Social innovation increasingly important for Lithuania

Seeking to lay strong foundations for the creation of the upcoming National Competence Centre for Social Innovation, the European Social Fund Agency (ESFA) invited social partners to a discussion on Jan 12 on the development of social innovation in Lithuania.

Representatives from NGOs, social enterprises, research and higher education institutions, and other organizations operating in the social sector discussed the possibilities and channels to strengthen collaboration, share experiences, and create national-level good practices in social innovation. Participants discussed the needs and expectations of the interested parties and moved one step closer to the creation of the first network of social innovation promoters in Lithuania.

In the words of Neringa Poškutė, Head of Social Innovations and Transnational Initiatives Center at ESFA: “In order to spread and coordinate social innovation, the key step is to gather a network of motivated and competent partners and encourage their cooperation and constant exchange of ideas and perspectives. We hope that the creation of the National Competence Centre for Social Innovation will create added value for all organizations working in social innovation in Lithuania and act as the main source of information, learning, and good practices dissemination and sharing.”

The Jan 12 event is not the first discussion of the state of social innovation in our country: during an earlier event on Oct 2022, ESFA broke ground on this topic by fostering a broad, in-depth discussion between stakeholders in preparation for the creation of the Centre.

During the earlier event, participants discussed the future strategy of the National Competence Centre for Social Innovation, the results of research on social innovation ecosystem, the possibility to participate in the ESF SI+ programme. It is during this meeting that stakeholders identified collaboration, engagement and experience sharing among social partners as a key priority.

The activities of the National Competence Centre for Social Innovation are expected to start already in the first half of 2023. The key goal of the Centre will be the promotion of social innovation in Lithuania by devising collaborative solutions to social problems.

The cycle of discussions is financed and initiated as part of the “PEnCIL” project, funded by the European Union. “PEnCIL” begun in Sept 2021. ESFA has been entrusted by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania to represent Lithuania within  “PEnCIL” and set up the National Competence Centre for Social Innovation to support innovative projects and provide consultation to national institutions, sharing information and practical expertise about the funding opportunities provided by ESF+, organizing trainings, discussions, and networking activities at national and European level.