Abstract/Summary

Social innovation (SI) and co-production are increasingly pervasive concepts in public policy. The contribution critically investigates the opportunities and limits of territorial governance based on these “open signifier” concepts. In particular, we highlight three specific aspects of SI and co-production in territorial governance. The first aspect is how they are interpreted in different political-institutional contexts. The second dimension relates to concerns about how these concepts and associated practices are organised and who benefits from the new processes of shared governance. Finally, we argue that the concern about how the power of SI and co-production can progressively reshape territorial governance and, specifically, the planning practice. We conclude by suggesting future research avenues in which the use of SI and co-production are claimed to be different in both design and impact, and which require further questioning.