“EU policymakers are negotiating Europe’s next long-term budget. Sign the
#SIDeclaration that Europe needs innovation to benefit everyone.”
Source: Social Innovation Community
Over the past year, the Social Innovation Community has asked people working in social innovation all over Europe about how EU policy could enable them achieve an even bigger impact. We heard from more than 350 people from 19 member countries.
As a result, the Social Innovation Declaration sets out the core values that we want European policymakers to follow as they negotiate the new EU budget and programming:
- Innovation should improve quality of life for all and tackle societal challenges
- Openness, democratization and inclusivity should be at the heart of innovation
- Social innovation should be used to improve public services, but never simply to justify cuts or leave citizens worse off.
The Declaration includes 10 specific policy recommendations that we think cut right to the heart of these issues. We want to make social innovation a cross-cutting priority in all EU policies and programmes (such as the European Social Fund Plus or Horizon Europe), and have introduced a number of proposals aimed at using strategic partnerships between EU, national and regional authorities to unleash the power of communities and smaller organisations to drive change.
10 Policy Proposals to support Social innovation for a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive Europe
- Create a cross-service European Social Innovation Action Plan.
- Use the Multiannual Financial Framework budget and its key instruments to create longer-term investment and strategic support for social innovation across all Commission services.
- Create a new European Observatory of Social Innovation Policy.
- Set up a pan-European network of evidence centres to improve, synthesise and disseminate evidence about ‘what works’ in innovating to tackling social challenges.
- Launch a Europe-wide initiative to expand the number of regional social innovation support organisations by 2027.
- Support the creation of locally-controlled asset-based community bodies in all European Member States by 2027.
- Establish ‘Social Innovation Fellowships.’
- Set up a strategic initiative to better enable smaller, socially-focused organisations to access EU funding.
- Embed social innovation actors in governments through a new ‘Innovate4Europe’ initiative.
- Establish ‘Public Procurement Pathfinders’ (PPP) to connect government agencies with social innovation actors (including civic start-ups, social innovation-focused SMEs or social economy players).
This Declaration is a statement of intent from the community to ensure that social innovation is given the political visibility and support it deserves. We need your help to show European decision-makers that we are a powerful and determined force for change in Europe.
Sign the #SIDeclaration here
Sinnergiak Social Innovation UPV/EHU is a partner in the Social Innovation Community project which produced the #SIDeclaration.
For more information please visit the website: https://www.siceurope.eu/