A new report identifies needs and opportunities for social innovation in the areas of inclusion, the labor market, and education. The findings have been presented to the Swedish ESF Council, which will use the report as a basis for a call for proposals next year.
As Sweden’s national center of expertise for social innovation within the European Social Fund, Forum for Social Innovation Sweden at Malmö University, in collaboration with the National Network for Coordination Associations, has conducted a survey and dialogue process with several non-profit organizations, including Famna and Coompanion. The plan is to conduct an annual environmental scan by gathering current needs and opportunities for social innovation in the areas of inclusion, the labor market, and education. This year’s results and reflections are compiled in the report: “Environmental Scan on the ESF’s Support for Social Innovation – Report by Sweden’s National Competence Center for Social Innovation, 2025.”
The purpose of the market analysis is to use the results in the Swedish ESF Council’s call for proposals.
“This report is a great help in our call for proposals process and can also guide our thinking as we enter a new program period. Specifically, parts of the findings from the environmental scan will be used in a call for proposals as early as 2026,” says Conny Göterfors, National Coordinator for Program Area E for Social Innovation.
Support for testing and collaboration across borders and over the long term is needed
The report highlights four key conclusions. First, stakeholders emphasize the need for greater support to facilitate experimentation and collaboration across organizational boundaries and over the long term. For example, collaboration is limited by project-based approaches, and co-funding requirements exclude civil society organizations.
Cross-cutting issues at the system level require clearer policy direction and reform efforts
Second, a clearer policy direction is needed. Challenges affecting young people who are neither working nor studying (NEETs), foreign-born women, the long-term unemployed, and individuals who have left a life of crime or institutional care rarely stem from individual factors but rather involve cross-cutting problems and challenges within the Swedish system. To tackle societal challenges that challenge dominant norms and prevailing structures, more active reform efforts are required. Policy must therefore be involved and, to a greater extent, create the right conditions to make sustainable social innovations possible.
There is a demand for long-term and innovative financing
Third, stakeholders highlight the need for funding that extends beyond individual project periods, with the ability to scale up efforts from the preliminary study phase through implementation and scaling. It is emphasized that innovation involves uncertainty; therefore, funding models should prioritize learning, iteration, and outcomes at the system level rather than solely quantitative individual targets. Funders are encouraged to co-design calls for proposals together with other relevant societal stakeholders and directly with the target group/end users to ensure relevance and local ownership. Requirements for high co-financing need to be relaxed for non-profit and small-scale actors, while support should be able to cover indirect costs for collaboration and administration. Several voices propose blended financing and outcome-sharing models—such as social impact contracts—that share risk between the state, region, municipality, and private investors. In addition, there is a call for a monitoring culture that combines quantitative indicators with qualitative narratives on empowerment, improved coordination, and long-term societal benefits, rather than strict short-term performance management. The report also mentions more unified monitoring and development efforts, where close links to research and concrete knowledge development and dissemination become key elements for capitalizing on the experiences generated by the projects.
The closer link between practical experience, learning, and development is highlighted
Finally, fourthly, stakeholders emphasize the importance of establishing a closer link between practice, learning, and development. Integrating each project into regular operations increases the potential for sustainability, dissemination, and scaling, while the connection to the research community can contribute to higher quality and legitimacy. Different professions need to collaborate so that the projects—which often address one or more complex challenges—can generate the value that is sought.
The dialogue process is an effective approach to strengthening sustainable and socially innovative development
The report also highlights that social innovations can be developed at all levels of society and that collaboration between different sectors of society is crucial to addressing the complex challenges we face. It shows that there is a high level of commitment and a willingness among stakeholders in the field to contribute through the survey.
“We’re seeing growing interest in participating in market intelligence. But it takes perseverance; it takes time to establish and promote such an opportunity,” says Mattias Bergström, who leads the market intelligence efforts at Competence Centre for Social Innovation National Competence Centre for Social Innovation.
“We are very enthusiastic about this approach and look forward to further dialogue to strengthen the conditions for sustainable, socially innovative development,” says Conny Göterfors.
Read the report "External Environment Analysis for the ESF's Support of Social Innovation (2025)."
Learn more about Competence Centre for Social Innovation the European Social Fund.
Text: Lotta Orban