Social Lab Garrotxa: Driving social innovation in the territory

Territorial experimentation platform to drive social innovation in Garrotxa

The Social Lab Garrotxa emerged in a context in which the region already had numerous social innovation initiatives promoted by different sectors. However, complex social challenges persisted—especially in areas such as employment, the green economy, youth, childhood and housing—that required more coordinated and cross-sector responses.

The project was launched following the Strategic Plan for Economic Development of Garrotxa (2015), which aimed to position the region as a reference in social innovation. Through interviews with key actors and the analysis of international good practices, a territorial platform was designed to activate collaboration between public, private and social actors and generate innovative responses to the region’s challenges.

Developed in collaboration with DinàmiG and the City Council of Olot, the Social Lab functioned as a space for experimentation to strengthen the local social innovation ecosystem and move towards a greener, more inclusive Garrotxa with greater opportunities for people.

Objectives

• Promote social innovation in the Garrotxa region
• Identify the main social challenges of the territory through participatory processes
• Promote the transition towards a green and inclusive economy
• Strengthen coordination and collaboration between public, private and social actors
• Build a shared agenda to address complex social challenges

Methodology

The Social Lab methodology aims to activate collaboration between local actors and generate innovative responses to complex social challenges. It combines different phases and tools:

• Interviews with key actors and analysis of the local ecosystem to identify the main social and economic challenges of the region,
• International mapping of innovative solutions to identify relevant experiences that can be adapted to the local context,
• Shared definition of strategic challenges among public, private and social actors in the territory,
• Design of an open governance model that facilitates collaboration between actors of the quadruple helix,
• Organisation of co-creation workshops to design solutions and structure pilot projects,
• Technical support for local entities during the implementation of the initiatives.

This approach makes it possible to move from identifying territorial challenges to launching pilot initiatives, while strengthening collaboration dynamics and the local social innovation ecosystem.

Impact and results

• Social Lab Garrotxa enabled the activation of a territorial experimentation platform in social innovation and generated new collaboration dynamics among actors in the territory.
• The process facilitated the identification and collaborative work on four strategic challenges for the region: employment and green economy, youth, childhood and housing.
• Among the most relevant results are the launch of pioneering initiatives in energy efficiency and improvements in the coordination of resources aimed at vulnerable groups.
• In addition, the initiative contributed to strengthening the local social innovation ecosystem, generating greater knowledge, trust and collaboration among territorial actors.

Key learnings

• Territorial social innovation requires active collaboration between actors from different sectors.
• Neutral spaces facilitate the construction of shared agendas and the generation of trust among different actors.
• Challenge-driven approaches mobilise diverse actors and structure collaborative innovation processes.
• Building a social innovation ecosystem is a long-term process that requires strengthening relationships, capacities and collaboration dynamics.

Clients and partners

— City Council of Olot
— DinàmiG