Give a fish or teach to fish? Empowerment as a practice of social innovation in a civil society organization

Abstract This article aims to analyze empowerment as a practice of social innovation in a civil society organization (CSO) working with vulnerable children and adolescents in the Northeast of Brazil. The study adopted an ethnometodological approach, using interviews with the organization’s staff, children and adolescents that participate or participated in the project, and their families. In addition, the study used participant observation, photos, videos, and document analysis. The results show that besides the individuals empowerment, the participants of the project became multipliers of the acquired knowledge, contributing to the development of other people in their networks. The social innovation practice analyzed has changed over time based on the action and demands of the children and adolescents involved, following their personal development process. Also, the practice is improved based on the CSO’s planning and work of mapping community needs. This article contributes to delineate an integrative theoretical conception, helping to investigate how the practice develops over time and is legitimized in the context, evidencing its founding elements and means of materialization.