200 cases of social innovation & ICT transforming welfare services // ZSI

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200 cases of social innovation & ICT transforming welfare services

20. Jul 2015

ZSI's contribution to the European project IESI and the current discourse on ICT-enabled social innovation

Head of ZSI's unit Technology and Knowledge (T&W) Christian Voig t and Claudia Fabian recently contributed 40 cases to an inventory of 200 testimonials in the field of social innovation and ICT for social services. Preliminary results have been presented during a workshop organised by IPTS: "ICT-Enabled Social Innovation based on the definition by JRC-IPTS, Misuraca et al (2015) are a new configuration or combination of social practices providing new answers to social protection system challenges and needs of individuals. Goal of current research is to explore the potential contribution of ICT-enabled social innovation to the implementation of the Social Innovation Package with specific regard to how it can enhance integrated approaches to social services delivery in different welfare systems within the EU."
The workshop took place in the mid of July in Sevilla, Spain and is part of the ongoing project IESI - ICT-Enabled Social Innovation in support to the implementation of the EU Social Investment Package (SIP).

Gateway to ICT-enabled social innovation initiatives in the European context
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) in collaboration with DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, is conducting a three-year research project to explore the nature and impact of ICT-enabled social innovation initiatives promoting the objectives of the EU Social Investment Package for growth and social cohesion (SIP). Launched in 2013 to support the implementation of the EU 2020 strategy, the SIP Communication urges the European Union's Member States to prioritise social investment and the modernisation of their welfare systems. This will help them to address unemployment, poverty and social exclusion challenges brought about by the economic crisis and sustainability challenges posed by the ageing population trends.
Within this context social investment relies on social innovation to provide solutions that produce better results than existing solutions or the status quo. Social innovations can improve the efficiency of social policies and their effectiveness in addressing societal challenges and also facilitate life-long investment in human capital.