ALC participated in the Birds Study Visit, organized by Portugal Social Innovation, a European meeting that focuses on the future of financing for social innovation. This visit is part of the BIRDS program (Boosting Investment Related to Development of Social Innovation), in which several countries are collaborating to create future Centers of Competence in Social Innovation in Europe.

Over two days, representatives from public institutions, social organizations, financial institutions, and European networks met at key venues in Lisbon, such as BPI All in One, Casa do Impacto, and Caixa Geral de Depósitos. The goal was to share lessons learned, compare approaches, and explore new financial instruments that generate real and sustainable social impact.

Financing at the service of social transformation

One of the central themes was how to design financial instruments that are truly aligned with social innovation objectives, overcoming fragmented approaches or those limited to conventional profitability metrics.

To respond to complex social challenges—such as aging, digital exclusion, and a just ecological transition—it is not enough to innovate in solutions: we must also innovate in how they are financed.

This requires new indicators, return models, and forms of collaboration between public, private, and community actors.

Gorka Espiau, director of ALC, participated as a speaker. In his presentation, he highlighted the need for systemic approaches that combine different types of financing and presented a possible roadmap for defining financing for social innovation competence centers (NCCs).

Towards a European architecture for social innovation

The visit is part of the collaborative process promoted by the BIRDS program to build a common social innovation infrastructure in Europe. The future Competence Centers will articulate an ecosystem of knowledge, training, advice, and experimentation to support transformative solutions. In this context, financing is not a secondary element: it is a structural axis that must accompany the entire social innovation cycle, from listening and shared diagnosis to the consolidation of scalable responses with local impact.

ALC participation in this meeting is part of its collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda for the design and creation of social innovation competence centers (NCC).