Building capacities for bottom-up social innovation in regional development

Social innovation is a source of growth and jobs in European regions, and has conquered policy and strategy papers as a buzzword. Often enough though, the potential and dynamics of social innovation initiatives evaporate. Regional efforts to strenghten the social innovation sector remain rootless and without a tangible frame if they are not aligned with the actual needs of the users.  But what happens when social innovation meets practice, when social innovation is framed by concrete project work? This workshop offers the opportunity to explore one specific aspect of social innovation introduced by SEMPRE, a project co-financed by the EU through the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme.  SEMPRE (Social Empowerment in Rural Areas of the Baltic Sea Region) applies an EMPOWERMENT and CO-DESIGN approach addressing the issue of user involvement in social service design, production and delivery. The project aims to develop, test and evaluate empowerment tools which benefit users and service providers. Furthermore, it intends to enter into a dialogue with policy makers about shaping the environment needed in order to implement innovative models of social service provision. Hear more and join the workshop and discussion with researchers, decision-makers and practitioners.   Please note that the workshop will be held in English. The workshop will start with a sandwich lunch.  Please register by 6th October 2017 via e-mail to alessandra.haucke@ekd.eu. Attached is the full programme of the workshop.