Social Innovation Forum 2026
Join us for the fourth annual Social Innovation Forum 2026, taking place on 7–8 October 2026 in Brussels, Belgium.
The event will feature Ms. Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness at the European Commission.
The Forum brings together ESF+ social innovation stakeholders, including ministries, managing authorities, experts and project operators. The objectives of the Forum are to discuss successful social innovations from various Member States, the opportunities and challenges in terms of further scaling up and scaling wide such innovations, and explore how advocacy can be strengthened through evidence, impact communication, and closer alignment between practice and policy. Discussions will also focus on impact, the value of social innovation and its role in policymaking, as well as funding of social innovation.
Together, we will shape solutions where social innovation is fully recognized as a driving force for sustainable social progress and transformative policy change.
| Time (Local time) | Topic and speaker |
|---|---|
| 08:00 - 09:00 |
Registration
|
| 09:00 - 09:20 |
Welcome Speeches
Roxana Mînzatu,
Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, European Commission
Laura Girlevičienė,
Director, European Competence Centre for Social Innovation / Lithuanian European Social Fund Agency (ESFA)
|
| 09:20 - 09:30 |
Voice from the Ground: Testimonial from a Beneficiary of Social Innovation
|
| 09:30 - 10:00 |
High-Level Keynotes: From Innovation to Policy Influence
|
| 10:00 - 11:00 |
Panel Discussion: From Impact to Influence – Making Social Innovation Visible and Convincing
|
| 11:00 - 11:45 |
Coffee Break
|
| 11:45 - 13:30 |
Parallel Activities: Breakout Session in Groups
Breakout session 1: Showcasing Impact: What Social Innovation Achieves in Practice.
Starting from concrete examples, this session will highlight how social innovation initiatives deliver impact across different policy areas and why these results matter for policymakers and funders. Breakout session 2: Building Evaluation Capacity at Local and Regional Level. How can regions and local actors with limited resources strengthen their evaluation capacity? What role can support structures, including National Competence Centres, play in this process? Breakout session 3: The Added Value of Social Innovation for ESF+. How innovative approaches contribute to measurable progress in addressing social inclusion, long-term unemployment, skills shortages, poverty, and social exclusion. Breakout session 4: Looking Ahead – What ESF+ Social Innovation+ Delivers: Outcomes, Insights and Opportunities for the Next MFF. How can evidence from ESF+ Social Innovation+ initiatives help identify priority areas for future transnational cooperation and how results can inform future policy and funding decisions under the next MFF. |
| 13:30 - 15:00 |
Lunch
|
| 15:00 - 16:30 |
Meet the Social Innovators
Building on the showcasing of social innovation projects, this session will provide participants with an interactive opportunity to engage directly with 12 selected initiatives (24 innovators) from the SIM Database, presented across two parallel rounds of workshop sessions.
|
| 16:30 - 17:15 |
Coffee Break
|
| 17:15 - 17:30 |
Fireside Chat: What Actually Convinces Decision-Makers?
|
| 17:30 - 17:45 |
Insights into the European Competence Centre for Social Innovation
Neringa Poškutė,
Head of Social Innovations and Transnational Initiatives Center at the European Social Fund Agency (ESFA)
|
| 19:00 - 21:00 |
Networking Dinner
|
| Time (Local time) | Topic and speaker |
|---|---|
| 09:00 - 09:10 |
Opening of Day 2
Raluca Painter,
Head of Unit, Social Climate Fund, European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Social Innovation, DG EMPL, European Commission
|
| 09:10 - 10:10 |
Panel Discussion: Scaling Impact Through Advocacy and Investment – From Local Solutions to Union-wide Change, including the Next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)
|
| 10:10 - 11:40 |
Parallel Activities: Workshop in Groups
Each participant will be able to attend one of the six workshops, selected in advance. The main objective of the workshops is to encourage knowledge sharing, exchange of experience and practical examples, as well as to explore the topic together with members from other Communities of Practice and ALMA Network rather than working only within one’s own group. This approach is intended to foster synergy, collaboration and mutual learning across the wider network.
|
| 11:40 - 12:00 |
Comfort Break
|
| 12:00 - 13:00 |
Panel Discussion: From Evidence to Influence: Aligning Voices to Scale Social Innovation
|
| 13:00 - 13:15 |
Closing Remarks
Andriana Sukova,
Deputy Director-General for Funds, Fair Transition and Analysis, DG EMPL, European Commission
|
| 13:15 - 14:30 |
Light Lunch / Networking / Departure
|