Social Innovation & Digital Rights
ABOUT
The main challenge for this ENoLL task force is to:
- Demonstrate the social innovation impact of Living Labs
- Promote collaborative working and investment in LLs as a result of a)
- Collectively advocate for digital rights for all citizens
Europe is in the middle of a social crisis with many regions facing housing shortages, increasing demand for social care and health services, ageing population, environmental crisis, skills, jobs and education deficits. Digital technologies and the so called democratisation of the internet has not produced the expected benefits for all of society. There is a danger of increasing social inequality through digital exclusion, and technology solutions designed by and for the benefit of an unrepresentative section of society. This ENoLL Task Force is exploring how social innovation through Living Labs can help to address societal challenges through concrete actions and by providing access for wider society and communities to social innovation ecosystems.
This task force focusses on Living Labs role in supporting the development of social innovation at grass roots and embedding long term systemic change. Thus enabling more and diverse citizens to participate. By collaborating and sharing knowledge Living Labs will effectively demonstrate their collective impact at local, regional and global levels.
In addition to Living Labs, we will engage with different European networks in the social innovation community (SIC), including Digital Social Innovation, All Digital and others that are trying to orient their research & innovation programmes to solve social issues. This task force is focused on facilitating the collaboration of all these networks at grassroots and regionally, generating better understanding of the actions required from the local to the European and global level.
We will:
- Advocate for and support the development of conditions to enable access for all to innovation systems and participation in actions contributing to societal transformation.
- Connect with initiatives across regions and connect globally ensuring the development of digital rights for citizens.
- Engage with ENoLL members and wider stakeholders interested in social innovation stimulating debate and consider collaborative actions.
- Utilise the experience of two LL programmes* currently progressing that are developing new access routes and networks that aim to create new social innovation systems at regional level.
*Bristol Living Lab is currently working with WECA to establish a regional network of Living Labs with co- creation, knowledge sharing and engagement with communities at the heart of creating a new innovation system. We are also working with Bristol Futures Institute (University of Bristol) exploring new ways of connecting communities with research agendas exploring the role of and social impact of technology in society.
*i2 Cat Catalonia Digital Lab are developing a new regional network of innovation partners in the Tarragona region establishing social innovators in communities as drivers of change.
The 2 Living Labs will share their region’s different plans and progress to start to co-create a narrative that explores how we provide access for all citizens to engage with social innovation. This will include asking how we can provide new opportunities and actions including training, access to technology, engagement of young people, and consolidate approaches to co-design that addresses societal challenges experienced by citizens and communities. We will explore opportunities to collaborate with other living labs and wider partners.
Webinars and media content of the above process will be produced with the support of the ENoLL Secretariat to stimulate discussion and input from other Living Labs and wider stakeholders.
Post Covid – Open Access to Social Innovation Ecosystems to address Global Challenges – Collective Ways Forward
At the webinar on 9th of March between 13.30-15.30 CET, we heard from different case studies from across the world with examples of social innovation, including the use of digital developed with citizens during Covid.
Presentations:
Carolyn Hassan (Knowle West Media Centre) and Artur Serra (i2CAT) – introducing the AOTF
Spela Zalokar (ENoLL / Social & Creative Project Policy Briefs) [Presentation]
Gabriel Rissola (Joint Research Centre, EC) – Place-based innovation ecosystems: why context matters [Presentation]
Actions
- Webinar Post Covid – Open Access to Social Innovation Ecosystems to address Global Challenges – Collective Ways Forward on 9 March 2021
Related projects
About
The European Social Innovation Competition, launched in memory of Diogo Vasconcelos, is a challenge prize run by the European Commission across all European countries, now in its sixth year. The 2018 Competition is titled RE:THINK LOCAL and seeks to find the most innovative projects, products, services, business models and collaborations that empower young people to participate fully in a changing economy.
http://eusic.challenges.org/
EUSIC’18 mission
The competition calls for social innovations that are inspired by, make use of or address specific local characteristics creating opportunities for young people in the new economy, also known as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. New technologies have led to trends such as improved connectivity, automation, decentralised manufacturing and digitalization. However, the impact of these trends is uneven: some regions and communities benefit, whereas others experience job losses and deindustrialisation
New technologies and ways of working have the potential to revitalise regions facing problems. Innovative solutions can build resilience within communities, address their specific needs and generate sustainable economic activity and employment opportunities.
Young people must be involved, engaged and empowered to make the most of new opportunities and supported to develop the skills and capabilities to harness change. This happens on a local level. An opportunity exists to ensure young people are not only resilient but also equipped to shape and lead the new economy.
In particular, the competition was calling for proposals in the form of:
- Initiatives that use new technologies and ways of working to provide opportunities for marginalised youth within their local communities;
- Ideas that assist young people who wouldn’t otherwise have become innovators to create their own opportunities for smart, inclusive and sustainable employment in their local environment;
- Ideas co-created with young people to respond to specific requirements in their local community for skills, experiences and opportunities;
- Solutions to improve the quality of life and financial security of youth in irregular work
- Innovations that provide information, advice and guidance to young people so they can navigate their options in the new economy;
- Programmes that equip the next generation of workers with skills that allow young people to harness technological change.
ENoLL role
- Assessment of 250 entries and recommendation of judges from different countries for the selection of the semi-finalists.
- Selection of Local Mentors from Living Labs across Europe to support the semi-finalists through their development process and provide them with specialized assistance. We will deliver a workshop at the Academy on user-centred design. We will contribute to mapping the social innovation ecosystem in Europe to help connect semi-finalists with relevant support organisations.
- Contribution to the communications strategy and tested messaging documents to make sure they were culturally appropriate. We will use the digital toolkit to spread the word about the Competition through their communication channels (newsletters, social media, blogs etc). The toolkit will be shared with Living Labs across Europe and Horizon 2020 countries and will be actively promoted by 10 particular target countries each year.
- Identifying speakers and venues and participation at key events.
The Social & Creative project structures the capitalisation of the results of the former TALIA horizontal project and of the ongoing and past modular projects dealing with creativity and social innovation, financed by the Interreg MED Programme 2014-2020. The project is structured on three main strands of action with the aim of building a shared sense of purpose within the MED Creative and Social Innovation community and promoting implementation and transferability of results through exemplary policy innovation trials.
Social&Creative aims to promote trans-local innovation clusters for creative and social innovation by providing instruments that allow trans-national MED modular projects to connect with local innovation communities, starting from the regions of participating partners. ENoLL’s role in the project is transferring the results, connecting stakeholders through working groups and developing policy recommendations.
Visit the InterregMED Social & Creative website: https://social-and-creative.interreg-med.eu/
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Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund
The team is led by BluSpecs in partnership with CIVITTA and the European Network of Living Labs.
These actors work together to support the Commission’s services in scaling up the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and in implementing the Digital Opportunity Traineeship.
The work is done around 4 pillars:
1.Digital Skills for all citizens
2.Digital Skills for the labour force
3.Digital Skills for ICT professionals
4.Digital Skills for Education
The DSCJ tender outcomes include:
- Scaling the Coalition & Stakeholder Engagement by doing a classification of stakeholders, Thematic group, management of Town hall meetings.
- Supporting and Stimulating Pledges by doing an analysis of pledges, Redevelopment of Pledge viewer , Stimulating pledges, Validating and monitoring pledges.
- Supporting Digital Opportunity Traineeships by doing a quality control and setting an Impact analysis.
- Communication Plan & Tools by periodic strategy development management of communication tools Campaign Management.
- Organisational Support by Supporting Coalition board meetings, Maintenance of databases, Support to Event administration.
