3 Annual State of the Union reports - Part I

We will assess the impact of socially innovative approaches to achieve policy objectives, with a particular focus on the ten priorities of the Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change. Different ways in which EU policy and programmes have been used to foster social innovation will be considered (e.g. structural funds, financial instruments, the EuSEF label, the Social Innovation Europe Platform and initiatives put forward by the Social Business Initiative). Examples from different national, regional and local contexts will also be considered and evaluated from an EU perspective to produce a succinct report which considers the extent to which the approaches have (not) contributed to achieving policy objectives, and the structural conditions (or ecosystem) which have contributed to success or served as barriers. Clear recommendations will be made as to how policymakers can best use these instruments to maximum effect and how innovators can adapt and respond to different contexts and policy challenges. EU and Member State policy linkages with important global policymakers will also be examined.