European Commission seeking Proposals for Competence Centres for Social Innovation

Deadline: 15-Oct-20

The European Commission has announced a call for proposals for the competence centres for social innovation.

Objectives & Priorities

The objective of this call for proposals is to support the establishment, development and professionalism of organisations that do or can assume the function of a social innovation competence centre in an EU Member State. Their main functions would be:
- Capacity building: to build capacities of key social innovation stakeholders, notably ESF Managing Authorities, funders and donors, intermediaries, social innovation initiatives and practitioners alike. This is to be pursued, by providing professional support services ranging from design and development to assessment, upscaling and mainstreaming of social innovations through effective public policies and actions, creating a conducive environment for social innovation in a Member State.
- Transnational transfer of knowledge know-how, and tools for the support to social innovation from ESF Managing Authorities, social innovation competence centres and social innovation stakeholders with a long-standing and deep experience, to organisations in Member States with a shorter and less developed or less comprehensive experience and competence in this field.
- Establishing a mentoring relationship between competence centres of both types of Member States will be instrumental in this respect.
- Creation of synergies: to create further synergies between the EaSI Programme and the ESF, especially in view of designing, supporting, monitoring and mainstreaming innovative actions that could be extended, enlarged and/or replicated using ESF+ funding in subsequent years.
- Networking: to network and cooperate with other selected competence centres, using mutual learning as well as by jointly developing, assessing, and optimising suitable tools and methods, and collecting and disseminating inspiring examples, models and practices.

Funding Information

The total budget earmarked for the EU co-financing of projects under this call is estimated at EUR 5 million.

Activities

The types of activities to be funded under this call for proposals may include:

Drawing a comprehensive overview of the social innovation ecosystem synthesising the visions, needs, opportunities and priorities of relevant social innovation stakeholders and promoters, in order to produce a shared strategy and action plan for boosting social innovation in a Member State, including under the ESF+;
Collecting, validating, mapping, and communicating suitable and successful tools and methods, approaches and models, practices and inspiring examples, through social media, web platforms, conferences and seminars;
Organising awareness and inspirational actions for social innovation promoters;
Providing guidance, coaching, mentoring and training in applying/ adapting suitable tools and methods and practices to social innovation promoters;
Creating and facilitating (thematic) networks of social innovation promoters, academics and local bodies to speed up mutual learning and exchanging good practices;
Facilitating and assisting the development of (new forms/new combinations) of community-led/citizen
controlled finance for pursuing social innovations;
Continuously monitoring and assessing public support towards social innovation, and drafting recommendations for improving the responsiveness, effectiveness and governance of public policy towards social innovation;
Providing guidance, coaching, mentoring and training to less experienced competence centres, and assist them in mutual learning and exchanging good practices;
Sharing suitable and successful tools and methods, approaches and models, examples and practices and inspiring examples with other competence centres.

Expected Outcomes

Each consortium is expected to produce at least the following outputs for every Member State covered:

A competence centre for social innovation able to perform the tasks, is established, and recognised as a professional resource by social innovation promoters and stakeholders, academia, local social and economic development organisations. It has received a formal endorsement from the responsible national ESF Managing Authority;
An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses regarding social innovation and identification of areas or approaches which could serve as a source of inspiration for other territories (Policy areas/approaches could include for example, social inclusion, access to services, housing, skills, social approaches to energy management, community management of resources, persons-centred care, outreach and partnerships, etc.)
A joint blueprint by stakeholders for a strategy and action plan to support social innovation in the country, including support under ESF+;
An established system to pursue ongoing improvements and adaptations of their tools and methodologies, resources and practices for each competence centre, to achieve a high level of quality through collaboration and networking with the other competence centres;
A collection of social innovation initiatives initiated or scaled-up/replicated. Each consortium is also expected to:
Prepare and test the replication or up-scaling of 1-2 social innovation projects

Duration

The indicative duration of the project should be 24 months.

Eligibility Criteria

Place of Establishment
- Legal entities properly established and registered in the EU Member States are eligible as lead applicant or co-applicants, affiliated entities and associated organisations.
Type of entities
- The lead applicants, co-applicants and affiliated entities must be legal entities
Consortia
- Only consortia are eligible.
- To be eligible, the consortium, must include a lead applicant and at least one co-applicant,
- The lead applicant and the coapplicant(s) must come from at least two EU Member States.
Affiliated entities
- Affiliated entities may participate in the implementation of the action. Legal entities having a legal or capital link with applicants, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation and which satisfy the eligibility criteria, may take part in the action as affiliated entities, and may declare eligible costs. For that purpose, applicants shall identify such affiliated entities in the application form.
Associate organisations
- Associate organisations are eligible. An associate organisation can participate in the action but may not declare eligible costs. A public body or a private organisation (e.g. a foundation) providing co-financing may also participate as associate organisation