Joint event: ‘Using Impact Measurement to Scale What Works in Social Innovation and Social Inclusion’
We are pleased to invite you to the study visit ‘Using Impact Measurement to Scale What Works in Social Innovation and Social Inclusion: Impact Measurement as a Lever to Enhance Effectiveness, Support Scaling-up and Inform ESF Operations‘ organised by the Communities of Practice on Social Innovation and Social Inclusion which aims to deepen the shared understanding of both CoP members on impact measurement and management as a strategic instrument for enhancing the effectiveness of interventions, scaling-up and mainstreaming social innovation within ESF+ programmes.
The ESF+ Social Innovation Plus initiative represents Europe’s commitment to transforming welfare and social systems through innovative, effective approaches. This includes advancing solutions that improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness, children growing up in poverty, and those living in segregated or institutional care. Europe needs stronger mechanisms to identify what works for these groups, evaluate rigorously, and integrate proven innovations into national and EU‑level programmes so that no one is left behind.
Building on the joint online workshop ‘Sharing Visions, Challenges and Practices in Impact Measurement’ held on 18 November 2025 this study visit aims to deepen the shared understanding of social impact measurement as a strategic tool for highlighting successful projects, enhancing the effectiveness of interventions, scaling-up and mainstreaming social innovation within ESF+ programmes.
Belgium presents a particularly instructive case study for this practice-to-policy transition. The Belgian social innovation ecosystem, characterized by regional fragmentation yet supported by robust intermediary organizations like the Social Innovation Factory and ESF Managing Authorities, has successfully adapted cross-border models (such as France’s Territoires Zéro Chômeur de Longue Durée) while developing indigenous scaling mechanisms anchored in local partnerships. The study visit session under examination provides a crucial venue for documenting, analyzing, and disseminating these Belgian scaling practices to the broader ESF+ Community of Practice network.
While the online workshop focused on identifying challenges, concepts and emerging practices, the on-site visit is designed to translate reflection into concrete learning by bringing together Managing Authorities, National Competence Centres, project promoters, evaluators and beneficiaries around real-life cases.
| Time (CET) | Topic and speaker |
|---|---|
| 09:00 - 09:30 |
Registration
|
| 09:30 - 09:50 |
Opening and Welcome
Christoph Nerlich,
Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Social Affairs and Inclusion, the European Commission
Benedict Wauters,
Director, European Social Fund Department in the Flemish Ministry of Labour, Economy, Science, Innovation and Social Economy (Belgium)
|
| 09:50 - 10:00 |
Introduction to the Event
The Lead Experts of the Communities of Practice on Social Innovation and Social Inclusion will present the objectives, structure, and working approach of the study visit, explain how it builds on the outcomes of the 18 November online workshop, and clarify participants’ active role as well as the expected outputs and outcomes of the two-day programme.
Luk Zelderloo,
Lead Expert, Community of Practice on Social Inclusion
Sofia Lai Amândio,
Lead Expert, Community of Practice on Social Innovation
|
| 10:00 - 10:30 |
Beyond Impact Measurement: Managing Impact to Enhance the Strategic Contribution of Social Innovation and Social Inclusion
Giulio Pasi,
Policy Officer, the European Commission
|
| 10:30 - 11:00 |
Keynote presentation. The Social Innovation and Social Inclusion Landscape in Belgium through the lens of Impact Measurement
Introduction to the host context (Belgium/Flanders), providing an overview of the social innovation ecosystem, governance frameworks, and current approaches to social impact measurement within ESF+ and related policies, including the role of the National Competence Centre. The session also sets a practical reference point for the study visit.
Caroline Godts,
Thematic Expert, Sociale Innovatie Fabriek (Belgium)
Tomas De Groote,
Thematic Expert, Sociale Innovatie Fabriek (Belgium)
|
| 11:00 - 11:30 |
Coffee Break
|
| 11:30 - 12:30 |
Roundtable: Cross Sectoral Perspectives and Challenges on Impact Measurement and Effectiveness
Facilitated by Sofia Lai Amândio and Luk Zelderloo, Lead Experts of the Communities of Practice on Social Innovation and Social Inclusion
Benedict Wauters,
Director, European Social Fund Department in the Flemish Ministry of Labour, Economy, Science, Innovation and Social Economy (Belgium)
Lydia Fenner,
Manager, Impacts Team, AVISE
Catherine Noughton,
Director, the European Disability Forum
Daniel Krüger,
Research Associate, Social Research Center, TU Dortmund University
Thomas Bignal,
Secretary General, European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities
|
| 12:30 - 13:00 |
Scaling-up Impact: From Practice to Policy (What, How, and Why?)
This session links the 18 November online workshop to the study visit by revisiting key challenges in impact measurement and focusing on how impact can be sustained and scaled beyond individual projects. Building on the keynote, it explores how Belgian social innovation initiatives are scaled and replicated, guiding participants from defining interventions (“what”), through implementation (“how”), to understanding underlying rationales (“why”).
Tomas De Groote,
Thematic Expert, Sociale Innovatie Fabriek (Belgium)
Caroline Godts,
Thematic Expert, Sociale Innovatie Fabriek (Belgium)
|
| 13:00 - 14:15 |
Lunch
|
| 14:15 - 14:30 |
Introduction to the Promising Practices Lab
Tomas De Groote,
Thematic Expert, Sociale Innovatie Fabriek (Belgium)
|
| 14:30 - 15:30 |
The Promising Practices Lab
The Promising Practices Lab is an interactive learning space featuring up to promising practices from Flanders, Brussels, and across the EU, addressing three social inclusion priorities. Participants engage directly with practitioners in a “market-style” setting to explore how initiatives measure, manage, and adapt their impact through real-time dialogue and community feedback. The Lab showcases the iterative reality of scaling social innovation and serves as a menu for Day 2 workshops, where selected cases will be explored in greater depth.
List of Promising Practices: 1. Konekt - Thematic area: Deinstitutionalisation 2. FIX - Thematic area: Child poverty, poverty 3. Community oriented entrepreneurship - Thematic area: Deinstitutionalisation, community living 4. Circularium and Makettt - Thematic area: Circularity, social inclusion/homelessness 5. Kanzo - Thematic area: Child poverty 6. Brooddoosnodig by Enchante vzw - Thematic area: Child poverty 7. Homaar - Thematic area: Child poverty 8. Homie - Thematic area: Deinstitutionalisation, homelessness, child poverty 9. Gezondheidskiosk - Thematic area: Child poverty, Homelessness |
| 15:30 - 16:00 |
Coffee Break
|
| 16:00 - 17:00 |
The Promising Practices Lab
|
| 17:00 - 17:30 |
Feedback and Reflection from Day One
Participants will share insights from the day's learning, highlighting takeaways, questions, and connections to their national contexts. This reflective session bridges Day 1 content with Day 2 workshops.
|
| 17:30 - 18:00 |
Registration to the Thematic Workshops of Day 2
|
| 19:00 - 21:00 |
Dinner
|
| Time (CET) | Topic and speaker |
|---|---|
| 09:00 - 09:15 |
Introduction to the Workshops
Szilvia Simon,
Thematic Expert of the Community of Practice on Social Innovation
|
| 09:15 - 10:15 |
Thematic Workshops
1. A Minimal Viable Common Approach for Social Impact
2. Stakeholder-Designed Indicators for Impact Measurement 3. Barriers to Effective Impact Measurement 4. Collective Impact Lab – a Collective Impact Measurement Approach in the Brussels Capital Region 5. Collective Impact Management – Best Practices Based on Concrete Case Studies 6. The co-creation and validation of a Theory of Change for local incubators for social innovation in Flanders 7. Advocacy Through Impact Assessment Results 8. Impact Assessment. Using Artificial Intelligence |
| 10:15 - 10:45 |
Coffee Break
|
| 10:45 - 11:30 |
Thematic Workshops
A second round of workshops allows participants to either deepen their engagement with the same case or explore a different practice.
|
| 11:30 - 11:50 |
Feedback from Workshops
|
| 11:50 - 12:00 |
Closing Remarks
Luk Zelderloo,
Lead Expert, Community of Practice on Social Inclusion
Sofia Lai Amândio,
Lead Expert, Community of Practice on Social Innovation
Tomas De Groote,
Thematic Expert, Sociale Innovatie Fabriek
Aurélien Mornon Afonso,
DG EMPL, European Commission
|
| 12:00 - 13:00 |
Lunch and Departure
|