The Croatian NCC is being established as part of the SEED2SCALE project, funded by the European Social Fund. Its purpose is to function as a central hub for knowledge, resources, and collaborative efforts to address social challenges through innovative solutions and to foster a structured, sustainable, and scalable social innovation ecosystem in Croatia.

Aligned with EU frameworks like the Social Economy Action Plan (SEAP), social innovation refers to novel solutions to societal problems that are effective, socially scalable, and sustainable. These include new ways of producing goods, organizing and delivering services, or new forms of civic participation, aiming to create new social relationships and potentially leading to systemic changes.

The NCC seeks to overcome key obstacles in the Croatian social innovation ecosystem, such as youth unemployment, rural depopulation, and social exclusion. It also addresses the lack of a clear regulatory framework for social innovation, limited access to appropriate financial instruments, fragmentation among stakeholders, and insufficient capacity for measuring social impact.

Croatia’s social innovation ecosystem boasts diverse stakeholders and active support organizations and educational programs at universities. Strengths include successful grassroots initiatives, growing digital innovation, and access to EU funds (ESF+, InvestEU, Horizon Europe). However, challenges persist: lack of formal recognition and a clear regulatory framework, a fragmented ecosystem, limited knowledge/capacities, and financial barriers including difficult investor access and unsuitable instruments.

The National Competence Centre (NCC) aims for financial sustainability through diversified funding from EU funds (ESF+, InvestEU, Horizon Europe) and national support. Plans include establishing a National Fund for social innovations, developing micro-financing programs and fiscal incentives for investors. The NCC will facilitate access to EU calls and broker partnerships with investors. It also emphasizes capacity building and preparing project proposals.

The NCC will focus on four key target groups: youth, public sector institutions, the business sector (including both impact enterprises and mainstream/tech enterprises), and actors from the social economy (like social enterprises). Each group has distinct needs for capacity-building, financial support, and networking.

The NCC will serve as a national coordination hub, fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders. It will support the development of a clear legal and regulatory framework, improve access to finance, and build capacity through training, mentoring, and knowledge sharing. It will also promote data and research-informed practices and strengthen social impact measurement to scale effective innovations.