The Italian Third Sector is facing crucial challenges: increasing complexity, new beneficiary needs, and the necessity to adopt more efficient and sustainable operational models. In this context, technological and digital innovation represents a key factor in ensuring the responsiveness and impact of social interventions.

Enter Social Innovation Trail (SIT), an ecosystem dedicated to Italian social innovation, promoted by ELIS in collaboration with AICCON and supported by UniCredit. SIT aims to foster collaboration between Third Sector organizations and innovative startups/SMEs, creating synergies to develop technological solutions that address today’s social challenges.

“Facilitating new collaborations between Third Sector organizations and innovators”, explains Luciano De Propris, Head of Open Innovation & Sustainability at ELIS, “means strengthening the sustainability of non-profit entities and enhancing a network of stakeholders capable of combining economic and social dimensions in territorial development”.

On November 20, during the launch event, applications were opened for two calls aimed at Third Sector organizations and innovators:

• Call4Project: Targeting Third Sector organizations, it offers the opportunity to submit high social impact projects requiring support through innovative technological solutions.
• Call4Solution: Aimed at startups and innovative SMEs, it allows them to present technological solutions capable of supporting the Third Sector.

“The SIT call is intended to be a platform to integrate and strengthen the relationship between social projects and digital enterprises focused on social impact. The project’s goal goes beyond simple ‘matching’; it aspires to create prototypes of social innovation on a territorial basis”, says Paolo Venturi, Director of AICCON.

A distinctive feature of SIT is its national network of foundations, cooperatives, and other organizations, organized into seven regional boards, which ensure that the program’s development aligns with the needs of various local ecosystems across Italy, from north to south.

Among the organizations involved in the seven regional boards are: Associazione Generale Cooperative Italiane (AGCI), Confcooperative Piemonte, Consorzio Nazionale CGM, Fondazione Caritro, Fondazione Cariverona, Fondazione Cariparo, Fondazione con il Sud, Fondazione Italiana Accenture – Ente Terzo Settore, Fondazione ITS Academy for New Life Technologies in Rome, Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT, Isola Catania, L’Altra Napoli, Legacoop Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Legacoop Piemonte, Legacoop Sicilia, Torino Social Impact.

“Social innovation is a key element in addressing current challenges”, says Stefano Gallo, Head of Territorial Development at UniCredit, “because it promotes synergies among organizations, businesses, and institutions, facilitating the sharing of resources and skills. We are convinced that through strategic collaborations with Third Sector organizations based on social innovation, we can enable significant and lasting changes essential for building a sustainable and inclusive future”.

The SIT program represents a tangible opportunity for Third Sector organizations to:

• Access innovative skills and technologies to improve their services and reach more beneficiaries.
• Develop new partnerships and strengthen their role within the social innovation ecosystem.
• Contribute to creating a more inclusive and sustainable future for the country.

Non-profits and innovators have until mid-January 2025 to submit their projects and propose solutions.