Establishment of a Competence Centre for Social Innovation

L&R Social Research and arbeit plus – Social Enterprises Austria have been commissioned by the ESF Managing Authority and the European Commission to set up a Competence Centre for Social Innovation – SI Plus. In the first part of the project we are working on a common definition of social innovation and want to identify already existing socially innovative projects in Austria. We will focus on the following questions:

• What Social Innovation projects and strategies are there?
• What strategies can be developed to tackle existing social challenges such as social inequality, climate change and the consequences of the COVID19 pandemic? What kind of social innovation is needed in regions and cities?
• What forms of cooperation between public authorities and civil society initiatives are helpful?
• What kind of support is needed in order to implement socially innovative projects and strategies to overcome current challenges?