Public Governance and Social Innovation: Identifying Challenges and Strategies for Quilombola Communities

Objective: to understand the configuration of the social innovation ecosystem operating around the quilombola communities of Corumbá (Mato Grosso do Sul), identifying its main challenges and key actors, as well as its consequences for governance in the city. Theoretical approach: the theoretical basis includes an overview of the challenges of public management in Brazil’s quilombola communities. Based on this, a discussion is presented on the interface between social innovations and public policies from the perspective of public governance. Methods: this intrinsic case study was conducted with the Osório and Campos Correia quilombola communities in Corumbá (MS) and was carried out through the triangulation of qualitative multi-methods, including bibliographical and documentary research, cartography, and interviews. Results: the research highlights social inequality, marginalization, and the exclusion of these quilombola groups, as well as the inefficacy of several public policies that should support these families. Conclusion: governance based on co-creation can be seen as a bridge between social innovations and public policies, provided that there is a cultural change in public institutions to favor the participation of multi-actor collaborative networks.