€9.4 million attracted at European level, including over €2.7 million in direct impact on the local territory: Turin consolidates its role as a European laboratory for social innovation thanks to the Hub promoted within the Torino Social Impact ecosystem.

Over 100 organisations involved, 44 European project applications developed, 15 projects funded by the European Commission, €9.4 million secured at European level and more than €2.7 million in direct benefits for the local area.

These are some of the results achieved by the European Projects Hub for the Social Economy, the initiative developed in 2023 by Torino Social Impact in co-design with WECO Impresa Sociale, with the support of the Turin Chamber of Commerce and Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo. The Hub aims to strengthen the capacity of the Turin ecosystem to access European funding and contribute to the development of the social economy.

Today, the Hub represents a territorial point of reference for third sector organisations, social enterprises, cooperatives, and organisations committed to generating social impact, offering tools, expertise and qualified support in European project design.

The initiative is part of the framework of the most recent European policies supporting the social economy, from the Social Economy Action Plan to the Recommendation of the Council of the European Union on developing social economy framework conditions, as well as the implementation processes launched at national and local level.

“The goal of the Hub is not only to encourage participation in European calls for proposals, but to build a shared and lasting project design capacity, capable of generating new opportunities, international relations and resources for the territory,” explain the initiative’s promoters.

Through workshops, capacity-building activities, personalised support pathways and a methodology based on peer learning, the Hub has delivered 62 hours of shared learning and supported the growth of project design skills within the Torino Social Impact ecosystem.

A distinctive feature of the initiative is its roster of European project designers: a community made up of 70 professionals from across Europe and specialised in the main European programmes. The roster is not only an operational tool supporting project applications, but also a permanent space for collaboration and exchange between project designers and organisations.

The Hub’s activity has also fostered the creation of an international network composed of 84 partners from 17 European countries, helping to expand the European dimension of the Turin ecosystem.

Its development is guided by a Steering Committee established in 2024 and composed of five strategic local institutions: the Turin Chamber of Commerce, the City of Turin, the Metropolitan City of Turin, the University of Turin and Politecnico di Torino, within the framework of Torino Social Impact.

Among the innovative tools promoted by the Hub is the “Seal of Excellence”, an initiative supported by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo that recognises high-quality projects which were not funded by the European Commission due to the exhaustion of available resources, preventing the loss of high-potential skills and ideas.

The results achieved confirm the growing role of the social economy as a driver of innovation and territorial development, while strengthening Turin’s positioning as a European laboratory for experimentation and collaboration among the public sector, private sector and third sector.

Looking ahead, the Hub will be called upon to support organisations in navigating increasingly complex and strategic European programmes, while continuing to make European opportunities accessible also to small and medium-sized organisations. This challenge intersects with the new European programming cycle, the growing focus on impact measurement and the technological and social transformations that are reshaping the European landscape.

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