European Social Innovation Competition 2022: finalists for future of living challenge

On 10 August 2022 the European Commission, through the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), published the 21 shortlisted projects for the 2022 European Social Innovation Competition challenge prize. The theme for this edition asked entrants to reimagine the future of living with particular focus on affordable and sustainable housing districts. The organisers framed the theme as contributing to the New European Bauhaus movement and the Renovation Wave strategy that underpin the European Green Deal.

What the competition seeks and why it matters

The theme also connects to the Renovation Wave policy which aims to accelerate the energy renovation of buildings across the EU and to address energy poverty. The Renovation Wave is a policy priority but it faces implementation bottlenecks such as financing gaps, complex permitting, fragmented supply chains and skills shortages. Social innovation can address the social and organisational aspects that technical renovation programmes alone often miss.

How entries were judged

All applications were assessed by independent experts appointed through the European Innovation Council processes. The selection concentrated on early stage and scaling ideas that combine social and, where relevant, deep tech elements to create market shaping solutions in the built environment.

What the agency said

Jean-David Malo, Director of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, commented that in challenging times it is notable to see innovators proposing ideas to make living more sustainable and inclusive. He expressed confidence that the shortlisted proposals could contribute to more affordable and sustainable ways of living and acknowledged the difficulty of the judges in reducing the field to 21 finalists.

That statement frames the competition as both policy linked and meritocratic. It is worth noting that positive rhetoric at announcement stage is standard. The real test for each finalist is moving from concept and pilots to measurable, sustained impact at scale, which is where many social innovations encounter obstacles.

The 21 finalists

Next steps for finalists and prize mechanics

Finalists were invited to submit a full proposal of up to 15 pages where they further describe and defend their applications. The deadline for these full proposals was 21 September 2022. A judging panel was scheduled to review those submissions and name three winners.

How this fits in the EUSIC and EU innovation landscape

The 2022 edition marked the tenth European Social Innovation Competition. The prize is one strand of EIC prizes under Horizon Europe and is intended to surface early stage social innovations across Europe. The competition has a track record of attracting many applicants from non profit and for profit organisations, universities and civil society. Past editions have focused on topics such as skills and the green transition, fashion, plastic waste and energy poverty.

EISMEA manages the competition while independent experts assess entries. The competition is positioned to catalyse connections between innovators and public and private actors. However prize sums of €50,000 per winner are modest compared with the capital needs of housing renovation at district scale. That means the competition functions best as a visibility and validation mechanism that can help projects attract further funding, partners and local policy support rather than as a standalone scaling vehicle.

Practical notes, transparency and critical perspective

The competition is open to applicants from EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe. Shortlisted teams move from a short application to a full 15 page proposal and then to interviews and jury decision. Independent evaluators selected through Horizon Europe procedures perform assessments.

A note of caution is important. Announcing finalists is a step in a staged process. Being shortlisted signals promise and relevance. It does not guarantee that a proposed solution will be technically or financially viable at scale. Common obstacles to social innovations in housing include fragmented regulatory frameworks across municipalities, a lack of pipeline financing to combine social and capital investments, skills shortages in the renovation workforce and the complexity of measuring social impact. Commission support and prize money can accelerate projects but follow on funding, procurement changes and local political buy in are usually required to convert prototypes into district level outcomes.

How to follow up

For enquiries about the competition participants and next stages contact the prize organisers at EISMEA via EISMEA-EUSIC@ec.europa.eu. Information on the competition and related EIC activities is available on the European Innovation Council pages and the Horizon Europe work programme documents. Observers and potential partners should treat the shortlist as a scouting list and seek to validate claims through pilot results and independent impact metrics before committing large sums.

The competition highlights promising approaches to make housing districts more sustainable and affordable. The crucial follow up is whether shortlisted projects can convert recognition into measurable improvements for residents and clear pathways to scaling. That will require bridging prize attention with public procurement, regional investment instruments and private capital aligned to social objectives.