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This paper aims to examine through a case study how the creation of collaborative spaces between local stakeholders can foster decision-making and collective development of projects that improve the governance of tourism destinations and their sustainability.

The paper focuses on the analysis of a case study based on the Etorkizuna Eraikiz (Building the Future) programme developed in the Gipuzkoa region located in the Basque Country, Spain. The programme is based on a strategy that seeks to institutionalize a new model of collaborative governance in the long term through the co-design of public policies involving stakeholders of the territory. Through the description and analysis of the results achieved so far, the paper presents the implications of this public programme for the design of policies.

Etorkizuna Eraikiz emerges as a model to develop an exercise of active experimentation. The analysis of this collaborative governance process has derived in practices and agendas promoted by a variety of agents within the region. The programme has important implications for the formulation of public policies in the field of tourism through the creation of formal interaction spaces and the implementation of projects in support of tourism development (Tourist Eco-tax and information and communication technology tools).

This paper provides a contemporary approach to the practices in governance within the context of tourism. This case study may be of interest to practitioners and researchers to adopt destination governance practices through the creation of collaborative spaces between local stakeholders. These practices can foster decision-making and the collective development of projects that impact and lead to better governance of tourism destinations and their sustainability.

This chapter emphasizes the importance of potential and realized capabilities in building and sustaining social innovations. We present an assessment of the drivers and barriers to the development of social innovation ecosystems through the use of internal (absorptive capacities) and external organizational capabilities (open social innovation). A particular emphasis is placed on social innovation outcomes and impacts. The capability approach is particularly useful for measuring social innovation impacts and investigating the “micro-meso-macro” of linkages that underlie the process of social innovation.

Our methodological approach measures social innovations’ outcomes and impact through an aggregative model, which takes into consideration different forms of capabilities that are engendered in the process of or as a result of social innovation. This methodology highlights the importance of social innovation drivers and contexts in which knowledge exploration and exploitation lead to the creation of capabilities that help social innovators to respond to unfulfilled social needs.

The research presented in this chapter provides a new perspective on how the capability approach can be used to assess and measure individual and collective actions when facing social challenges.

Our research supports and complements the findings of the EU project SIMPACT an acronym for “Boosting the Impact of SI in Europe through Economic Underpinnings,” by highlighting the processes and outcomes and SI impact measurement.

The measurement of social innovation outcomes and impact has gained importance for policy makers and constitutes a strategic tool for designing policies in support of social entrepreneurs, social investors, and private and public organizations which participate in cocreating and implementing innovative projects.

The research presented in this chapter sheds light on the “micro-meso-macro” linkages that foster social innovation ecosystems, and offer valuable tools and guidelines to researchers, practitioners, and policymaker in the field of innovation in general and social innovation in particular.