CSIC meeting on social innovation to tackle complex challenges
Agirre Lehendakaria Center participated in the national conference “Science and social innovation to tackle complex challenges: towards connected, knowledge-based social innovation ecosystems,” held on February 3 and organized by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) together with the Secretariat of State for Social Rights, with the collaboration of the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI).
The conference brought together public officials, the scientific community, and key players in the innovation ecosystem with the aim of jointly reflecting on the social dimension of science and innovation to tackle multifactorial problems such as aging, the care crisis, climate change, depopulation, migration, and territorial inequalities.
During the opening ceremony, CSIC President Eloísa del Pino pointed out that, despite scientific and technological advances, structural challenges remain that require the integration of the social dimension into innovation. She defended the need to consolidate this with stable frameworks, funding, and professional communities that share learning.
The meeting focused on social innovation as a strategic lever for modernizing public policies through cooperation, evidence, and experimentation, promoting the active participation of individuals and communities and the generation of collective knowledge adapted to different territorial contexts.
Gorka Espiau shared ALC's approach to the role of social innovation in the region and the importance of strengthening connected ecosystems based on knowledge and collaboration. In his speech, he highlighted the need to address complex challenges using systemic approaches that integrate culture, values, and social narratives as drivers of transformation, and to build open platforms for social innovation that connect institutions, communities, and technical capabilities.
One of the focal points of the conference was also the promotion of the future Center for Social Innovation Competence (CECIS), promoted by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption, and Agenda 2030 with the participation of the CSIC. This center responds to the European Commission's recommendations that states have national nodes of competence in social innovation capable of strengthening public capacities and articulating solid ecosystems.