As countries explore innovative solutions to address complex societal issues, the “3S Framework” – Start, Scale, Sustain – provides an approach any country, region or local area can adopt to leverage social innovation. It draws on guidance and examples from 11 EU countries during the 2014-20 ESF programming period to identify success factors that facilitate the replication of successful social innovations. The Framework is also informed by insights garnered from 96 project evaluations, extensive stakeholder consultations, and focus groups that involved ESF managing authorities, ministries responsible for social innovation policies, the private sector, experts, academics, social economy organisations, and relevant stakeholders across Europe. Designed as a practical resource, the 3S Framework identifies existing levers and actionable policy measures that can support social innovation initiatives in any country, including within the ESF context.
Start social innovation experiments to address social challenges
The initial phase of social innovation centres on experimentation. Testing social innovations allows policy makers and practitioners to try new solutions on a smaller scale and gather evidence on what works effectively before rolling out broader projects and/or reforms. For example, in Austria, a project focused on structural inequalities towards women in the labour market through experimental initiatives on equal pay and career development by improving qualifications and career planning in feminised sectors such as cleaning. Innovation labs, hubs, and incubators are found to provide supportive environments for these efforts. For example, Poland established social innovation incubators to support experimentation with social innovation from individuals and small entities. Research and development (R&D) programmes can also integrate social innovation into broader research agendas, establishing connections with wider research initiatives. In some countries, collaborative platforms have helped strengthen the collective capacity to develop and implement social innovations through knowledge exchange and partnerships. For example, Spain actively promotes collaborative platforms and forums to foster knowledge exchange and partnerships, including on social innovation. Last but not least, for experimentation to happen, there is a need to create the conditions for a multi-stakeholder approach grounded in local contexts. One of these conditions is the availability of dedicated funding, such as grants and seed capital for social innovation experiments.
The ESF presents significant opportunities to further help start social innovation experiments. This can be achieved through various actions. One of such actions is to identify “blind spots”—areas where social innovation is lacking due to limited awareness or funding. This can help the ESF better target interventions in underserved locations and issues, as well as support projects led by small entities and organisations. For small entities, the ESF’s commitment to the timely disbursement of funds can alleviate cash flow constraints that hinder social innovation experimentation. Another step is to encourage multi-stakeholder engagement at the experimentation phase. This approach allows for the integration of different perspectives, including those of research communities and enhances the relevance and scalability of solutions. Fostering collaboration with academic institutions, supported by ESF funding, can bridge the gap between research and practical application, creating a pipeline of innovative ideas. Finally, the ESF can facilitate connections among social incubators across countries and regions (for example, border regions between Portugal and Spain), thereby building broader European social innovation ecosystems.
Scale successful social innovation
Scaling social innovation helps to replicate successful solutions. The goal is to replicate successful initiatives on a larger scale across various contexts, thereby enhancing the impact of socially innovative solutions. For example, when social innovation is spearheaded by social enterprises, growth finance mechanisms can be combined with public and private resources to provide loans and equity to expand innovations. Another supporting factor is capacity-building. National competence centres, academic institutions, and specialised training organisations can offer training and mentorship to social enterprises, non-profit organisations, and local authorities on ways to scale social innovations. For example, in Estonia, the ESF-funded "Adaptation and Integration Measure" helped enhance the capabilities of service providers, equipping them with skills and knowledge through training and study visits, enhancing programme delivery to effectively support the integration of immigrants. This programme involves cross-sectoral collaboration among ministries, private entities, and NGOs, as well as tools like the multilingual platform settleinestonia.ee and activities such as language clubs and cultural immersion.
Scaling social innovation can also be facilitated through transnational cooperation. This enables successful social innovations to be adapted and implemented in different national contexts. For example, the Interreg Alpine Space Programme highlights how transnational cooperation can effectively scale social innovation, leading stakeholders across the Alpine region to share collaborative solutions to common challenges, such as demographic shifts and climate change. Finally, successful social innovations could be mainstreamed and integrated into policy instruments, including, through legislation, when needed. For example, France's Zero Long-Term Unemployment Territories experiment, which addresses unemployment by creating jobs that meet community needs through the redirection of cash benefits typically given to unemployed individuals, was extended by law (European Commission, 2024[1]).
ESF Managing Authorities, National Competence Centres, and other relevant stakeholders can facilitate the dissemination of successful social innovations through impact measurement, cross-border cooperation and better regional coordination. Encouraging impact measurement can help quantify outcomes, which in turn can attract investment to scale successful social innovations. It can also provide evidence of social value and encourage stakeholders and funders to support impactful initiatives. For example, in Bavaria, Germany, integrating socio-pedagogues as neutral external mentors into geriatric care apprenticeship programmes helped reduce dropout rates and provided measurable outcomes that demonstrate the initiative's effectiveness. Previously uncommon in Bavaria, this initiative was scaled. It supported wide stakeholder collaboration while addressing workforce shortage in geriatric care. Building ecosystems through multi-stakeholder networks can also enable resource pooling and collective problem-solving. The Portugal Social Innovation initiative is a prime example of an ecosystem which brings together public institutions, private investors and social economy entities to facilitate and scale social innovative solutions. In the same vein, improving the coordination of ESF-funded initiatives across EU regions can help rural and underserved areas access innovative solutions to issues such as service provision and delivery or care for elderly people. This can be achieved through regional networks, which can help replicate successful social innovations in different contexts.
Finally, linking social and technological innovation creates new avenues to expand the reach and effectiveness of social innovations. Many projects have highlighted the use of apps and technological platforms to deliver social innovation. More generally, technology can facilitate scaling social innovation, improve its delivery, and enable data collection for impact measurement, thereby reinforcing the entire ecosystem. Overall, using these strategies—impact assessment, ecosystem building, regional coordination, internationalisation, and technological solutions—forms a cohesive approach to scale social innovations.
Sustain social innovation impact over time
Sustaining social innovation refers to its continuity and impact over time. This can be achieved through a combination of policy, financial, and institutional mechanisms that embed innovation into the fabric of public governance and service delivery. For example, in France, the 2014 Law on the Social and Solidarity Economy established a comprehensive legal framework that defines social innovation and supports social enterprises, active in social innovation like those enhancing inclusive employment. Socially responsible public procurement offers another practical approach for public authorities to actively incorporate social criteria into their purchasing decisions, thereby promoting and incentivising social innovation within the marketplace. In the Slovak Republic, the implementation of socially responsible public procurement has enabled public authorities to prioritise contracts with social enterprises, thereby enhancing employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups (as illustrated by the "Human Resources Operational Programme" case study).
To make sure these innovations are not just pilot projects but sustainable solutions, establishing long-term financing mechanisms is another important lever. Funding helps social innovations to scale and mature. Concurrently, raising public awareness and recognition plays a major role in garnering societal support, which can lead to increased participation and acceptance for social innovation initiatives. For example, in the Netherlands, the "Sustainable Employability Regions and Sectors" project highlights how visibility of social innovation can be achieved by engaging companies and employees in workshops, coaching sessions, and public campaigns tailored to sector-specific needs. For these efforts to be enduring, institutionalisation is key. Creating dedicated bodies, national or regional strategies, or permanent processes within the public sector ensures that social innovation transitions from isolated projects to a sustained, integral part of policy-making and service delivery. Together, these elements—legal support, social procurement, long-term financing, societal recognition, and institutionalisation—are interconnected. They collectively legitimise, scale, and sustain social innovation as a core component of public policy and societal advancement.
The ESF could further enhance the continuity of social innovation by adopting targeted policy actions. Most of the project evaluations included in this report emphasise the role of municipalities in supporting social innovations, given their context-specific approaches and their capacity to promote community development. Empowering municipalities to manage and adapt successful social innovation projects can lead to a more effective allocation of local resources and ensure that these innovations are responsive to community needs. For example, in Czechia, the ESF-funded micro-nursery initiative helped municipalities to establish and manage small-scale childcare facilities, effectively addressing local early childhood education needs and supporting parental employment. Another factor in sustaining social innovation in general and amplifying the impact of ESF-funded social innovation projects over time is aligning them with the twin transition. For example, the Interreg Alpine Space Programme is an example of how the impact of ESF-funded social innovation can be amplified by supporting low-carbon solutions and digital innovation across the Alpine region. Additionally, positioning social innovation as a tool for cohesion can strengthen the EU's capacity to address shared challenges among Member States. This can be achieved by fostering locally tailored solutions that bridge regional disparities and promote balanced development. To accomplish this, it is important to integrate social innovation into the core objectives of ESF programming and to promote cross-border collaborations focused on common challenges such as social inclusion, environmental issues, and public health.
