EVENTS

• Date: 11 June 2025
• Time: 15:00 – 17:00 CET
• Location: Online (link provided upon registration)

The CRAFT Policy Summit is back for its second edition, bringing together policymakers, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders to drive meaningful change. This year, the Summit will focus on actionable policy levers to advance and mainstream social entrepreneurship and social innovation across Europe. Together, we aim to tackle key barriers, build enabling frameworks, and shape a future where social innovation thrives and scales.

Marking two years of impactful progress, the CRAFT project has established a robust community of practice among social innovation support organizations. Through co-creation, we have developed practical tools and strategies designed to sustain socially-driven business models. This Summit will:

• Review the progress made in strengthening social innovation capacity across Europe.
• Showcase tools and insights from the CRAFT initiative.
• Engage with European experts and networks to shape actionable recommendations for future policies.

This is your opportunity to join a vibrant discussion on how to foster equity, inclusivity, and sustainability through social innovation!

15:00 – 15:15 | Opening and Introduction: Setting the Stage for Social Innovation Policy
Kick off the Summit with insights from a representative of the European Commission sharing the latest trends in EU policies impacting social innovation.

15:15 – 15:30 | CRAFT Presentation: Driving Social Innovation through Policy Recommendations
Discover the core insights from the CRAFT initiative, with a focus on social innovation skills, ecosystems, and promotion.

15:30 – 16:00 | Roundtable 1: Expert Perspectives on Policy Recommendations
Engage in a critical examination of policy recommendations with European experts and explore their implications for policy design and implementation, including challenges and opportunities for effective adoption.

16:00 – 16:30 | Roundtable 2: National and Local Perspectives on Social Innovation Policies
Hear from representatives of national and local initiatives across Europe who will discuss synergies between EU frameworks and localized efforts.

16:30 – 17:00 | Open table: From skills to action – Applying tools for Social Innovation
Participate in an interactive session introducing practical tools from the CRAFT toolkit. Explore use cases of how to align growth with impact and purpose.

The Importance of Specific Skills for Social Innovation: Unlike traditional business models, social innovation prioritizes social impact, shared governance, and the creation of shared value over mere economic growth. This requires a different set of competencies that focus on fostering equity, inclusivity, and sustainability. For a just transition toward a more resilient future, policymakers must invest in building these skills through targeted training, education, and capacity-building initiatives. 

Opening Opportunities for Social Entrepreneurs: The Policy Summit will explore the necessity of creating opportunities for social entrepreneurs to be connected, mentored, and professionalized. Governments, financial institutions, and other stakeholders must work together to open access to capital, mentorship, and collaborative networks.

Promoting Social Innovation in the Public Sphere: The Summit will emphasize the importance of embedding social innovation into mainstream educational curricula and business tools to ensure that the next wave of leaders and professionals is equipped to address societal challenges through sustainable and innovative means.

• Policymakers and government officials
• Social entrepreneurs and innovators
• Representatives of support organizations
• Educators and researchers
• Anyone passionate about building an inclusive and sustainable future

Don’t miss this chance to connect, learn, and contribute to the social innovation movement in Europe!

Most tools used to develop and accelerate businesses are originally made for conventional enterprises. At CRAFT we are rethinking the templates, canvasses, and training to fit impact-driven entrepreneurship and social innovation.

During summer we have been working on a toolbox of 12 tools suited specifically for social innovators. This was developed in our co-creation community of Social Innovation Multipliers (SIMs), Social Innovation Actors (SIAs) and the experts from the consortium.

Now we are ready to share a sneak peek on the first improved versions of the tools!

What to expect from joining this session:

• Introduction to tools in development
• Toolkit methodology & community activities
• ​Tools’ testing
• ​How to integrate tools into your support for social innovators

The session is facilitated by WorldStartup, which together with Impact Shakers has been responsible for the development of the tailored toolbox.

By registering, you get access to the first public part of this session.

The global shift towards a more regenerative and equitable society is spearheaded by a range of social and impact-driven entrepreneurs who prioritize positive impact over excessive profit.

The success of these entrepreneurs hinges on crucial conditions, particularly for those disrupting established market norms as impact-driven and social entrepreneurs.

Although in Europe more attention is being paid to these entrepreneurs, they still regrettably encounter many obstacles. Whereas mainstream entrepreneurs easily find guidance and rely on role models to set up their businesses, social entrepreneurs often lack recognition, tailored support and capital. Mainstream entrepreneurship culture is still predominant in economic policies, entrepreneurship education and training, and business development solutions.

The Summit is an online convening of European policy-makers, professionals and researchers working to increase the impact of entrepreneurship.

It will feature discussions on insights from the social entrepreneurship policy and practice across different geographies, alongside the latest thinking and findings from academic research.

1. The archetypal models of success that can be found in the various social entrepreneurship representative groups and the values that are promoted along this spectrum

2. The specific culture and transformative power of the tools used by support organizations, and therefore the change that we want to see integrated in a collection of tools for (to-be) social and impact-driven entrepreneurs 

3. The role of public policy in promoting social entrepreneurship either as part of the economic transition or as an alternative economy, and in providing appropriate levers for its development.

2:00-2:35 pm – introduction

• Nicole Miquel-Belaud: Metropolitan Councilor in charge of thesocial economy at Toulouse Métropole (FR)
• Jekaterina Novikova: Deputy Head of Unit, DG RTD, European Commission (BE)
• Mathilde Pellizzari: Project Manager for the Social and Solidarity Economy & Europe, Toulouse Métropole (FR)
• Lucia Radu: Senior Program Manager at Impact Hub Global Network (RO)

2:35-3:05 pm – Panel 1: ‘Entrepreneurs’ journeys and archetype of success‘

• Tatiana Glad: Executive Director (Impact Hub network, NL)

• Domagoj Boljar: CEO and cofounder (Earthbound Sneakers, Croatia)

• Cristina Căluianu: Co-founder AccessibleEU and Board member CED Romania Association (RO)

• Cristian Ormindean: Consortium Coordinator at PROSME – Enterprise Europe Network (RO)

• Emanuele Musa: Co-founder Babele Create Together (RO & DK)

3:15-3:45 pm – Panel 2: ‘Support tools for the green, social and digital transitions‘

• Elsa Brander: Senior Consultant, PhD., Kooperationen (DK)

• Octave Kleynjans: Impact Lab Director, Mouvement Impact France (FR)

• Daniel Krüger: Senior Researcher, TU Dortmund University, Social Research Centre (DE)

• Diana Pati: Co-founder & COO at Impact Shakers (BE)

3:50-4:20 pm – Panel 3: ‘role of social entrepreneurship policy in promoting new archetypes of success‘

• Melis Aslan: Policy Analyst, OECD

• Toby Gazeley: Policy Lead at Euclid Network (NL)

• Mathilde Pellizzari: Project Manager for the Social and Solidarity Economy & Europe, Toulouse Métropole, (FR)

• Milena Ninova: Innovation Programme & Service Design Manager, WorldStartup (NL)

Toulouse Métropole hosted this Policy Summit. As a local authority, Toulouse Métropole is strongly committed to promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy ecosystem and supporting social entrepreneurs in the Toulouse metropolitan area. The CRAFT initiative strengthens local social entrepreneurship policy by providing new support tools and contributing to European policy.