TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– This study sets out to describe activities within The Netherlands Centre for Social Innovation, one of the earliest national bodies to promote and develop the concept of social innovation.Design/methodology/approach– The paper describes the concept of social innovation and then illustrates how the activities of The Netherlands Centre relate to this concept, within the context of Dutch social and political systems.Findings– It is found that individual and group performance is not directly the result of employee satisfaction or motivation, but of involvement and commitment through workers' representation and work organisation. These measures appear to be much more effective than courses in individual stress management, although there are circumstances in which such courses can help.Practical implications– The paper describes how one country is attempting to take forward the concept of social innovation. It should be useful to other national development agencies.Originality/value– The paper helps one to understand how national governments act in relation to emerging work‐related welfare and development concepts. VL - 57 IS - 6 SN - 1741-0401 DO - 10.1108/17410400810893400 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/17410400810893400 AU - Pot Frank AU - Vaas Fietje ED - John Heap PY - 2008 Y1 - 2008/01/01 TI - Social innovation, the new challenge for Europe T2 - International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 468 EP - 473 Y2 - 2024/04/23 ER -