Excellence-in-ReSTI - Building a social innovation community in Croatia
11-07-2017
During the past six months, project partner SIL (Social Innovation Lab) has been actively involved in creating a social innovation ecosystem in Croatia. Followed by a series of events SIL has been inviting the crucial stakeholders to participate in an open innovation process. The aim of this process is to increase capacities of civil sector, young independent professionals, and city level decision makers in practicing social innovation to transform the context in which they live and operate.
Starting in January, with the support from Croatian Independent Professionals Association (CIPA), City of Zagreb and EU funded project (SIC), SIL developed and implemented social innovation methodology in two innovation centers in Croatia - experimental group of City officials and CIPA. Changing mindsets, exploring the possibilities of urban revitalization, detecting local challenges and co-creating innovative solutions showcased the relevance of practicing open dialogue, creative tools, developing empathy and most of all, connecting diverse groups of stakeholders in one place. So far, the process resulted with several social innovations in the domain of public services and cultural and creative industries.