Who can help me?
Social Innovation Incubators
As part of KIS2, we are networking nine social innovation incubators. All of them operate within a single grant program funded by the European Funds for Social Development . This is already the third edition of this program. Many incubators have participated in all three editions, which means that they have been supporting social innovation for 10 years (the first edition started in 2016). The incubators are run by various institutions: non-governmental organizations, private companies, and public enterprises.
Each incubator works with innovators, helping them develop, test, and implement their ideas, which are meant to bring about significant social change. They all operate according to a similar pattern. First, they pre-incubate innovations, then test them, and finally select the best ones for dissemination (popularization). All this is done in the hope that, once the incubation process is complete, the innovations will function independently and change the world for the better.
How incubators work is well illustrated in a video showing one of the innovations: link to the video.
The incubators focus on various topics: social inclusion, employment in the labor market, improving the quality of life of older people (60+), education and training, and accessibility.
TransferHub2
Who runs it?
Fundacja Inicjatyw Społeczno-Ekonomicznych (The Foundation for Social and Economic Initiatives)
Youth Business Poland Fundacja Inkubator Technologiczny (Technology Incubator)
What does it do?
It supports innovation in the field of employment on the labor market.
It is an initiative designed to help Poles face the challenges of the labor market today and in the future. It supports people with excellent ideas that can change the realities of professional and social life for the better. Among them are individuals who are not affiliated with any company or non-governmental organization. There are also employees of companies, institutions, schools, and universities, various types of organizations, as well as members of informal groups who would like to change the world around them and improve the quality of life of others. We call them innovators. All these individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions can get support at Transfer Hub.
Link to TransferHub website: https://transferhub.pl/
Generator Innowacji. Sieci Wsparcia 3 (Innovation Generator. Support Networks 3)
Who runs it?
Towarzystwo Inicjatyw Twórczych „ę” (Creative Initiatives Association “ę” )
PCG Polska (PCG Poland)
What does it do?
Its goal is to develop and test innovative services and products that improve the quality of life of older people (60+) and their caregivers, so as to integrate these groups into social and professional life.
The supported ideas respond to challenges such as:
How to participate in social life in the professional, cultural, and local spheres, either independently or with the help of family/caregivers; how to improve the quality of everyday life; social support networks.
How to launch local and neighborhood support networks for older people to reduce loneliness and increase well-being and the socialization of institutions.
How institutions can treat older people more subjectively. How to design high-quality social, cultural, and health services in a participatory manner and facilitate access to them.
Link to Generator Innowacji. Sieci Wsparcia 3 website: https://sieciwsparcia.pl/
Inkubator Włączenia Społecznego 2.0 (Social Inclusion Incubator 2.0)
Who runs it?
Regionalny Ośrodek Pomocy Społecznej w Krakowie (The Regional Centre for Social Policy in Cracow)
Krakowskie Centrum Innowacyjnych Technologii INNOAGH sp. z o.o. (Cracow Center of Innovative Technologies INNOAGH)
What does it do?
It supports innovation in the area of increasing the effectiveness of solving problems in the field of social inclusion.
The incubator provides support to all innovators who are interested in fighting social exclusion. It seeks new solutions that will enable faster, more effective, and more efficient support for people affected by or at risk of exclusion in fully fulfilling their social roles.
Link to InkubatorWłączenia Społecznego 2.0. webstite: https://rops.krakow.pl/realizowane-projekty-i-zadania/inkubator wlaczenia-spolecznego-20
Inkubator pomysłów 3 (Ideas Incubator 3)
Who runs it?
Fundacja Stocznia (The Shipyard Foundation)
Klub Inteligencji Katolickiej (Catholic Intelligentsia Club)
Ośrodek Ewaluacji (Evaluation Center)
What does it do?
Inkubator Pomysłów 3 was created to help develop and test social innovations in Poland, particularly those in the area of social inclusion. It seeks and supports ideas for innovative services, products, and methods that will enable marginalized people to be part of their communities, find their place in them, and help shape them. It invites their authors to the Idea Incubator and works with them to further develop social innovations. It aims to provide social innovations with the best conditions for development and to promote those with the greatest potential to change reality.
Link to Inkubator Pomysłów 3 website: https://inkubatorpomyslow.org.pl/en/strona-glowna-english/
POPOJUTRZE 3.0 (The day after tomorrow 3.0)
Who runs it?
What does it do?
This is an original program supporting social innovation, exclusively in the broadly understood area of education, covering innovative solutions in formal and non-formal education at every stage of human life, from early preschool education, through general and vocational education, to higher education and lifelong learning.
Link to POPOJUTRZE 3.0 website: https://popojutrze.pl/
włącz_POPOJUTRZE (Turn on_the day after tomorrow 3.0)
Who runs it?
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Ośrodek Doskonalenia Nauczycieli w Poznaniu (Teacher Training Center in Poznań)
What does it do?
The incubator’s goal is to make education accessible to everyone, regardless of the challenges they face.
The incubator is dedicated to inclusive education. It brings together teachers, educators, and psychologists to create innovative tools that change the face of accessibility in Polish schools. It stimulates the creation of solutions that support students who encounter difficulties in the educational process, regardless of whether they struggle with disability, social adjustment, emotional disorders, learning difficulties, chronic illnesses, or trauma.
Link to włącz_POPOJUTRZE website: https://wlacz.popojutrze.pl/
GREENowacje (GREENovation)
Who runs it?
Związek Miast Polskich (Association of Polish Cities)
What does it do?
The incubator supports innovation in the field of ecology.
GREENovations is an incubator for individuals and teams who want to promote pro-environmental and pro-climate attitudes. It seeks ideas that will change the way people think and act, bring about real change, and teach them how to care for the common good, protect nature, and adapt to new climatic conditions.
Link to GREENowacje website: https://greenowacje.popojutrze.pl/
Włącznik 2.0 (Switch 2.0)
Who runs it?
Stowarzyszenie Na Rzecz Spółdzielni Socjalnych (Association for Social Cooperatives)
Regionalny Ośrodek Pomocy Społecznej w Poznaniu (The Regional Centre for Social Policy in Poznań)
What does it do?
It supports innovation for social inclusion and equal opportunities for various groups in need of support.
The incubator operates in the area of social inclusion. In particular, it addresses challenges related to the social and professional integration of people at risk of social exclusion, fighting poverty, and providing easier access to high-quality social and health services. The innovations developed in the Incubator are designed to help users actively participate in various areas of social, public, and economic life, fulfill themselves in their chosen social roles, and participate in professional, family, social, cultural, and political life on an equal footing with the rest of society.
Link to Włącznik 2.0. website: https://innowatorzy.spoldzielnie.org/
Inkubator Innowacji Społecznych Wielkich Jutra Dostępność + (Social Innovation Incubator of Tomorrow Accessibility +)
Who runs it?
What does it do?
It supports innovation in the field of accessibility
It believes that spaces, products, and services should be accessible to everyone—without exception. It works where standard solutions fail, supporting innovations that make life easier for people with special needs.
It supports creative personalities who want to change the reality of 30% of our society. These are not only people with disabilities, but also seniors, parents with strollers, and people with temporary mobility limitations. Together with innovators, it changes infrastructure, digital tools, and social services to make them more user-friendly.
Link to Inkubator Innowacji Społecznych Wielkich Jutra Dostępność + website : http://www.inkubatorwielkichjutra.pl/
