Change Hubs for Ecosystemic Social Solutions

It is now widely accepted in Europe that we need new approaches if we are to tackle the systemic and urgent societal challenges we face - traditional technological or business innovation alone is not sufficient. ‘Social’ must be part of the bigger innovation picture. With significant support from the European Commission, social innovation is currently well embedded in several policy agendas and funding streams. There are hundreds of social innovation centres, university research teams, accelerators and educational courses, labs, accelerators and incubators of all kinds, as well as a great number of toolkits presenting the various innovative approaches and methodologies that can be applied by students and established practitioners alike. Despite this success, the full potential of social innovation remains untapped. Different project reports and academic papers published in the past five years have pointed to several interconnected barriers hindering social innovation initiatives. Drawing specif Despite this success, the full potential of social innovation remains untapped. Different project reports and academic papers published in the past five years have pointed to several interconnected barriers hindering social innovation initiatives. Drawing specifically on the outcomes of three projects that members of this consortium have participated in – SI-DRIVE, SIC, and Labs for Social Innovation – we highlight the following challenges that merit critical attention: 1. Social innovation lacks access to finance, scaling models, and qualified personnel and is not applied enough. 2. Social innovators act in silos and are not integrated into the wider innovation ecosystems. 3. Social innovation toolkits are plentiful, but there is a lack of records about the tools’ effectiveness and pertinence. The CHESS project tackles the above challenges head-on by designing, implementing and testing a “Social Innovation Action manual” in four locally specific contexts.

The CHESS project had a significant impact on the development of science, as it contributed to the creation of theoretical and conceptual models of social innovation ecosystems. It also provided an insight into the local innovation landscape in the four participating countries (Slovenia, Greece, Italy and Lithuania). The development of scientific knowledge was reflected in the creation of a handbook for the social innovation ecosystem and the promotion of open source knowledge dissemination. With this, the CHESS project enables a better understanding of social innovations and strengthens open access to new scientific and practical knowledge.

The CHESS project made a significant contribution to the development of Slovenia, mainly by strengthening the social innovation ecosystem and testing new approaches in the blue economy. Slovenia has a strong maritime identity, despite its short coastline and limited marine area, but through various initiatives it is involved in sustainable and innovative solutions such as biotechnology, wave energy technologies and mariculture. CHESS supported this transition to a more sustainable economy by involving social innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists and public institutions. The project contributed to a better integration of stakeholders and the development of tools for the integration of social innovations into the broader innovation ecosystem of Slovenia.