Capitalising social innovation : a short guide to the research for policy makers

The document focused on the following questions, to which central answers and recommendations are outlined:

• What are the main funding schemes for social innovations?
• What are the pros and cons of different forms of funding?
• What forms of non-monetary support are required by social innovators?
• What support structures are needed both by innovators and investors?
• How can characteristics and needs of social innovators and their (potential) investors/funders be matched to fit together better?

The findings led to scenarios on the nexus between social innovation and social finance and to thereupon recommend to policy makers how the match between both investors and innovators could develop and how a good coverage of the entire social innovation landscape could be realized. The following aspects are key to this:

• (1) the promotion of a financing mix rather than targeted support for single instruments;
• (2) a focus on outcomes in the promotion of social innovation rather than on organizational characteristics;
• (3) targeting the full innovator spectrum across sector boundaries and stimulating collaboration rather than competition; and
• (4) the provision of non-financial means of support that affect the element of risk.

[Extracted from report’s Executive Summary].

Citation

Krlev, Gorgi; Glänzel, Gunnar and Mildenberger, Georg (2013) Capitalising social innovation : a short guide to the research for policy makers. A deliverable of the project: “The theoretical, empirical and policy foundations for building social innovation in Europe” (TEPSIE), European Commission – 7th Framework Programme, Brussels: European Commission, DG Research.