The European Commission has published the 2024 work programme of the Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) strand of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). This ambitious programme allocates €127 million to promote social inclusion within the European Union.
Towards a more socially inclusive EU
The Employment and Social Innovation strand, an important part of the ESF+, is dedicated to enhancing employment opportunities, fostering social inclusion, combating poverty, and improving working conditions across the EU.
The 2024 programme underlines the Commission's commitment to creating a socially inclusive EU, paving the way for a future that is both more sustainable and equitable, in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Key initiatives for 2024
- Social investment market and microfinance ecosystem: €20 million is dedicated to enhancing the social investment market and microfinance ecosystem through improved collaboration between the EaSI strand and InvestEU. This will provide much-needed support to microfinance institutions, microenterprises, and social enterprises, and will facilitate the funding of projects that are typically considered too risky.
- Advancing social innovation and impact accountability: With €4.5 million, this focuses on refining social impact measurement to better inform sustainable investments, an essential part of the Commission's sustainable finance package.
- Fair transition towards climate neutrality: An allocation of €0.8 million supports the goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. This includes implementing and monitoring the Fair Transition Recommendation and establishing a fair transition observatory.
Funding opportunities
- Grants: EU Funding and Tenders Portal
- Procurement: Ted
- Transnational cooperation (under indirect management): ESFA.
