3. Social entrepreneurship, social enterprises, social economy: what is the difference 2. Upscale social innovation into public policies 17
4. The social economy 29 5. Microfinance 34 6. Health and ageing 37 7. Incubation 41
"In the eighties and nineties, the innovation agenda was focused exclusively on enterprises There was a time in
Economy was producing wealth, society was spending. In the 21st century economy, this is not true
anymore. Sectors like health, social services and education have a tendency to grow, in GDP percentage as well as in creating employment,
Inclusion, with inputs by various other Directorates General (DG Enterprise and Industry; DG Research, Technology and Development;
competition and climate change became burning societal challenges. The sustainability and adequacy of Europe's health and social security systems as well as social policies in general is at stake.
Initiative, the Employment and Social Investment packages, the Digital Agenda, the new industrial policy, the Innovation Partnership for Active and Healthy Ageing, and Cohesion Policy
services and models) to meet social needs and create new social relationships or collaborations. It
represents new responses to pressing social demands, which affect the process of social interactions It is aimed at improving human well-being.
and public servants and services. They are an opportunity both for the public sector and for the
markets, so that the products and services better satisfy individual but also collective aspirations Stimulating innovation, entrepreneurship and the knowledge-based society is at the core of the
Europe 2020 Strategy Social innovation describes the entire process by which new responses to social needs are developed
in order to deliver better social outcomes. This process is composed of four main elements -Identification of new/unmet/inadequately met social needs
ï Social demand innovations which respond to social demands that are traditionally not addressed by the market or existing institutions and are directed towards vulnerable
development and changes in relations between institutions and stakeholders. Many EU approaches that involve †stakeholders†are attempting to move in this direction such as
Just like not all enterprises are social enterprises, not all innovations are social innovations. Compared to mainstream innovations
†social innovations†are driven critically by an extra motive: a social mission, and the value they
and producing services, and Innovation in service firms, organisations, and industries †organisational innovations and the management of
involve widening the range of stakeholders and deepening their engagement in deliberative planning In the Social Innovation Camp, an inter disciplinary group brings together software designers and
ecomuseum, an incubator, a neighbourhood, etc. They then co-design new proposals with stakeholders and users, in a participatory way.
Their programme"La Transfo"has installed already social innovation laboratories in a number of French regions. http://www. la27eregion. fr
research center and an incubator for business and social initiatives. It sees itself as a center for civic
ï Demand-led rather than supply-driven ï Tailored rather than mass-produced, as most solutions have to be adapted to local
†perhaps as a new venture or as a new policy within an existing institution.
ventures and the ventures that should be scaled up to achieve systemic changes. It is important that
Today, societal trends are perceived increasingly as opportunities for innovation. What†s more trends in demography, community and social media, poverty, the environment, health and well
-being, or ethical goods and services are understood more and more as growth markets. Just think of the growing shelf space that green (organic) and fair trade products have conquered.
In addition 9 Source: Young Foundation, Social Innovation Exchange 10 there is a real excitement around new entrepreneurial answers and solutions to the rapidly changing
Moreover, we already see a lot of business model experimentation †the emergence of hybrid organisational models, horizontal business models
designed to create at once economic and social value There is also a great need and potential for social innovation in the public sector. As social needs are
Europe 2020, the EU's leading strategy, aims at a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy.
currency, economy and social model. Perhaps at no time since the 1940s has social innovation been
ï It is capable of integrating various stakeholders to tackle this jointly, through new ways of
For that reason, the forthcoming Communication"Towards Social Investment for Growth and Cohesion-including implementing the European Social F und 2014-2020"(Social Investment Package
†SIP) emphasizes the importance embedding social policy innovation in policy making and connecting social innovation policies to priorities,
As the regional level is close to the local and regional economy and social tissue, with its place-based
can consider the different realities, challenges and opportunities of the following six societal trends 11
http://www. economist. com/node/16789766 12 Storper, 1997; Malmberg and Maskell, 1997 12 ï
EU economy in terms of GDP loss is estimated to be between â 20 billion for the 2. 5â°C
•The EU has set itself some ambitions targets to become a low-carbon economy, known
digital society (including services of direct interest to them such as elearning egovernment, ehealth) and increase their employability and quality of life (Europe's
The trend of ethical goods and services: Fair trade and local production Shoppers spent â 4. 36 billion globally on Fairtrade products in 2010, up by 28%from
which overlap and interplay, present huge challenges but also opportunities for social innovations. An important mind-shift is taking place.
leading social innovation lab into reality †making a difference in the real economy Social innovation as such is not new13.
16http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/social-innovation/social-inno-event en. htm 17http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/social business/index en. htm
enterprises are moving into this space. This does not mean they replace the state, they are
these fragmented and multilevel environments One issue that social innovation seeks to address is the risk that each administration will develop its
3. Social entrepreneurship, social enterprises, social economy: what is the difference Social innovations can come from both the public and the private sector.
social enterprises or the social economy, it is most helpful to think of them as overlapping but
social innovations is the social enterprise. Social enterprises are ventures in the business of creating
significant social value, and do so in an entrepreneurial, market-oriented way, that is, through generating own revenues to sustain themselves.
data on social enterprises in Hungary, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the UK22 tell us that 75%of these
ventures work on challenges relating to training and education (smart growth), economic, social and community development and social service delivery (inclusive growth), and the environment
sustainable growth. Moreover, we observe that these ventures are introducing many more new to -the-market innovations than mainstream businesses.
This suggests that social enterprises in particular, even though small in numbers (marginal or niche), nevertheless hold valuable insights
and intelligence regarding social innovation for Europe ï The term social entrepreneurship is used to describe the behaviours and attitudes of individuals
involved in creating new ventures for social purposes, including the willingness to take risks and
find creative ways of using underused assets ï Social enterprises are driven not solely by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and
owners. The Commission uses the term'social enterprise'to cover †an enterprise whose primary
objective is to achieve social impact rather than generating profit for owners and shareholders which operates in the market through the production of goods and services in an entrepreneurial
and innovative way; which uses surpluses mainly to achieve these social goals and which is
managed by social entrepreneurs in an accountable and transparent way, in particular by involving workers, customers and stakeholders affected by its business activity. †23 Basically, this
covers enterprises for which the social or societal objective of the common good is the reason for
the commercial activity, often in the form of a high level of social innovation, where profits are
mainly reinvested with a view to achieving this social objective and where the method of
The definition of social enterprise in national level varies across Europe. This is because social enterprises can take numerous forms,
are engaged in multiple spheres of activity and because legal structures vary from country to country.
recognised social enterprises focusing on work inclusion ï Finally, there are frequent confusions between the terms social enterprise and social economy
Social enterprises are part of the social economy, which also includes foundations, charities and cooperatives. Social enterprises are businesses trading for social purposes, within the (social
economy In a discussion on social innovation it is worth summing up by saying that not all social enterprises
are innovative, not all social enterprises are led by social entrepreneurs, and not all social entrepreneurs lead social enterprises.
No sector has a monopoly on new ideas and perhaps the most fruitful areas are where boundaries are crossed
22 http://www. selusi. eu; By social enterprises here, we mean ventures whose primary goal is to create significant social change, and who
do so in a market-oriented way, through generating own revenues, through selling services or products in the market
The debate on the definition of social enterprises is also ongoing, just like for social innovation, see also the chapter on Social
Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation in the OECD study"SMES, entrepreneurship and Innovation "http://www. oecd. org/cfe/smesentrepreneurshipandinnovation. htm
23 http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/social business/index en. htm 17 2. Upscale social innovation into public policies
Social protection schemes and policies in the Member States are at a turning point as they face a
double challenge: addressing immediate needs as a consequence of the crisis and in a context of
competition, †Promoting social innovation within European societies and, more specifically, inside social policies entails -adopting a prospective view of needs/expectations/possibilities (instead of sticking to
obvious and consensual), consistently with a logics of investment -mobilising a wide range of actors whose (non-)action has an impact on
Organisations that have experience of backing successful social ventures emphasise the importance of looking at the carrier of the project as well as the idea that they pitch
ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/social -innovation/strengthening-social-innovation en. pdf 18 This means that the assessment has to look at the track record and nature of the organisation that is
project idea itself may change as prototypes are tested and rejected, but by focusing on individuals
investment and social audit are explored in the report †Strengthening social innovation in Europe journey to effective assessment and metrics†from the EU Social Innovation Europe Initiative27
provision of health services, education, early child development, access to public utilities, active retirement, etc. Many have been used to evaluate policies targeted at disadvantaged groups
They represent a unique opportunity to reconcile the analysis of societal expectations with the efficiency of social public finance
The European commission defines the overall strategic guidelines of investment and then agrees seven year investment programmes with the Member States which focus the resources on agreed
objectives. A Managing Authority for each programme, normally located within a national or regional ministry, is then responsible for launching the calls for proposals,
The ERDF finances direct aid to investments in companies-in particular small and medium sized entreprises (SMES)- to create sustainable jobs as well as infrastructures linked notably to research
and innovation, telecommunications, environment, energy and transport, but also social infrastructures like hospitals, schools and nurseries.
provides many opportunities for regional authorities to tap into to gain funds for social innovation
Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises-promotes the use of financial instruments to improve access to finance for SMES
Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas-supports sustainable urban development and regeneration through financial mechanisms
The Structural Fund regulations for 2014-20 offer new opportunities for social innovation. The following examples illustrate how cohesion policy has supported social innovations in the past, which
4. The social economy 5. Microfinance 6. Health and ageing 7. Incubation 8. Workplace innovation
environment parallel to receiving instructions via his fingers, a unique men machine interface. It can
From 2008 the social enterprise I-Cane Social Technology BV continued the works of the I-Cane
disabled people but is unattractive for those who seek a quick return on investment. Via support
from the Social Economy network in The netherlands, Belgium and Germany the funds were raised to meet the matching requirements of EU ERDF (OP Zuid) and national grant arrangements
between social enterprises and knowledge institutes can deliver world-class break out solutions 36 www. i-cane. org
barriers to having access to services, low participation in lifelong learning, difficulties in finding a job
21st century society increasingly demands digital literacy, and while physical access to ICT has never
barred from a multitude of information and services and thus often face difficulties in finding
their services are offered to local authorities 25 2. Migration Public sector innovation †immigration policy in Portugal
services and their dispersed locations, the diversity of procedures, complex bureaucracy communication difficulties as a result of a cultural and linguistic diversity,
and the need to promote immigrant participation in decision-making. Therefore, the CNAI Centres respond to these needs by
providing various services related to immigration in one space with an identical working philosophy and functioning in cooperation.
support services under one roof, involving various Governmental and Nongovernmental organisations. Intercultural mediators with immigrant backgrounds were recruited also and trained
facilitate interaction between State services and the immigrant population by forming an integral part of the procedures of Office of the High commissioner for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue
ACIDI) the services of which are financed co by ESF. Intercultural mediators usually come from immigrant communities themselves, speaking fluent Portuguese as well as at least one other
Most cities in Europe have problems of poor communities living in difficult environments. Over the
organisations and other stakeholders Funding comes out of the EU funded Competitiveness programme for 2007-13 under a specific
setting up communication structures; informing the population and administration; organising offers of cultural activities; promoting the local economy;
forming a link between the neighbourhood, city and other levels of decision-aking; and developing projects
The neighbourhoods work with a wide range of stakeholders but the strongest emphasis is on
The Local Support Group has a wide range of stakeholders including the municipality and municipal
4. The social economy Social enterprises can play a unique role in identifying unmet needs and in developing new types of
service. According to the EU Social Business Initiative, the social economy employs over 11 million people in the EU, accounting for 6%of total employment.
It covers bodies with a specific legal status cooperatives, foundations, associations, mutual societies) 41 The social economy can clearly play a role in regional development.
The Emilia romagna region recently published a study on the importance of the social economy for territorial and social
cohesion. Its main conclusions are that public policies are the fruit of the combined contribution of
public authorities and social economy organisations in the provision of public utility services, in which the joint participation of both players is an essential requirement to ensure quality;
deliver services in new and additional fields. In so doing, new forms of co-operation are established
with the civil society and stakeholders. 42 The social economy and social entrepreneurship are also a tool for social inclusion.
They often provide employment opportunities for people facing disadvantages or provide social services and/or goods and services to persons in risk of poverty or exclusion.
They are involved also often in civil society initiatives aiming at social change and social innovation
Social enterprises are positioned between the traditional private and public sectors. Although there is accepted no universally definition of a social enterprise,
their key distinguishing characteristics are their social and societal purpose combined with the entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector
Social enterprises devote their activities and reinvest their surpluses to achieve a wider social or
misnomer to refer to them as †not for profit†(as is customary in the United states) as any enterprise
Many social enterprises operate a relatively complex †hybrid†funding model. They do this by mixing
services. Some make sufficient income from their revenue generating activity to finance their whole operation (e g. social enterprise shops, pubs, restaurants etc..
Others use assets such as property to 41 Recent data tobe found on CIRIEC 2012 42 http://www. euclidnetwork. eu/news-and-events/sector-news/517-research-a-new-approach-to-welfare-generating-experiences-study
43 Definition from DG Enterprise and Industry: http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promoting-entrepreneurship/social
-economy/social-enterprises/index en. htm 30 generate rental income that cross subsidises their other operations (e g. local development trusts
and incubators. Community transport social enterprises often use some commercially run bus contracts to cross subsidise services for the disabled.
There is no single financing model and this can cause difficulties when social enterprises approach banks and public funding agencies for support as
they are perceived as being either complex or inexplicable ERDF can support the development of social enterprise in a number of ways similar to the ways in
which it supports other types of businesses. These include finance for ï business advice and guidance (business planning, coaching and mentoring, support with
marketing ï premises for start-up centres, incubators and single enterprise business premises ï innovation to develop new products, services or ways of working
ï helping to open up new markets for social enterprises by improving the commissioning and procurement process (e g. through the inclusion of social clauses in public works and services
contracts Financial support can be delivered directly to individual companies, through social enterprise intermediaries, such as social enterprise or cooperative development agencies, and through financial
institutions. There are increasing numbers of financial institutions that specialise in investing in social enterprises and many of the new ethical banks specialise in this type of investment.
The UK€ s recently announced †Big Society Bank†will be capitalised from the interest on dormant bank accounts
and will invest only in social enterprises. 44 The European Social Fund can also support social enterprises.
Firstly, it can strengthen administrative capacities and support structures which promote social enterprises. This can be carried out in
particular through education and training, for example, by the integration of social enterpreneurship in the curricula of specific vocations,
or the provision of training improving the business skills of social enterpreneurs. Networking and the development of partnerships,
as well as the setting up of business development services for social enterprises can be supported too. Secondly, the ESF can
mobilise extra funds targeted at the development of the social economy and the promotion of social
entrepreneurship and easily accessible for social enterprises The social economy has different traditions in different parts and Member States of Europe.
Some countries, like France, have a strong tradition in"Ã conomie sociale et solidaire",the social and
solidary economy as they call it. They are gearing up with social innovation in its"newer"meaning
and initiatives are linked sprouting, often with the structural funds. For example, Avise, an official ESF intermediary, has launched a call for proposals with the aim to accelerate social innovation in the
social economy, and thus help to find new answers to unmet needs in fields like employment
housing, ageing, childcare, etc. 45 Market access for social enterprise is restricted still. Sometimes they are unable to compete for the
award of public tenders against other SMES because of interpretations of national rules. Member States and Managing Authorities and other public contracting bodies can use the purchasing power
of large and small ERDF projects to stimulate social innovation in employment and inclusion of
framework has opened a space for social enterprises to work directly with the private sector in
social enterprise Fusion 21 in the UK46 places apprentices and other workers from Merseyside†s
There are also social enterprises and cooperatives whose aim it is to save energy and reach a more
/Supporting social enterprise at regional level: Yorkshire Key Fund and Social Enterprise Support Centre Pilot stage
The Yorkshire Key Fund started out under the ERDF's South yorkshire Objective 1 programme in the
It used the ERDF to finance social enterprises and entrepreneurs Now, a decade later, the Key Fund covers all of Yorkshire and has also become the fund manager for
The Start and Grow Fund backs small start-up social enterprise projects with loans of up to â 25,000
The Grow and Prosper Fund backs new and existing social enterprises with loans of between â 5000
For established social enterprises the loan size may go up to â 150,000. It can also take
Other funds have raised money for specific types of investment. For example, the Asset based development fund enables communities to raise money to buy public assets such as redundant
Social enterprises in Yorkshire also benefit from the Social Enterprise Support Centre (SESC) which provides nonfinancial support in business planning and strategic development;
investment. SESC helps social enterprises to become financially sustainable, deliver quality services and, where appropriate, supports them to gain
and deliver public service contracts 46 http://www. fusion21. co. uk 32 Using public procurement in an innovative way:
The City of Nantes Scaling up Stage The city of Nantes in North West France has been known for nearly 15 years as a leading innovator
ï 133 enterprises were mobilised through these works of which 39 are in public works and 66
employment social enterprise The Nantes example illustrates how public works contracts can deliver a double benefit:
New forms of community based services †The STEP Migrant one stop shop Pilot stage
marginalised communities and gradually expanded its services using a combination of EU funding contracts won in the province and grants.
meet interpretation demands, STEP started a social enterprise and now offers 250 part-time interpreters across a wide range of languages.
services In addition, they act as an incubator for new community organisations in the rural areas. They host
the migrant children project †BELONG€ and have plans to do future work on setting up a human
become the model for new services being delivered in Belfast 34 5. Microfinance Microfinance and microcredit were invented tools in developing countries to combat poverty and to
give opportunities for poor people to create businesses. In 2006 Mohammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded jointly the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in developing
Crowdfunding is a new tool to finance projects or startup companies which is becoming increasingly
social enterprise â€oeatelier des Gens de Mer†to facilitate the return of injured and disabled
organise the needs that the enterprise could satisfy. The Axis 4 of the European Fisheries Fund
supported the investment needed to improve and adapt the physical working conditions to make them accessible to people with disabilities.
de Gens de Mer offers services such as net mending, maintenance of fishing boats and other harbour work.
They form the bottom of the enterprise pyramid and are the seeds from which most SMES and even large companies grow.
budget and managed by the European Investment Fund with a total fund of â 160 million.
Kiã t aims to support Roma to work in the formal economy by starting up a business.
The NEEM organisation has provided training, social support, loans and capital to budding entrepreneurs from ethnic minority backgrounds who are †un-bankableâ€.
have set up micro enterprises and built up a successful credit record. Women make up 75%of the
and capital to clients but has helped already to raise the profile of microfinance in Sweden.
Fejã r enterprise agency: Innovating in microfinance by developing electronic credit assessment Implementation stage Fejã r Enterprise Agency (FEA) 50 started its microfinance activities in 1992 with project funding from
the EU Phare enterprise development programme. It is based in Szã kesfehã rvã¡r, about 60 km to the
west of Budapest, and takes its name from the Fejã r County in the Transdanubian region
advisory and training services in the region to start-ups and existing micro and small enterprises so as to improve their financial and
social standing and living standards. The most important activity of the agency is microfinance although the foundation also deals with training
and provides economic and financial advice FEA has developed an Internet-based electronic service and a credit assessment management
The system provides electronic services for both MFIS and their clients. This Internet-based system was selected as one of the five best practices by the scientific committee in
micro-enterprises, and to families to fulfil education and housing needs. With training support through the ERDF€ s JASMINE and investment from the European Investment Fund, its scale and
reach has increased year on year. Permicro now operates in 10 locations in northern Italy and has
micro-enterprises. http://permicro. it /38 6. Health and ageing Health is a major sector of the economy in its own right and one of the fastest growing sectors.
New types of services are being developed to deal with an ageing population. These tend to be more
community-based and deploy social networks (not just virtual ones) 51 Finland has used the ERDF to co-finance a living lab focused on health and welfare services.
It combines technological advances with social innovations involving the user group plus all relevant stakeholders, bringing together public services and private enterprises
The Living Lab on Wellbeing Services and Technology, a social innovation producing user-driven innovations (Western Finland) 52
Piloting stage This Living Lab is a finalist or the Regiostars 2013 competition53. It is an innovation platform that
enables a new way of producing services for elderly people in a functional Public-Private-People
The testing of welfare services and technologies have taken place in real life contexts, in elderly people†s homes and service homes
The new collaborative structure consists of different stakeholders such as municipalities, suppliers citizens, the third sector, universities, regional developers, specialists, financiers and regional
Cooperation Model improves business opportunities for companies and attracts new companies to the area. It enhances innovation and economic development strategies in a concrete way
See also the proposals of the"Towards a job-rich recovery"communication and accompanying staff working papers
Companies that tested products in the Living Lab environment: Safera Ltd's cooking guards ensure
As a result of this cooperation, a prototype of the intelligent mattress was developed and tested in the Living Lab Environment59
The world of social innovation has a number of incubators and centres. Many of these are outside
o an incubator for social enterprises and social innovation, owned by the City of Milan
o Co-working and an incubator specialised in sustainable innovation http://www. avanzi. org/english
ï Antropia (http://antropia. essec. fr/)is an incubator for social enterprises run by the Institute
of Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship of the ESSEC business school in à le-de-France60. It
the enterprises created through Alter'Incub will receive both physical space to operate and tailor-made business
ï Mars (CA)( http://www. marsdd. com/)is a social incubator which helps create successful
society through provision of advisory services and promotion of projects promoting a sustainable economy driven by innovative entrepreneurship,
which creates value for people and planet ï Innovation & Action Lab (BE)( http://www
for excellence on social business innovation and a trusted environment for open innovation It enhances strong cross-fertilisation between social entrepreneurs, international academia
that develops promising ideas into new ventures by providing funding, social capital and entrepreneurial expertise
ï The Australian Centre for Social Innovation-TACSI63 is focused an incubator on producing innovations by combining multi-disciplinary teams
an incubator to many projects and ventures some of which are located co at its London headquarters
which formal incubation services are provided versus †hosting†regular events and networking opportunities 64 http://www. lcsi. smu. edu. sg
/65 http://www. youngfoundation. org /66 http://www. mind-lab. dk/en 67 http://www. zsi. at
to support the area†s move from heavy industry to an information and knowledge based economy
Denokinn72 brings together social enterprises, public authorities and the private sector to scale up successful innovations after they have been piloted.
enterprises by those excluded from the labour market The Hiriko car was launched by President Barroso on 27th january 201274.
Workplace innovation concerns not only the private sector but also large parts of the social economy such as charities and foundations as well as the the public sector. Celebrated examples include
Results based entrepreneurship in The netherlands Implementation stage Results Based Entrepreneurship (RBE) aims at stimulating technological and social innovation within
SMES. Advisors work with management and staff combining strategic advice with social innovation improving communication, raising personnel involvement etc.
and so stimulating technological innovation. The improved teamwork promotes a collective ambition for the company†s success
encouraging new ideas, products and services Business support is given through Social Innovation vouchers. Firms can use these vouchers to hire
Communication processes and information flows between and within teams have also been revised. As a result
as a recent inquiry from Avise (Ingã nierie et services pour entreprendre autrement) and the ARF (Association des RÃ gions de France) shows.
innovation linked to the social economy and/or work organisation, but also various forms of incubation, co-creation with citizens, initiatives in the health and care sector, etc. come in. 76
with a focus on human capital. It combines technological and social innovation. More than 3, 000 people were involved in consultations which included surveys of
-profit private company created in 2007 to coordinate and promote innovation across the Basque Country.
enterprises in the region Innobasque works at the policy level on many aspects of technological innovation but also brings in
exploring strategies to support the creation of new social firms (work integration social enterprises It is distinct from SPRI, the Regional Development Agency,
ï Ageing and new in-house services to help people age at home with a good quality of life and
services ï Social contract for immigration involving all organisations and institutions to achieve a social contract for coexistence
they integrate workplace innovation, social dialogue and support to the social economy as key elements. 79
monitoring instruments regarding social investment. The forthcoming Social Investment Package SIP) will reinforce the necessity of reexamining existing social policies in order to optimise their
effectiveness and efficiency. In doing so, it will translate a social investment approach as a framework
for redirecting Member States policies towards greater investment throughout the life-cycle. It is important to recall that progress made by Member States in implementing SIP will be assessed by the
Commission as part of the European Semester. In addition, in order to support MS efforts, the Commission will develop integrated operational policy guidance for the CSF-funds to facilitate the
of the Social Investment Approach by early 2013 Social innovation is a tool which is capable to integrate various stakeholders to address social needs
and societal challenges. Similarly, growing social problems more often have to be solved with fewer funding:
enterprises, etc. -on how this framework can be used for implementing social innovation in favour of
the thematic objectives and investment priorities of the funds. On the basis of the set of planned
According to this, projects which integrate hard infrastructural investments business support measures, investment into human resources and others are feasible.
In case one part of the envisaged actions fall under the scope of one fund and another part under the other
and innovation thematic objective under which social innovation is addressed through an investment priority. The ERDF also specifically includes social enterprises under the investment priority for social
inlcusion and combatting poverty. At the same time, the European Social Fund foresees social innovation in all the policy fields which belong to its scope,
place through all investment priorities of the employment, education, social inclusion and administrative capacity building priorities or address the areas of these thematic objectives through a
the different types of investments will be made conditional to ex-ante requirements (ex-ante conditionalities. These are linked to the investment
priorities. Corresponding to the two, explicit and horizontal thematic approaches to social innovation described above, ex-ante conditionality differs according to investment priority.
A specific requirement linked to innovation strategies applies to the relevant investment priority under the
research, technological development and innovation thematic objective in ERDF. At the same time conditionality sets are in place for specific investment priorities of the employment, education, social
inclusion and institutional capacity building thematic objectives. These ex-ante conditionality requirements, e g. the elaboration of national or regional strategies covering the respective policy
innovation (CPR Article 101 (3) h)).This provision demands Member States complement the 2017 and 2019 annual implementation reports of their operational programmes with specific information
Effective partnership means that all stakeholders †national or regional authorities, social partners, civil society-can influence
stakeholders with the best competences to address a specific need, and establishing transparent and accountable monitoring arrangements
funds by all stakeholders, simplification80 is supposed to enable access through favourable technical and administrative conditions.
funding for investments which address multidimensional needs. Social innovation is conceived often to address complex social problems which call for investment into human capital, skills, institutions
organisational structures, technology, equipment, infrastructure etc. at the same time. The provisions of the new regulatory environment, favourable to integrated responses with simultaneous
interventions of more funds, are beneficial to programming and implementing socially innovative projects These provisions include
investment priorities. In terms of programming, the provision translates into the possibility to design social innovation programmes through every ESF investment priority.
The themes which are selected for social innovation in order to address specific needs tackled by the operational programme will
least 60,70 or 80%of funding to be concentrated on maximum 4 investment priorities in each ESF
to social inclusion and the concentration on 4 investment priorities, social innovation will be closely linked to the policies contributing to Europe 2020 and supported by ESF
83 Add reference to the call for tender on supporting services for social policy experimentation in the EU Call for Tenders VT/2012/081
Support Services for Social policy Experimentation in the EU http://ec. europa. eu/social/main. jsp?
comprise one or more investment priorities (CPR Article 87.1). ) By derogation from this rule, social
investment priorities. Depending on the number of themes which have been selected for social innovation, the amount of funding allocated and the weight of funding in relation to the budget of
takes place through the investment priorities under the thematic objectives by the obligation to explicitly set out the contribution of ESF actions to social innovation (Article 11.3 (b
and one for social enterprises Article 5 of the ERDF Regulation sets out the investment priorities under each thematic objective for
this fund Thematic objective 1 on strengthening research, technological development and innovation, includes the following investment priority (b
"promoting business R&i investment, product and service development, technology transfer, social innovation and public service applications, demand stimulation, networking, clusters and open
innovation through smart specialisation "This shows that social innovation is part of the wider concept of innovation,
moving away from'just 'technology-based innovation. As investment in innovation, together with investment in energy
efficiency and supporting SME's competitiveness, will be the main orientation for ERDF in the coming
financing period, this is a key investment priority. It is linked to the ex-ante conditionality on smart
the ERDF to support social enterprises (9 (c But there are more possiblities to include social innovation in ERDF investments under other
priorities Under thematic objective (2) enhancing access to and use and quality of ICT,(c)" strengthening ICT
SME support measures could also apply to social enterprises: thematic objective (3) on enhancing the
competitiveness of SMES mentions the investment priorities (a) promoting entrepreneurship, in particular by facilitating the economic exploitation of new ideas and fostering the creation of new
firms and (b) developing new business models for SMES, in particular for internationalisation Social innovation initiatives and projects also exist in the field of sustainable growth, especially where
Thematic objective (4) supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors a) promoting the production and distribution of renewable energy sources
6) protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency c) protecting, promoting and developing cultural heritage
and promoting ecosystem services including NATURA 2000 and green infrastructures e) action to improve the urban environment,
including regeneration of brownfield sites and reduction of air pollution In thematic objective (8) promoting employment and supporting labour mobility, the possible
support for the development of business incubators and investment support for self employment and business creation can be very relevant for socially innovative start-ups
The same objective makes possible local development initiatives and aid for structures providing neighbourhood services to create new jobs,
where such actions are outside the scope of the ESF Regulation Apart from support to social enterprises, thematic objective (9) on promoting social inclusion and
combating poverty also mentions 55 a) investing in health and social infrastructure which contribute to national, regional and local
community-based services b) support for physical and economic regeneration of deprived urban and rural communities
It is very important that ERDF support to these investment priorities is coordinated with ESF
investments Finally, thematic objective (11) on enhancing institutional capacity and an efficient public administration by strengthening of institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administrations
Financial Instruments or Integrated Territorial Investments, which offer both new possibilities and wider flexibility to adapt to the specific nature of social innovation processes.
activities (nature of support services envisaged; level of resources made available management arrangements planned. This may be described under a separate Technical
the Social Investment Package (SIP) will provide a strategic approach for implementing social policy reforms. Social policies are as complex as the needs
health care by e g. improving the accessibility of these services, the training of teachers and mentors
is important that adequate funding is provided to all types of investment needs of the policies,
human capital investment or infrastructure, and this aspect has to be taken into account during the
Also, ERDF investment in health or education infrastructures, are impossible without compliance with the corresponding health and education strategies and reform
plans, also involving ESF investment. Joint planning is necessary There needs to be complementarity between ESF and ERDF investments.
ERDF funding for productive investment in SMES can be coupled by ESF funding for retraining personnel, for example
ERDF funding for networking, cooperation and exchange of experience between regions, towns and the relevant social, economic and environmental actors can help to identify the right niches for
when planning investments for innovation. Its aim is to boost the innovation potential of the region or member state, to be able to create more jobs and growth
interventions with an infrastructure investment need are covered either by cross-financing or complemented with ERDF funding.
Is there a strong involvement of stakeholders and users ï Up-scaling. Is the impact of the project or programme measured?
ï involvement of stakeholders 88 BEPA definition: Social innovations are innovations that are social in both their ends and their means
bring various stakeholders together, put forward strategic thinking and support the generation of fresh ideas to overcome societal and social challenges
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