Social innovation management based on the example of care farms

Purpose: The aim of this work is to present and implement social innovation management. The aim of the research is to present the expectations of rural residents in relation to the offer of new social services and their attitudes towards the proposition of farms providing care services. The activity of such farms is consistent with the concepts of social innovation. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis uses a questionnaire survey conducted in 2019 and completed by 500 farmers from all across Poland. The surveyed population consisted of farming households in Poland, representing each of the six regions (by NUTS classification). The respondents were members of farming households, most frequently the farm owners. Findings: There is little interest in setting up care farms at present, even though rural residents do recognise the needs of older people. One of the barriers to the development of this new idea is the traditional family model, in which older family members are cared for by younger, fit family members. However, if such a farm were to operate, it would be most important for it to offer professional help with health and care issues. Persons who are considering the possibility of developing their farm to include care activities would need support from the local authorities, especially financial assistance. Research limitations/implications: The sampling scheme applied, and the sufficiently large sample size met the criterion of quota representativeness for the structure of farm households in Poland in terms of subregions, as well as in terms of the gender of adult members of the surveyed households. It was not, however, a representative sample of the total adult population of rural areas. Social implications: Management of social innovations such as care farms requires identification in detail of those factors that support their implementation, as well as those that constitute barriers to their implementation. This article presents these findings in regard to entities considering the introduction of care services, as well as the potential beneficiaries of these services. Originality/value: The research is original due to the early stage of research related to the design of care farms in Poland.