The list of applications approved for funding under Priority 1: Cooperating on innovation to make CENTRAL EUROPE more competitive of the Interreg Central Europe programme includes the project “Social(i) Makers”, of which the Cooperation Fund Foundation will be a co-implementer. The project involves 14 organizations from 7 countries: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The project budget is €4.8 million and is scheduled for three years.
The partnership leader is the Italian organization Democenter Foundation (Innovation Centre). The project aims to support Central European countries in the development of social innovation through educational activities aimed at potential participants and creators of innovation, such as investors, entrepreneurs, public administration, and ordinary citizens. The project will utilize tools from smart specialization strategies to design and implement innovative products, services, and organizational models.
The project involves the creation of a transnational educational program aimed at educating innovators within the Academy of Social Innovation Design. Using an innovative suite of tools and methods, participants will learn how to create and implement innovative ventures, as well as how to develop impact investing, social business, social innovation policy, and social engagement. The acquired skills will be tested in practice by initiating pilot projects on a local and transnational scale. This will result in the creation of a transnational community of social innovators in Central Europe.
