital in post-Communist Europe in Christoforou. In A., Davis, J. (Eds.). Social Capital and Economics: Social Values, Power, and Social Identity (pp. 147–168). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203505014.
• Lissowska, M. (2011). Type and role of social capital in post-transition European economies. Gospodarka Narodowa, 3, pp. 1–26.
• Lux, W., Flisch, R. (2019). Integrated measurement of social innovation. European Public & Social Innovation Review, 4(1), pp. 1–14.
• Murphy, T.A. (2004). Deliberative civic education and civil society: a consideration of ideals and actualities in democracy and communication education. Communication Education, 53(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/0363452032000135788.
• Northouse, O. (2007). Leadership: Theory and practice. SAGE Publications.
• Oosterlynck, S., Cools, P. (2020). Modalities of governing the welfare mix. In S. Oosterlynck, A. Novy, & Y. Kazepov (Eds.), Local social innovation to combat poverty and exclusion: A critical appraisal, pp. 63–90. Policy Press.
• Pasikowski, S., Zajda, K.K. (2018). A Validation of the Inventory of Attitude Toward Social Innovation. The New Educational Review, 53(3), pp. 49–61. https://doi.org/10.15804/tner.2018.53.3.04.
• Pasikowski, S., Zajda, K. (2022), Nongovernmental organizations’ leaders’ attitude toward social innovation: The validation of a research tool. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 33(4), pp. 835–850.
• Silva, C.N. (2020). Contemporary Trends in Local Governance. Reform, Cooperation and Citizen Participation. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
• Spitzer, H., Twikirize, J. (2023). Social innovations in rural communities in Africa’s Great Lakes region. A social work perspective. Journal of Rural Studies, 99, pp. 262–271.
• Tuna, E., Karantininis, K. (2021). Agricultural cooperatives as social capital hubs – A case in a post-socialist country. Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcom.2021.100134.
• Valacher, R. R., Nowak, A., Kaufman, J. (1994). Society and self: The emergence of collective properties in self-structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(1), pp. 20–34.
• van Knippenberg, D. (2017). Team Innovation. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 4, pp. 211–233.
• von Schnurbein, G., Potluka, O., Mayer, M. (2023). Creating social innovation in urban development through collaborative processes. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 36(2), pp. 316–332. https://doi.org/1.1080/13511610.2021.1910800.
• Zajda, K. (2022). What Features Distinguish the Rural Nongovernmental Organisations that Implement Social Innovations? Evidence from Postcommunist Poland. Voluntas. International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-022-00546-8.
• Zajda, K., Mazurek, D. (2023). Public Institutions and NGOs Cooperation for Social Innovations in Post-Socialist Rural Poland. European Countryside, 14(4), pp. 623–637.