Avise's missions in Europe
Working on social innovation issues in cooperation with other European countries
Since the call for projects entitled "Social Innovation Competence Centres" launched by the European Commission in 2020, Avise has been mandated by the French government to lead the French National Competence Centre for Social Innovation .
It then joined the BuiCaSuS project, a consortium bringing together France, Spain, Latvia and Sweden for a two-year collaboration (2021-2023). The project aimed in particular at mapping ecosystems of the respective countries, sharing tools and best practices, and establishing a roadmap for each of Competence Centre.
Following on from BuiCaSuS, Avise is now coordinating the BIRDS project (Boosting Initiatives & Resources to Develop Social Innovation) (2024-2027).
The project brings together the NCCSIs of France, Spain, Portugal and Sweden in a consortium:
- Avise for France;
- The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumers and Agenda 2030 for Spain;
- Portugal Social Innovation and the Agency for Development and Cohesion (Agência para o Desenvolvimento e Coesão, I.P) for Portugal;
- The Forum for Social Innovation Sweden (FFSIS) for Sweden.
Over a three-year period, the BIRDS project focuses on issues such as supporting the emergence of social innovation, breaking down barriers between stakeholders, assessing its impact and supporting its scaling up, and its financing methods.
These collaborations will aim to strengthen the position of NCCSIs as centres of expertise, resources and partnerships and to establish their national roadmap for after 2027.
Developing networking and expertise sharing at European level
Avise participates in exchanges led by the European Competence Centre for Social Innovation as part of the Social Innovation+ Initiative launched by the European Commission. Participants in these exchanges include public and private stakeholders from the 27 Member States of the European Union: National Competence Centres, European Social Fund+ Managing Authorities, ministries, NGOs, independent experts, researchers, etc.
Avise is also a member of networks such as Euclid Network, DIESIS and Social Good Accelerator (SOGA), which also bring together various European actors working to develop and support the SSE and social innovation in Europe and beyond.
Avise is a member of the Advisory Board of the SI+ Initiative
Avise is a member of the Advisory Board of the Social Innovation+ Initiative. The committee is made up of 10 members from the European Commission, from the transnational networks Impact Europe and Euclid Network, the European Competence Centre for Social Innovation (led by the Lithuanian agency ESFA), as well as the Polish and Finnish ESF+ Managing Authorities and the French and Portuguese NCCSIs. Avise, as the French NCCSI, is represented by its Executive Director, Cécile Leclair.
The SI+ initiative's Advisory Board meets regularly online and in-person. Its mission is to provide strategic guidance and recommendations in the following areas:
- annual and multi-annual work plans;
- monitoring and evaluation;
- results and recommendations; thematic priorities for SI+ calls for projects;
- organisation of Communities of Practice (CoPs);
- synergies with other EU initiatives;
- needs and opportunities relating to the social innovation agenda at EU level, etc.
Promoting the use of European funding for SSE
As an Intermediary Body for the European Social Fund+ (ESF+) at national level since 2004, Avise provides financial support for national SSE and social innovation projects. As part of its capacity-building work, Avise informs project leaders about relevant European calls for projects and develops tools for information and analysis.
Since 2025, Avise is also the National Contact Point (NCP) for the EaSI programme, a component of the ESF+ dedicated to employment and social innovation, managed directly by the European Commission. As part of this role, Avise disseminates information on EaSI programme calls for projects to actors of the French ecosystem. It also facilitates networking and the creation of partnerships with actors from other countries in order to support the creation of transnational consortia.
Avise "National Validator" to promote French social innovations in Europe
The Social Innovation Match (SIM) platform is a database published by the European Commission to promote social innovations with the potential to transform society at European level. As National Validator for France, Avise is responsible for assessing projects submitted by French stakeholders.
