Empreendedorismo e inovação no serviço social do século XXI. Que desafios?

It is with the reconfigurations in the labor market, which have occurred mainly since the late 1990s, that the narrative of entrepreneurship becomes dominant, accentuating the neoliberal logics rooted in the development of a generalized employment crisis. A rhetoric based on freedom and individuality, which requires an “attitude”, a “spirit”, an innovative, differentiating “way of being” capable of solving “individual” problems (Campos & Soeiro, 2016). Entrepreneurship and innovation thus become inseparable partners in a situation oriented by economic materialism, with the conviction that such an alliance will cooperate for the creation of new products, for the maintenance and improvement of existing solutions and processes. It is in the course of such transformations that we present this article, starting a conceptual exploration of innovation, but also the aggregation of the term "social" to such a concept, giving an account of a type of innovation less linked to profit and more oriented to the commitment to quality of life, renewal of practices, solidarity and well-being. It is also analyzed such representations in the framework of European and Portuguese policies, particularizing a look at public budget allocations in Research and Development, noting that such funding occupies a fundamental place in the creation of jobs in an economy, as well as in the its orientation towards sustainable and inclusive growth. We conclude with a reflection on the contributions of (social) innovation to Social Work, reinforcing the importance and urgency of innovating in response to new and old social needs, but also to the constraints and limits that arise.