Innovative approaches to planning and delivering public social services can transform communities. However, the real test comes when the initial project ends. The key question is: will these innovations become embedded in everyday public services, or disappear when funding runs out?
This question was at the heart of the European Social Innovation Forum, held in Brussels on 7-8 October 2026 and organised by the European Social Fund Agency (ESFA).
The European Social Network (ESN) played a key role, contributing the perspective of public social services to discussions on how promising innovations can achieve lasting impact. ESN presented its experience coordinating the ECSILI Project, now approaching its final stage, which focuses on the challenges of implementing, sustaining, and scaling up social innovation beyond the initial project funding. The discussion highlighted a crucial policy challenge: how to ensure that successful initiatives supported by European funding can continue through national and regional funding mechanisms, become embedded in public services, and deliver long-term benefits for communities.
Bringing local solutions into public policy
Social innovation often begins with communities identifying unmet needs and testing new ways to respond. Yet a successful pilot does not automatically lead to lasting change. Public authorities need to assess evidence, involve people using services, and create the conditions for effective approaches to become part of mainstream provision.
As Alfonso Lara-Montero, ESN Chief Executive Officer, stressed in his contribution at the Forum, innovation must be rooted in what works for different communities. The next challenge is to ensure that public policies can recognise, support, and sustain these solutions beyond individual projects.
Helping innovation travel across borders
An approach that works in one municipality may offer valuable lessons elsewhere, but it cannot simply be copied. Different legal frameworks, service systems, resources, and community needs require adaptation. This is where European cooperation can make a practical difference.
“Transnational cooperation allows social innovation to travel, provided that practices are adapted to each implementation context,” Alfonso told Forum attendees.
European networks help make that exchange possible. By connecting public authorities and social services across countries, ESN supports peer learning, the transfer of promising practices, and the translation of local experience into wider policy discussions. This complements the role of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) in supporting social innovation and cooperation.
Connecting European funding with long-term change
The Forum also raised a broader policy question: how can Europe ensure that investment in innovation leads to sustained improvements rather than a succession of short-lived pilots? Funding can help test and demonstrate new solutions, but scaling them requires public ownership, institutional capacity, and plans for continuation from the outset.
For ESN, this means bringing public social services into the innovation process early, not only as potential adopters, but as partners in identifying needs, assessing feasibility, and embedding successful approaches in service delivery. It also means ensuring that European programmes encourage cooperation between countries while supporting implementation at national, regional, and local levels.
Turning promising ideas into lasting impact
ESN’s message from the European Social Innovation Forum is clear: social innovation should not end when a project closes. Its value lies in improving people’s lives over time. With this in mind, ESN will continue to connect the experience of its members with European policy and funding debates, helping promising local solutions become sustainable, adaptable approaches that result in better social services.
