Working in the field of social services requires us to think and act creatively to provide good quality of services to the people who need it. Often, due to limited resources, we need to think out of the box to make things happen. To recognise and applaud practices that have been innovative, we are launching the 3rd edition of the EASPD Innovation Awards. This year we are on a look out for practices in the field of social innovation. 

Each practice that is submitted will be assessed by a jury for its innovativeness and the extent to which it promotes the implementation of the UN CRPD. 5 promising practices will be selected and showcased during the EASPD International conference on Social Innovation in Helsinki, Finland on 12-13 October 2023. 

To apply click here. 

To be eligible for the award your practice needs to:

• Be provided by a service provider. All types of support services can apply: education; employment; care; or support services, etc.
• An innovative practice, meaning that the practice needs to be: (i) innovative; (ii) human rights-based; (iii) effective.
• Demonstrate that its use has a direct/indirect impact on the quality of services for persons with disabilities.
• Demonstrate that its use meets the criteria related to the theme of the October conference, "Social Innovation":
  • personhood (autonomy), choice and control
  • community and social inclusion

Please find more information on the eligibility criteria on the application form.

Selection process:

• Applications can be submitted until 1st July 2023.
• All submissions will be evaluated in a multi-step process involving peer review and voting.
• A jury will be appointed and will include experts, DPO representatives, members and academics specialising in the topic.
• The jury will assess the proposals against the eligibility criteria (mentioned above) and, on the basis of an evaluation grid, will score each criterion of each practice on a scale of 1 to 5.
• The 5 proposals which have received the higher percentage between most of the evaluators will be selected to be featured in the conference.
• Please note that a geographical balance will also be considered, once EASPD has received the rating of the jury.

Prize:

• The 5 winners will receive an award during the Conference and will receive a travel grant of up to €700 for participating to EASPD Helsinki Conference on Social Innovation on 12-13 October 2023. 
• They will receive an award during the Conference.
• They will have the opportunity to have a stand during the conference to promote their organisation.
• They will be promoted across all EASPD communication channels.