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Social CHAlleNGEs Innovation Platform

28 April 2017

(From ec.europa.eu)

On 18 May, we are launching the Social CHAlleNGEs Innovation Platform in Berlin. The brand-new EU initiative aims at matching social challenges with the best innovative solutions from the entrepreneurial world.

Social innovation is a constantly growing movement of grassroots initiatives. It’s recognised by policy makers on different levels in Europe as an important way to tackle the increasingly complex social and environmental challenges faced by our societies. However, the potential for social innovation to transform the way we respond to Europe's challenges still remains largely untapped.

The Social Challenges Innovation Platform is designed to change that. It aims at designing, creating and enabling an online ecosystem encouraging the interaction between social innovators and SMEs. It will help to co-develop and implement the sustainable and marketable innovations with clear social impact.

The Social Challenges Innovation Platform is:

●      1 go-to platform with a smart environment

●      20 strategic nodes supporting concrete social challenges and solution providers across Europe

●      27 challenges supported and sponsored by an EU grant mechanism scheme

●      81 selected solution providers (max 3 per challenge)

●      €2,430,000 total grant (€30,000 per selected solution provider)

Are you looking for a solution to a social need or a societal challenge? Are you an entrepreneur with a sound solution with clear economic and social impact? The Social Challenges Innovation Platform is the right place to go!

●      We support European stakeholders in defining and prioritising social and societal challenges

●      We encourage a broad participation of social innovators, social entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs to identify, co-develop and test concrete solutions to these needs

●      We provide grants, focused on the translation of challenges into practical and marketable solutions

Don’t miss the chance to find out how you can participate and benefit from this action and join us on 18 May 2017 (9:00-10:30) in Berlin! We’re excited to tell you more about the Social Challenges Innovation Platform.

Would you like to participate?

The launch event is taking place right before the Unlikely Allies conference in Berlin. A gathering, on invitation, of 150 global innovators from around the world.

Check out the draft programme and register!