The Coronavirus Makers Network. Understanding the Success of an Innovation Community Facing COVID-19 in Spain

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis triggered responses and actions from all kinds of social agents and organisations to deal with the situation. On the one hand, actions carried out in the business world were remarkably diverse: from a well-established corporate social responsibility (CSR) culture to spontaneous initiatives. On the other hand, the maker movement emerged to provide fast and technologically viable solutions: The Coronavirus Makers Network. In the context of CSR’s situation in Spain during the crisis in the first half of 2020, this chapter aims to analyse this maker movement as an innovation community in times of crisis. Specifically, it seeks to explore its nature, composition, relationships and dynamics with institutional agents and companies. It analyses how the network emerged, how it was organised, its results and social impact, trying to explain the key factors for its success. For this purpose, a single case has been selected: the Coronavirus Makers community. Besides, this research was based on analysing secondary sources of information and two in-depth interviews with two coordinators of the Coronavirus Makers Network. The analysis introduces elements of debate arising from the contrast among the actions carried out by companies and The Coronavirus Makers Network in a context of crisis. Additionally, the analysis of innovation communities reveals the need to examine in greater depth such concepts as the democratisation of innovation and the difficulties to manage innovative communities like these.