The University of Bologna to Establish National Competence Centres for Social Innovation

Innovative solutions are needed to tackle pressing social challenges such as employment, education and social inclusion. The new European project SEED2SCALE aims to address these challenges by establishing five National Competence Centres for Social Innovation in Italy, Croatia, Greece, Romania and Slovenia. Its goal is to create a European network to facilitate the transfer and updating of social innovations through collaborative expertise.

The University of Bologna is participating in the project, coordinated by the City of Turin, with a large research team led by scholars from the Departments of Economics, Management, Architecture, Arts, Sociology and Business Law, Political and Social Sciences.

Funded by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), SEED2SCALE builds on the previous SEED project, which co-designed models for the Social Innovation Centres.

SEED2SCALE’s ambition is to advance the National Competence Centres for Social Innovation, with a clear regulatory framework and effective and shared governance and business models. This process includes a more in-depth analysis of the regulatory and institutional contexts of the participating countries, as well as a continuous dialogue with the European Social Fund Plus+ authorities and the different ecosystems of social innovation.

The new National Competence Centres for Social Innovation will focus on identifying, supporting and expanding strategies and practical knowledge on social innovation issues, such as health, security, education, environmental protection, social inclusion and employment.

To achieve these goals, researchers will work on defining the core competences of each Centre and on developing national online platforms that can gather and disseminate information, services, resources, tools, and good practices. All of this will involve launching and supporting collaborative and co-designing efforts with authorities in the regions involved, while also focusing on the development of a transnational network of National Competence Centres for Social Innovation within the European Union.