Three finalists in European Social Innovation Competition 2024 target digital democracy
- ›The European Commission announced three finalists for the 2024 European Social Innovation Competition focused on digital democracy.
- ›Finalists are Cultivating Civic Habits (Latvia), Live Agora (Netherlands) and The Newsroom (Portugal).
- ›The winner will be revealed at the European Social Innovation Forum on 11 March 2025 in Brussels with a first prize of €75,000.
- ›All finalists will join the NESEI network and gain access to training, matchmaking and the EIC innovation ecosystem.
- ›Selection emphasised innovation, inclusiveness, social impact, sustainability, scalability and contributions to decentralisation and governance.
Finalists named in European Social Innovation Competition 2024 challenge on digital democracy
On 20 February 2025 the European Commission published the three finalists chosen for the European Social Innovation Competition 2024. The challenge for this edition was 'Digital Democracy'. The competition aims to surface early stage social innovations that can respond to civic problems linked to democracy and technology. The announced finalists develop tools aimed at fighting disinformation, enabling community-led decision making and strengthening civic competencies among young people.
What the competition sought and how the finalists were chosen
The European Social Innovation Competition is run under the European Innovation Council and supported by EISMEA under the Horizon Europe framework. The 2024 challenge solicited projects that address digital democracy, including mitigating disinformation and empowering grassroots participation. Applications were open to innovators from EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe. A jury of experts selected three finalists based on criteria including innovation, inclusiveness, measurable social impact, sustainability, scalability and demonstrable contributions to decentralisation and governance.
The three finalists
| Finalist | Lead organisation | Country | Short description of the project |
| Cultivating Civic Habits | Sabiedribas Lidzdalibas Fonds | Latvia | An app for 14 to 18 year olds that offers daily civic activities based on real life scenarios to build civic competencies and encourage informed participation. |
| Live Agora | Stichting TAAT | Netherlands | A decentralised, community owned digital platform for user led collaboration and co-creation that emphasises user control over data and interactions. |
| The Newsroom | Título Alternativo LDA | Portugal | A technology-driven tool to counter disinformation, connect democratic actors and bolster civil society with inclusive features. |
Awards, next steps and ecosystem support
The winner will be announced at the European Social Innovation Forum annual event NeSEI in Brussels on 11 March 2025. Prize money for the competition is awarded to three ranks. The first prize is €75,000. Second and third prizes are €50,000 and €25,000 respectively. Beyond the cash prizes, all three finalists will join the Network of European Social Entrepreneurs and Innovators, known as NESEI. NESEI is part of the EIC Community and offers access to matchmaking events, training, bootcamps, workshops and connection to the wider European innovation ecosystem.
| Prize rank | Amount | When announced |
| Winner | €75,000 | 11 March 2025 at the European Social Innovation Forum - NeSEI in Brussels |
| Runner-up | €50,000 | 11 March 2025 |
| Third place | €25,000 | 11 March 2025 |
Context and background on the competition
The European Social Innovation Competition, launched in 2013 in memory of Diogo Vasconcelos, was in 2024 into its twelfth edition. It is supported by the European Innovation Council under Horizon Europe. The contest has used a themed approach over the years to channel social innovation towards specific public challenges. Past editions tackled issues such as energy poverty in 2023, affordable and sustainable housing districts in 2022 and skills for a green and digital future in 2021. The competition is open to both non-profit and for-profit actors including social enterprises, NGOs, academic institutions and individual innovators from EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries.
| Year | Theme |
| 2023 | Fighting energy poverty |
| 2022 | Innovation for affordable and sustainable housing districts |
| 2021 | Skills for tomorrow - Shaping a green and digital future |
| 2020 | Reimagine Fashion |
| 2019 | Challenging Plastic Waste |
| 2018 | Re:think Local |
| 2017 | Equality Rebooted |
| 2016 | Integrated Futures |
| 2015 | New Ways to Grow |
| 2014 | The Job Challenge |
| 2013 | New forms of work |
A note of caution and what to watch for
Public announcements from competitions and agencies highlight promise and potential. They do not by themselves validate impact at scale. For each finalist, important questions remain about demonstrated outcomes, user adoption, governance and funding models beyond prize money. Decentralised platforms face operational and moderation challenges. Civic education apps need independent evaluation to show behavioural change. Tools addressing disinformation must be clear about methods, data sources and safeguards to avoid false positives and censorship risks. Joining NESEI and the EIC community improves access to support but does not guarantee scaling or sustained public impact.
Follow up items to watch include the jury's final decision at the NeSEI forum on 11 March 2025, published evidence of pilot results from each finalist, and whether any of the projects secure further Horizon Europe or EIC funding streams afterwards.
Where to find more information
The European Social Innovation Competition pages on the EIC and EISMEA sites contain the competition rules, past winners and calls. The finalists and the announcement timeline were published by the European Innovation Council and the European Commission on 20 February 2025. For event details see the European Social Innovation Forum NeSEI event in Brussels on 11 March 2025. The EIC and EISMEA maintain social channels and newsletters with updates but readers should treat early claims of impact with scrutiny and seek evidence from pilots and independent evaluation.