Let's work together? Innovative Social Entrepreneurship in the field of youth policy welcomed by German local Governments : a case study of the social enterprise RheinFlanke

This thesis investigates the expansion of a social enterprise by drawing on the policy field of operation. It is shown that a traditional policy principle characterizing the provision of child and youth services in Germany – the co-operation between private (non-statutory) and public actors – and recent challenges in the policy field offer many opportunities for innovative actors as the respective social enterprise. The thesis points out that from a bottom-up perspective the enterprise is indeed an example of successful scaling-up. A top-down perspective which refers to the policy tradition and legacy of close co-operation further shows that local actors largely triggered the process of scaling-up beyond the enterprise's scope of origin.