Are you a social innovator? Do you have creative ideas that could solve some of the key social challenges facing our society? Perhaps you can empower people with reduced mobility to maintain active and social lives? Or make sure people living in remote areas or vulnerable groups have access to education or culture? Social innovation transforms (or establishes new forms of) relationships and ways to work together to solve societal challenges.

The EU needs social innovators and has taken action to help foster social innovation. This includes the European Social Innovation Competition, which aims to raise awareness and to support social innovation entrepreneurs. The 2021‑2027 European Social Fund Plus supports social innovation in employment, education, skills and social inclusion. The EU has helped set up social innovation competence centres to cultivate networks, and develop the tools and methods that will be essential to expand social innovation across the EU.

Building on earlier EU-funded work (the European Social Catalyst Fund pilot project), the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme funds 25 % of a project setting up a European social innovation catalyst fund. The fund aims to replicate successful social innovations that have the potential to deliver on the objectives of the five Horizon Europe research missions. These focus on climate change adaptation, cancer, restoring oceans and water, climate-neutral and smart-cities, and a soil deal for Europe.