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In rural areas, the social innovation (SI) process emerges as a response to negative socioeconomic trends or gets triggered by open windows of opportunity, bringing solutions that revitalize the rural fabric through the voluntary involvement of the local community. As such, SI is increasingly recognized as a tool to support rural development and transformative change. Regardless of increased interest and research, there are still calls for empirical evidence on the SI process, its effects, and the success factors. Our study responds to this research gap by providing empirical evidence on the 20 years of the development of a remote rural area – Charcoal Land – that sparked the revival of traditional charcoal burning in Slovenia. To better understand how such processes roll out on the ground, we conducted the case study, using a combination of document reviews, key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews, and participatory observations. Using event sequence analysis, we mapped key events in the development of the Charcoal Land and distinguished five key dimensions (Context, Trigger, Agency, Phases, and Effects) based on a framework for analyzing SI as a process of SI. Then, we inductively recognized three key success factors that were crucial for the revival of traditional charcoal burning in Slovenia: the embeddedness of innovators in multiple networks, strategic use of narratives for obtaining resources, and legitimization by the local community and public actors. Our results indicate that the development of the Charcoal Land can be regarded as an SI process that sparked the reconfiguration of traditional charcoal burning and its revival in Slovenia. The voluntary engagement of various actors (e.g., charcoal burners, foresters, local authorities) led to the formation of evolving agencies with the capacity to repetitively rearrange around common projects and goals. Through diversification of activities, traditional charcoal burning started being performed small scale and for educational, touristic, culinary, cultural, and commercial purposes. Over the last 20 years, traditional charcoal burning scaled up and out of the local territory of the Charcoal Land to other geographical and policy levels. Due to three success factors, and through institutionalization, traditional charcoal burning became recognized as an intangible cultural practice, as well as monitored forestry and agricultural practices. • We applied social innovation (SI) framework for analyzing the revival of traditional charcoal burning in Slovenia. • We mapped key events of the development of the Charcoal Land initiative distinguishing three SI phases. • SI phases are overlapping indicating the dynamics of the agency. • Positive effects of SI are highlighted across environmental, social, economic, and institutional domains. • We inductively recognized 3 key success factors for Si in rural areas - the embeddedness, strategic narratives, and legitimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the research on forestry innovation is based on models of economic rationality that are presumed to be universal and "a-gendered." This article understands that economic processes are not "neutral" and seeks to produce empirical insights into the perceptions of gender in the male-dominated forestry sector. How does perceived gender balance in a forestry-related organisation contribute to its resilience to economic, ecological, climate-related and other contemporary crises, as well as its innovativeness? To examine the importance attributed to gender balance for resilience and innovation, we undertook a representative web survey amongst the principal Austrian forestry-related companies, institutions and agencies. The results show some links between gender and innovation, but not between gender and resilience. We then complemented the survey with in-depth interviews with high-level female representatives from the Austrian forestry sector, focusing on their personal experiences and opinions as both experts and the sole ones who made it in a sector of skewed gender balance and strong misrepresentation. Our findings reveal a contradiction between the survey results on the importance attributed to gender balance within forestry-sector organisations and the inequalities that successful women in high-level leadership positions reported in the interviews. The article discusses how gendered norms are relevant for economic outcomes and must be integrated into all related research efforts. Our findings challenge academic positions that regard economic issues and societal questions like gender balance to be strictly separated. • Forestry-related research needs to include gender as a category for economic processes. • 57 % of forestry sector organisations rank gender balance as important. • Successful female leaders report discrimination and inequality during their careers. • High levels of innovativeness correlate with the importance attributed to gender balance. • The overall share of women in the sector is so minimal that the support of mentors and policies is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]