“innovation”
The quotes are important. There are different approaches to innovation. The one described here may be pushed by politicians and administrators, but some would argue that it’s not innovation in the same sense as what either Eric Von Hippel or Michael Schragge might describe.
Innovation isn’t always about technology, efficiency, speed, scale
According to scholars like MIT’s Eric Von Hippel and Michael Schrage, innovation is about usage. Otherwise, it’s just novelty. But the innovation discourse often repurposes the term to be about R&D.
social benefits it might bring in terms of user autonomy and community-building
There are contexts in which these things matter more. Maybe worthwhile to start from there. Not focusing on business models or “does it scale”. But on a plethora of initiatives and pilot projects.