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    • Reach for Change to co-establish a national competency center in Bulgaria

    Reach for Change to co-establish a national competency center in Bulgaria

    A consortium across Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus and Portugal announced a new European Union funded project to promote social innovation in each country and cross-collaboration across Europe. The goal of the project is to establish a sustainable and responsive National Competence Centre for Social Innovation (NCCSI) in each of the countries.
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    The FUSE project has been granted €650,000 from the European Union (via the European Social Fund and the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation). It kicks off in May 2021 and will take place over two years. 

    The consortium is led by Rethink (Ireland) and includes also the following partners Genio Trust (Ireland), Cohesion and Development Agency (Portugal), Reach for Change (Bulgaria), BCause Foundation (Bulgaria), Cleantech (Bulgaria), Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law, The Business Institute (Bulgaria), Synthesis Center (Cyprus), Centre for Social Innovation (Cyprus). Associated partners for Bulgaria are: Trust for Social Achievement, Karin Dom and Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria. 

    The project aims to support social innovation stakeholders through capacity building, knowledge transfer, networking and synergies leading to the following outcomes:

    • Increased transnational knowledge sharing between competency centres at the EU level 

    • Improved support mechanisms available for key social innovation stakeholders

    • Strengthened public policy and capacity on the national and/or transnational levels to support social innovation

    • Strengthened transnational cooperation in developing social innovations

    • Increased likelihood that social innovation projects become scaling ready

    • Improved conditions for testing, replication and/or upscaling of social innovations 

    • Each country overcomes and addresses any gaps in the social innovation ecosystem.

    We are proud to be part of such a strong international and local consortium which combines partners with diverse know-how. I am confident this project is an important step in the development of the ecosystem for social innovation - it will help us map the existing best practices, resources and needs, enhance our joint methodologies and tools, build cross-sector networks and raise the awareness for social innovations.

    Dimitar Dimitrov, Country Manager for Bulgaria at Reach for Change

    Learn more about the FUSE project here.

    The EU Commission has approved Reach for Change’s application to establish a European competence center for social innovation in Sweden as well, as part of another strong international consortium, including organisations from Sweden, Spain, France and Latvia. Read more here.