_{© Ronize Cruz}

Since 1 December 2024, and for 3 years, the Centre for Social Studies (CES), in direct partnership with the University of Coimbra (UC) and the Faculty of Economics of the UC (FEUC), is coordinating the ISII Social Research and Innovation Incubator project, within the scope of the Portugal Social Innovation (PT 2030) initiative, under the “Centres for Impact Entrepreneurship” Call.

The ISII Social Research and Innovation Incubator aims to be an infrastructure for citizens, social and solidarity economy organisations and academic and scientific communities in the fields of social sciences, humanities and the arts, which aims to promote the link between social innovation, research and teaching/pedagogical practice geared towards solving social and societal problems. It is based on creating a space for CO-LEARNING (between research and pedagogy), CO-INCUBATION (interaction between knowledge and between academia and communities) and CO-AMPLIFICATION (networking and replicability of the ISII model).

This Incubator will apply a set of intervention methodologies and approaches, organised in an articulated, complementary and horizontal manner, making it possible to boost impact entrepreneurship at the intersection between academic contexts and the social realities of the Coimbra and Cantanhede territories.

This is an experimental project that will develop an academic and scientific incubation model for social innovation that not only promotes the incubation of innovative projects but also tests and disseminates this same intervention model.

This project is led by researcher Cláudia Pato de Carvalho, from the Centre for Social Studies. The team includes Pro-Rector Gabriela Fernandes (UC), lecturer Sílvia Ferreira (FEUC), researcher Beatriz Caitana da Silva (CES) and Volunteering and Social Innovation Manager Filipa Lima (Student Hub UC).

This project brings together a vast network of national (CASES - Cooperativa António Sérgio para a Economia Social, CNIS - Confederação Nacional das Instituições de Solidariedade, EAPN - Rede Europeia Anti-Pobreza Portugal, CONFECOOP - Confederação Cooperativa Portuguesa, Akto - Direitos Humanos e Democracia, Jazz ao Centro Clube, Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa Delegação de Coimbra and Cáritas Diocesana de Coimbra) and international (ERBS - the incubator of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands; Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Solution Space, South Africa; Incubadora de Empreendimentos Económicos Solidários da Universidade Estadual de Maringá - IEES/CAU/UEM, Brazil and Tecsol - Incubadora de Economia Solidária da UTFPR, Curitiba, Brazil).

ISII has the social co-investors Coimbra City Council, Cantanhede City Council and Crioestaminal.

It also has the scientific patronage of the Maria Antónia Revelation Prize, through researcher Maria Nunes Pereira, who received this prize in 2023.