With the start of this year we also start our work with the project “Creation of strategy of change and raising the communication capacity of Social Innovation Centre”, funded by the “NGO Fund” of Social Integration Foundation of Latvia. During this project we will try to find out the understanding of Latvian society about social innovation in Latvia, as well as the most effective means in informing them about this topic. Basing on the gained results, SIC will improve activities, communication and the publicly available brand from various aspects. The duration of the project is planned until October 31st, 2022.

On a broader scale there is a tendency to know very little about social innovation and its potential benefits as a tool for activation of the society and problem solving also in the private and the governmental sector. The importance of this topic is also highlighted by the EU, which announced social innovation as one of its priorities in 2021. Additionally, taking into consideration the specifics of the NGO work and project-based financing, SIC internal resources can’t be fully utilized, because there is a lack of modern strategy for change, as well as planning of a communication about the organization and social innovation topics that fits the modern market. Looking into possibilities of developing capacity of SIC as a social innovation driver and a potential of becoming the contact centre for informing the society, in this project we want to raise our capacity and thus induce a broader change, developing the understanding about social innovation in Latvia.

Raising the capacity for SIC as an organization will allow strengthening the role of an opinion leader, as well as the public image in the field of social innovation, and moving towards other strategically significant goals (potentially, becoming a contact centre for social innovation matters). With this project we will have an impact on the growth of the organization, and strengthen its role in the NGO sector and broader.

This article was created with the financial support of Society Integration Foundation from the means of the national budget of Latvia within project “Creation of strategy of change and raising the communication capacity of Social Innovation Centre”, contract No. 2022.LV/NVOF/MAC/049/36. Only Social Innovation Centre can be held responsible for the content of the article.