The IA4SI methodology enables CAPs projects to analyse their impacts, improve their sustainability and have feedback from potential users. In fact, IA4SI engages its own users (CAPS projects) in the development of such a methodology and engage projects’ users and EU citizens in the assessment of an awareness platform for sustainability and social innovation.
IA4SI helps projects and the European Commission to understand how the performed R&D activities and the technologies developed are able to respond to societal and economic needs. Moreover, IA4SI, through ad hoc coordination activities, improves the collaboration between researchers, in order to effectively reduce the existing barriers in Europe, develop a commn research roadmap and spread the full uptake of research results.
IA4SI also specialise the definition of socio-economic impacts and research results in practical settings for sustainability and social innovation, in order to identify whether the services developed are addressing the expected social impacts and develop efficient social innovation models, coherently with the Horizon 2020 strategy. Hence, the methodology develops a composite assessment model focusing on the value of projects’ research outputs as social and economic inputs to increase the value for the EU society as a whole.
The IA4SI approach is based on a quali-quantitative model that links the assessment of technological innovation for social innovation and sustainability to the exploitation of practices pursued by researchers and users, understanding of how innovation is managed into different social, economic and cultural contexts. IA4SI develops policy recommendations and a research road map with the aim of:
- Supporting the uptake and implementation of social innovation initiatives at various spatial levels and in various areas of society in Europe.
- Fostering the use of social, environmental, economic and political impact assessment methodology by projects in the upcoming framework programme Horizon 2020.
- Highlighting research questions in the field of awareness platform for sustainability and social innovation, for supporting an easier uptake of social innovation initiatives at local, regional, national and European level, both by citizens as well as by policy makers.
- Integrating various approaches emerging in the area to solve significant societal challenges.
