European Social Innovation Alliance

European Commission (ESF+)

The project is being implemented to address the evolving social and economic challenges in Europe and is itself an innovative approach to promoting social innovation and engagement at both civil society and organizational levels. The main objective is to establish and develop National Competence Centers (NCCs) for social innovation in Germany, Luxembourg, Estonia and the Netherlands. These NCCs will serve as hubs for the support, exchange and implementation of effective social innovation practices, thus strengthening the national ecosystems and contributing to the overall EU objectives. The project will focus on the contributions of organizations, each with specific expertise in the areas of supporting social innovators, engaging with EU funding programmes, research on social innovation and social investment. The cooperation of the project partners is crucial for the implementation of transnational and national efforts to promote social innovation. Against this background, the main goal is to contribute to the development of a conducive ecosystem for social innovation, to help improve the framework conditions for development and to enter into an exchange with decision-makers, private funding institutions and the public.

Social Impact
Finanzierungsagentur Social Entrepreneurship (FASE)
Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland (SEND)
Wider Sense
Westfälische Hochschule Gelsenkirchen (IAT)
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (CSI)
Diakonisches Werk Schleswig-Holstein
Mittetulundusuhing Sotsiaalsete Ettevotete Vorgustik (Estonia)
Sihtasutus Kodanikuuhiskonna Sihtkapital (Estonia)
Tallinn University (Estonia)
Heateo SA (Estonia)
Social Enterprise NL (The Netherlands)
Kennisland (The Netherlands)
Sihtasutus Vorumaa Arenduskeskus (Estonia)
Tartu Ulikool (Estonia)
Ministere du Travail (Luxembourg)
Universiteit Utrecht (The Netherlands)
Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (The Netherlands)

The cooperation aims to create effective national centres of excellence for social innovation, embedded in transnational networks and mutually beneficial collaborations, capable of supporting social innovators, policy makers and project promoters in the Member States at national, regional and local level in a transparent, coordinated and targeted manner, providing space for experimentation and learning. The main objectives include:

• Knowledge production and capacity building
• Knowledge transfer
• Creation of partnerships and synergies
• Creation of networks and support of upscaling of initiative

At the Social Research Center, various measures will contribute to the overall project and its objectives. The main focus will be on analyzing case studies of local and regional ecosystems, from which findings can be derived for the framework conditions of social innovation. Previously acquired and new knowledge will be presented and exchanged in workshops and presentations at scientific events. In addition, the Social Research Center will participate in the transnational exchange in the ESF+ Community of Practice Social Innovation and the NCC Working Group and, for its part, promote networking activities.