Social innovation involves the creation and implementation of new ideas, practices and policies designed to address social challenges and enhance the well-being of European citizens. By engaging public authorities, civil society, academia and the private sector, these innovations seek to generate social impact and empower communities to actively participate in driving change.
Social innovation:
- helps people, such as youth, NEETs, or other vulnerable categories access the labour market
- provides solutions for housing
- transforms the way in which care is delivered to respond to demographic challenges
- facilitates the inclusion of migrants and other vulnerable
To fully unlock the potential of social innovation, an enabling policy framework is needed to support socially innovative solutions, thereby contributing to address socio-economic issues, building stronger territorial resilience and better respond to future shocks.
ESF+ support to social innovation
The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) supports social innovation through several measures. EU Member States are asked to support social innovation with ESF+ funding through specific actions in their own national or regional context.
In addition to Member States’ intervention, the following EU-level actions target social innovation:
ESF Social Innovation+ Initiative
With a budget of €197 million, the ESF Social Innovation+ Initiative includes EU-wide, transnational projects to develop, replicate and scale up innovative solutions.
The European Competence Centre for Social Innovation launches transnational calls for proposals. It also collects, assesses, develops, validates, and disseminates suitable tools and methods for social innovation.
Several calls for proposals under which transnational projects are or will be be funded through grants are on-going:
- Strengthening the European Child Guarantee national governance systems and supporting access to the labour market for Roma NEETs
- Piloting a Skills Guarantee for Workers in Transition
- Implementing the Disability Employment Package – Innovative Approaches to Improve Labour Market Outcomes for Persons With Disabilities
- Innovative Approaches Tackling Long-Term Unemployment
- Innovative Approaches to Mitigate the Societal Consequences of Russia’s War of Aggression against Ukraine within EU Countries
- European Mobility and Social Inclusion for Integrating Disadvantaged Young People Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEETs)
- Transnational Calls - SI+
It offers mutual learning, capacity building and networking for ESF+ managing authorities and other relevant stakeholders.
Social Innovation Match
The Social Innovation Match is a database which aims to support the visibility of social innovation initiatives, publicise good practices and facilitate partnership-building between associations, NGOs or other entities which are active in the area of social innovation.
The Social Innovation Match allows stakeholders to showcase their social innovation initiatives and search for initiatives developed and tested in other countries. In addition, it offers a partner search function for organisations wishing to apply for transnational calls for proposals or to establish cooperation beyond such calls.
National Competence Centres for Social Innovation
Since 2021, through funding from ESF+, the EU has been supporting Member States to set up National Competence Centres for Social Innovation and to build capacity so that such centres represent the infrastructure which drives social innovation. 24 NCCs have been set up under various forms (non-profits, networks, structures within ESF+ Managing authorities, etc.). These centres should help ESF+ managing authorities to programme and implement social innovation actions and support organisations on the ground with capacity-building and networking measures.
Ongoing projects/consortia
- Social Innovation plus – National Competence Centres
- SEEDing competences TO SCALE up social innovation ecosystems
- International Network for Social Innovation Scaling and Systemic Transformation
- Boosting Initiatives & Resources to Develop Social Innovation
New call and beneficiaries
EaSI Strand of the ESF+
Social innovation is also supported under the Employment and Social Innovation strand (EaSI) of the ESF+. This includes EU-wide social experimentation calls for proposals to support the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, as well to respond to emerging needs on the ground.
Guides
The Commission has prepared two complementary guides on social innovation and social experimentation.
- Social experimentation: a practical guide for project promoters. This guide offers a practical methodology to aid practitioners in preparing a social experimentation proposal. It is also useful for other stakeholders, notably those responding to ESF+ national and regional calls on social innovation under shared management.
- Scaling-up social innovation - Seven steps for using ESF+. This toolkit is primarily intended for ESF managing authorities and intermediate bodies. It outlines seven strategic steps to follow in support of scaling-up of social innovations.
