Social innovation: expertise and challenges to develop and support operational, collaborative solutions for and with local communities.

On January 20, 2009, at a BEPA² working meeting, José Manuel Durão Barroso, then President of the European Commission, declared: “The financial and economic crisis has increased the importance of creativity and innovation in general, and social innovation in particular, as a factor for sustainable growth, job creation and strengthening competitiveness”.

Social innovation is characterized by its focus on collective well-being and the positive transformation of society. It can take different forms, such as new business models, collaborative and cooperative approaches, innovative public policies and social technologies. It is based on a participatory and collaborative approach, often involving a diversity of players – civil society, business, government and non-profit or limited-profit organizations. It aims to reduce inequalities, strengthen social cohesion, improve access to essential services and promote sustainability. It relies on women and men engaged in social entrepreneurship, associative, cooperative or public investment, convinced that the components of society carry the “seeds of a sustainable social transformation centered on multi-stakeholder participation and local democracy”³.
Social innovation thus transcends the traditional and classic boundaries between the public, private and voluntary sectors, fostering systemic change in response to contemporary societal challenges. It relies on creativity, experimentation, cooperation and collaboration, and constant adaptation, to produce significant and lasting results, putting the individual at the center of innovative approaches and actions.

Our Cabinet Conseil Axone Consultant, created in May 2021, is committed to this approach, from the angle of inclusion and socio-professional insertion. Indeed, our categories of intervention materialize as follows:

• Public policies: in the context of territorial diagnoses, evaluations and studies, systematically include beneficiaries in their day-to-day experiences and their proposals for solutions.
• In the definition of actions or projects: as for the ” My EROIC Parkour ” As part of the national strategy to prevent and combat poverty on La Réunion, the aim is to identify a local problem, support one or more project leaders in defining and equipping the follow-up action, identify and support the preparation of funding applications, discuss with beneficiaries, evaluate and make recommendations to provide a range of solutions to ensure the action is sustainable and efficient, both for the players involved and for the beneficiaries.
• In our relations with local organizations: to promote interconnection between the various components of society: private sector companies, social economy organizations, public and semi-public bodies. This daily lobbying is carried out both through our interventions (conferences, mandates, stakeholder relations), and through our involvement in business start-up support or during our interim management assignments.

Social innovation is emerging as an essential catalyst for solving the complex challenges facing our society. It embodies the spirit of creativity, cooperation and commitment to a more equitable and sustainable future. As needs evolve, social innovation offers a pathway to adaptive and inclusive solutions. Through its missions, Axone Consultant is fully committed to fostering collective well-being, driving and supporting positive change, professionally equipping stakeholders in the French overseas territories, while considering and including the experiences and expectations of beneficiaries.