Portugal Social Innovation 2030 Initiative
On June 9th, with the publication of Council of Ministers Resolution No. 54/2023, the Portugal Social Innovation 2030 initiative was established. This program aims to foster and promote entrepreneurship, social innovation, and impact investment in Portugal, thereby contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (in line with the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights).
Portugal Social Innovation 2030 will be implemented using the following instruments, without prejudice to others that may be created for this purpose:
Who is it for?
Context
According to the decree published in the Official Gazette, "Social innovation has been recognized in Europe and worldwide as a paradigm for a new way of organizing and delivering services, producing goods, promoting civic participation, and strengthening community ties, calling on citizens, entrepreneurs, social organizations, and the private sector to jointly seek and experiment with new responses to increasingly complex and interdependent social problems.
The European Commission has acknowledged the centrality of social innovation as one of the cornerstones of future social and economic policies. An example of this is the competition launched in 2020, in the context of which six consortiums of Member States were approved, with Portugal being part of the FUSE consortium (Facilitating United Approaches to Social Innovations in Europe) in partnership with Ireland, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, thus advancing its mission. The importance attributed by the European Commission to social innovation is also reflected in its "Action Plan for the Social Economy," presented at the end of 2021, in which social innovation constitutes one of the opportunity axes for the development of the Social Economy in Europe."
