consolid8
Deep & inclusive social innovation ecosystems
Consolid8 is a European Hub for Social Innovation Ecosystems. We bring together social innovation actors from various European countries and jointly streamline the value chain for social innovators.
About the project
Consolidating deep & inclusive social innovation ecosystems (Consolid8) is an international initiative co-funded by the European Union that is paving the way for the integration of social innovation actors in innovation networks in 15 European ecosystems.
Project partners
Objectives
Enhance connectivity to innovation ecosystems of social innovation actors from 15 ecosystems with different innovation performance
Widen access to alternative means of financing for social innovators in 5 ecosystems
Test 12 social innovation models with potential of scaling up and replicability
Services and products
The Consolid8 – European Social Innovation Ecosystem Franchise brings together social innovation actors from various European countries and streamlines the value chain for social innovation in Europe. Each country provides the consolid8 services independently in their country while being supported by the consolid8 headquarters.
The hub has seven central promises:
- Financing support for social entrepreneurs and impact startups through the consolid8 crowdfunding platform that hub members can deploy in their own countries.
- Startup acceleration for new and scaling startups focusing on social innovation, whereby the various partners pool resources and capacities.
- International visibility and connectivity through Consolid8 Festival, a traveling conference that each partner hosts in turn.
- Ecosystem Reports with periodic Ecosystem Health Checks and a joint Annual Report.
- Ecosystem Hacks: Annual Ecosystem Hacks in each member region drive stakeholder engagement, challenge formulation, and sourcing of participants for a joint annual Ecosystem Accelerator program.
- Ecosystem Acceleration: a 6-week program to develop concepts for new publicly and privately funded initiatives cooperatively implemented by consolid8 members and partners
- Fundraising: Joint applications of consolid8 members with international partners for public funding calls (e.g., Horizon Europe, Interreg, Regional Innovation Valleys, national funding)
As an ecosystem integrator the Hub provides support along five topics:
- International Network to access global opportunities and partnerships
- Innovation Scouting to attract the world’s best startups
- Ecosystem Intelligence to track progress and communicate it effectively
- Ecosystem Growth to involve the private sector in solving pressing issues
- Public Funding to win national and international investments
Activities
The project will develop 5 capacity building programs programs to enhance the capacity of social innovators. The lessons learned from the implementation of these programs will be leveraged through the development of a European accelerator, within which another 10 social innovation ecosystems will be supported using a methodology already created and validated by DEEP Ecosystems. The results of the 5 pilot programs will be presented at a European social innovation festival held in Brasov, aiming to interconnect stakeholders from the social innovation ecosystem with those from traditional innovation ecosystems.
The project also encompasses the development of 3 crowdfunding campaigns for social innovators, conducting 1 research on an alternative funding program for social innovation aimed at local public authorities, and testing and presenting 12 social innovation models with the potential for expansion and replication.
Results
Until now, we have implemented capacity-building programs in all countries, with some still ongoing, and organized consolid8 Festival. Currently, we are in the early stages of preparing the accelerator.
Capacity building programs
Romania
Currently, in Romania, we supported two crowdfunding campaigns (here and here). We can still support new crowdfunding campaigns! If you want to start a campaign, drop us a line at [email protected]!
Also, UEFISCDI conducted a research on the comprehensive alternative financing program for social innovation aimed at local public authorities. You can find the full report here.
In the report you will find:
- How civic crowdfunding works
- Examples of civic crowdfunding initiatives
- The main steps that municipalities must make in designing and implementing a civic crowdfunding and matchfunding programme
- Support instruments for building a civic crowdfunding initiative: the Civic Crowdfunding Canvas and a Self-reflection tool for implementing a civil crowfunding and matchfunding mechanism
Italy
Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini has created a directory of alternative means of financing for social innovations. The document is available here.
Also, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini together with the project partners produced a report on the current state of the innovation ecosystem in Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Greece and Ireland.
Ireland
Ireland initiated a mission to enhance entrepreneurial skills by hosting 7 workshops at Techstars Startup Weekend Social Innovation Dublin. Additionally, they produced 7 podcast episodes on scaling social innovation, featuring interviews with social entrepreneurs and other stakeholders. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here or here.
Also, two Irish teams were part of the Consolid8 hackathon held in Brașov.
Greece
Kollektiva delivered a peer-to-peer capacity building that aimed to outline and discuss solution-based approaches to Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-Accessibility in the social and cultural innovation sector and the need for their implementation in Greece in both the public and private sector . 35 Greek SI and Cultural innovation experts were involved through the capacity building program. KOL also developed a series of five podcasts, in which we discussed cultural and social innovation in the Greek context with experts in the field.
Slovenia
Slovenia hosted a conference on Social Impact and Social Innovation, featuring a co-creation workshop where CN presented social innovation concepts from the SEED project. The focus was on bridging traditional innovation stakeholders with social impact organizations. A panel and co-creation activity addressed wider access to financing social innovations, introducing crowdfunding as an alternative.
An eBook and video has been created, detailing a list of successfully scaled social innovation initiatives and social enterprises in Slovenia (current video in Slovene language – English version is being prepared and will be online in February 2024).
consolid8 Festival
Between September 22 and 24, 2023, consolid8 Festival took place, bringing together keynote speeches, panels, satellite events, interactive activations, workshops, and exhibitions.
Highlights of the consolid8 Festival Experience
consolid8 Talks: This two-day event on September 23 and 24, 2023 showcased the latest trends in green technologies. Participants had the opportunity to connect with sustainability experts and visionaries. Renowned international figures in green technologies, such as Neil Harbisson and Daan Roosegaarde, were among the invited speakers.
The "Talks" series also featured discussions with Romanian entrepreneurial and business figures, addressing critical topics like social innovation, renewable energies, energy efficiency, natural resource management, sustainable construction solutions, entrepreneurship, and know-how in the world of green businesses and funding sources in the digital transition.
On the second day of "Talks," the team from fonduri-structurale.ro facilitated two sessions focused on funding opportunities:
- Money for Good: Funding the Impactful – This session explored ways to secure funding for projects or initiatives with a positive impact on the community or the environment.
- Masterclass: Unlock EU Funding for Your Business – Participants were informed about available funding sources within the European Union.
In addition to the Talks area, the festival featured educational workshops for children on topics like circular economy, passive houses, and robotics, a Hackathon dedicated to social innovation and green technologies, satellite events covering Product Development, Web design, and Front-end Development, as well as an interactive activation zone where visitors could experience the latest trends in green solutions.
consolid8 Hackathon: This energetic event brought together over 100 individuals with brilliant minds and captivating ideas. After three intense days, the results were so impressive that four winning teams were selected:
- The Solar Network received the top prize of 1000 euros for developing a groundbreaking solar panel system enhanced with IoT technology.
- Diaspatch Bay secured the second prize with their automated trucking management software.
- Osowa, creators of an innovative solution in the travel industry, claimed the third place.
- Anima Mundi won the special prize from Eviden Romania. They tackled the challenging issue of increasing urban wildlife and deforestation, developing a comprehensive solution. Because our partners were so impressed by the team’s skills, they were recruited on the spot and will benefit from mentorship and an internship opportunity.
consolid8 Festival 2023 was a vibrant celebration of innovation, sustainability, and the remarkable strength of community. For more information about the festival, you can visit the facebook page.
Ecosystem Accelerator
The Consolid8 Social Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator ran between April - May 2024.
Consolid8 offers a full 2-year ecosystem accelerator for social innovation ecosystem builders. The program offers the full benefits of DEEP Ecosystem´s DEEP Startup Ecosystem Accelerator plus access to the international consolid8 network.
The Social Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator provides strategic support and mentorship to 10-12 ecosystem-building initiatives, empowering them to develop impactful and commercially viable business models that establish themselves as ecosystem hubs within their respective ecosystems.
Ecosystem hubs actively engage stakeholders and foster collaborations that transform them into strategic partners who share a common vision. Through these partnerships, stakeholders can access cutting-edge services and processes offered by the accelerator alumni, who will serve as local ecosystem leaders. These efforts will be enriched and complemented by the collective capabilities of the DEEP Ecosystems and Consolid8 communities.
For more details regarding the accelerator & the supported participants, click here.
Contact
Grupul de Consultanță pentru Dezvoltare DCG
România, București, str. Argentina, nr. 22, etaj 2, sector 1.
Email: [email protected]
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