The European Social Innovation Competition

The competition supports innovators to develop their ideas into working solutions and facilitates a network of radical innovators shaping our society. This prize acknowledges the social innovation as a potent approach for responding to societal challenges.

Launched in 2013 in memory of social innovation pioneer Diogo Vasconcelos, the European Social Innovation Competition (EUSIC) awards three prizes for the best socially innovative projects for a more inclusive, just, and sustainable Europe. 

Learn more about  the history of the competition.

This year’s the European Social Innovation Competition 2024 will focus on social innovation in ‘Digital Democracy’.

The European Social Innovation Competition (EUSIC) aims at stimulating the potential of social innovation to provide solutions to societal challenges and to foster sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe. This competition looks for new entrepreneurial solutions responding to the most burning social needs, creating social relationships and enabling new collaborations in an innovative way and bringing effective solutions to systemic social challenges.

This competition is open, among others, to non-profit and for-profit organisations, such as entrepreneurs and social enterprises, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), educational institutions and universities.

The prize attracts a great number of applicants each year. Past editions topics were the following: Fighting energy poverty – Repower EU (2023), Affordable housing districts (2022), Skills for tomorrow - Shaping a green and digital future (2021), Reimagine Fashion (2020), Challenging Plastic Waste (2019), Re:think Local (2018), Equality Rebooted (2017), Integrated Futures (2016), New Ways to Grow (2015), The Job Challenge (2014), and New forms of work (2013).

Three winners will be rewarded with a prize of EUR 75 000, EUR 50 000, and EUR 25 000 for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranked winners.

The 2024 call for proposals is now open until 11 June 2024, 17:00 CET.

You can consult the EIC Work Programme 2024 featuring the full EUSIC call text.

Any natural person or legal entity can apply to the category, as long as they:

• are established in one of the EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories, (OCTs)) or an Associated Country to Horizon Europe.
• The proposed solutions or activities contained in the application must have taken place in an EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories, OCTs) or in an Associated Country to Horizon Europe.

Please consult the following documents before submitting your application through the links above.

• Rules of contest

For more information please contact us at EISMEA-EUSICec [dot] europa [dot] eu (EISMEA-EUSIC[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).

Please check this webpage for updates, and follow us @EUeic (#EUSIC, #diogochallenge) or subscribe to our newsletter.