We have accredited the new manufacturing laboratories (FabLabs) of the 10 entities throughout Catalonia that have joined the Rehab-Lab network

On Friday, July 4th, the First Annual Meeting of the Rehab-Lab network took place at the Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.

What is the Rehab-Lab network? 

The Rehab-Lab network is an initiative that enables the creation of personalized functional aids for people with disabilities or dependents through 3D printing.

Rehab-Lab is the result of a project led by the iSocial Foundation and supported by four other entities: the Ampans Foundation, the Guttman Institute, CIM-UPC, and Avinent Group. This project has allowed the Rehab-Lab model, promoted in France by the Mutualist Center for Rehabilitation and Functional Rehabilitation (CMRRF), to be adapted to Catalonia. The project has been co-financed by the Department of Social Rights of the Generalitat of Catalonia through the European Next Generation Fund.

New entities of the Rehab-Lab Network

During this first Rehab-Lab event, we welcomed and formally accredited the following ten entities as new manufacturing laboratories (FabLabs) to the network: Alba Association; MIFAS Group; Aspace Catalunya Foundation; ASPID Association; Esclat Social Group; El Maresme Foundation; Àuria Foundation; Onada Foundation; Althaia, Manresa University Healthcare Network, and Ramon Noguera Foundation. These entities join the two FabLabs that were previously part of the network (Guttmann Institute and Ampans Foundation). These new additions expand the Rehab-Lab network’s capacity to create customized solutions and serve people throughout the country.

The meeting, opened by Víctor Cid of the CIM-UPC Foundation, featured an introduction by representatives of the Kerpape CMRRF, the founding organization of the European Rehab-Lab community. The results obtained over the past few months were also presented, as well as the most outstanding solutions created by the nine FabLabs. Attendees were able to vote for the best functional aids created during the training period in three different categories: innovation, technical complexity, and social impact.

A process of co-creation

Functional aids are low-cost, quickly manufactured, custom plastic devices created through a co-creation process with the beneficiary. These solutions address specific daily needs of people with disabilities, enhancing their autonomy and improving their quality of life.

During the training months leading up to their accreditation as FabLabs, the new network entities had the opportunity to explore this design methodology and develop new proposals for functional aids, which they presented during Friday’s event. After the presentations, the audience selected the most outstanding aids in various categories. The winning proposals were:

• Most innovative functional aid: The Domino Stand, from the Onada Foundation. A stand that uses 32 articulated pieces to hold and play dominoes independently.

• Most complex functional aid: Feedycare, from the Maresme Foundation. An automated system that facilitates PEG tube feeding, making it more convenient for both professionals and family members, as well as for the user, who can activate it themselves using a switch or a computer and share the meal with the family.

• Most impactful functional aid: Ceramic hob guide plate, from the Àuria Group. A tactile surface that allows blind people to use a ceramic hob safely and independently..

The day concluded with a presentation by Toni Codina, director of the iSocial Foundation, who expressed his commitment to continue working together to consolidate and expand the Rehab-Lab network.

Applications for this award, co-organized by iSocial and GrausTIC, can be submitted until October 17

Since June 4, the call for the new edition of the Digital Innovation Awards of Catalonia 2025 – GrausTIC has been open. These awards recognize outstanding initiatives for their ability to innovate through information and communication technologies (ICT) and their transformative impact on Catalan society. Once again, the iSocial Foundation is co-organizing and sponsoring the Award for Social Integration through Digitalization.

The Award for Social Integration through Digitalization is aimed at companies, organizations, or institutions that, over the past year, have embraced digital innovation to promote social inclusion—either by making their projects accessible to everyone or by creating technological tools that support vulnerable groups. The goal of the award is to highlight initiatives that, through technology, have a direct impact on people’s lives, especially those of individuals in vulnerable situations.

The call will remain open until October 17, 2025, and the awards ceremony will take place during the “Diada de les TIC” (ICT Day) in Catalonia, scheduled for November 12 and 13 at the Telefónica Tower in Barcelona.

With this fourth edition of the award, we aim to continue contributing to a digital transformation with a positive social impact, centered on people and driven by a commitment to inclusion. We encourage all initiatives working along these lines to submit their applications!

In addition to the social integration award, the Digital Innovation Awards of Catalonia also recognize outstanding projects in other areas such as energy management and sustainability, health innovation, the digital transformation of local government, youth digital entrepreneurship, Industry 4.0, and female leadership in the ICT sector. This year, a new category has been added to recognize university-based projects focused on digital technologies. A broad range of awards designed to showcase how digital innovation is transforming various sectors and improving society as a whole.

Check the rules and submit your project here:

The iSocial Foundation has joined the cooperative Fiare Banca Etica as a member, within the framework of an agreement that also includes a line of credit to finance iSocial’s projects and the sponsorship of several of our foundation’s publications.

After several years of growing collaboration with Fiare Banca Ètica, the iSocial Foundation has signed an agreement to establish a stronger alliance with this cooperative ethical finance entity, which operates in both Spain and Italy. The agreement includes, among other aspects, iSocial’s membership in the cooperative bank, the creation of a €400,000 line of credit to support iSocial’s projects, and the sponsorship of several of the foundation’s publications.

The line of credit will enable iSocial to carry out its projects while awaiting the disbursement of already-approved public grants. This measure brings stability to the Foundation’s day-to-day operations and strengthens a model of sustained growth aligned with social responsibility principles.

In parallel, Fiare Banca Etica will sponsor two Professional Guides on Innovation in Social Action this year, which will be published in the coming months. These Professional Guides are a series of publications promoted by iSocial and aimed at social services professionals, offering information and practical resources to help incorporate innovative approaches into their daily work. Fiare’s support will give a boost to the second and third guides in the series: “Opening Doors to Inclusion”, focused on social inclusion methodologies, and “Measuring Social Impact”, which will offer a practical methodology to evaluate the outcomes of social interventions.

Fiare Banca Etica is a cooperative financial institution born from the merger of Fiare (Spain, 2005) and Banca Popolare Etica (Italy, 1999), with the aim of putting finance at the service of social transformation. The bank has more than 46,000 individual and organizational members and is governed by a democratic model based on the principle of “one person, one vote.”

Its financing activities prioritize projects related to social inclusion, the social and solidarity economy, agroecology, education, and culture, among other areas. The agreement represents a step forward in building synergies between organizations working toward more just social and economic models, through initiatives that promote innovation, sustainability, and the transformation of care services.

The visits to organisations and facilities in Helsinki and Espoo allowed us to gain closer insight into some pioneering initiatives in one of the countries with the most advanced social infrastructure.

From June 2nd to 6th, the iSocial Foundation organised a new edition of Innotrip, the annual learning journey it promotes with its member organisations to explore international best practices in the social sector. This year’s destination was Helsinki, with the aim of discovering innovative experiences currently being developed in Finland — a leading country in the implementation of the welfare state.

The trip offered a valuable opportunity to observe and reflect on advanced care models through visits to municipal services, social organisations and community initiatives that tackle key challenges such as poverty, disability, homelessness, mental health, and digital inclusion.

A focus on integrated, person-centred care

he first day of visits took us to resources such as the Roihuvuori Senior Centre and Kallio Perhekeskus, which focus on supporting older adults and families through an integrated and preventative approach. We also explored municipal services aimed at mental health and youth at risk, as well as initiatives for caregiver training and peer support.

One of the key takeaways from this first encounter with the Finnish social model was becoming familiar with its strong commitment to collaboration among stakeholders and to the active involvement of citizens in community-based care.

Mentorship, participation, and social impact evaluation

LOn the second day, we discovered projects like Icehearts, which offers long-term mentoring through sports and education, and Vamos! by the Diaconia Foundation, which supports vulnerable youth. During this visit, we also learned about the use of social impact bonds — a tool to activate social projects more efficiently and quickly, involving private companies in the promotion of social wellbeing.

On the other hand, the City of Helsinki presented the Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT) system to us, which integrates service users’ feedback to improve care quality. We also got to know Pokka, a platform developed by the organisation Kukunori, which is used by over 100 entities to evaluate the impact of social projects.

Housing, self-determination, and child protection

On the third day, we visited organisations such as Y-Säätiö, a key promoter of the Housing First model in Finland, and Tukena, which advocates for self-directed support for people with disabilities. We also explored Rinnekodit, a residential facility located in a natural setting for individuals with high support needs, and the Barnahus model for integrated child protection services — currently being rolled out in Catalonia — giving us a valuable international reference for this system.

These experiences provided tools to rethink how we can ensure dignity and autonomy for people in vulnerable situations, while promoting community-based approaches and respect for individual rights.

Deinstitutionalisation and digital inclusion

The final day introduced us to two initiatives addressing access to community life and basic rights from different angles. On one hand, Kehitysvammaliitto (the Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) presented its work in the deinstitutionalisation process and the implementation of peer support networks. Through Peer Support Groups, people with disabilities share knowledge and experiences, strengthening both their autonomy and collective advocacy capacity.

On the other hand, the DigiUp programme, — led by the Moniheli network — works to reduce the digital divide among migrant populations. It trains digital facilitators — both volunteers and professionals — who offer guidance in basic digital skills, such as safe device usage and access to digital services. Both initiatives contribute to enabling more inclusive and equitable participation in social life.

A shared experience with collective impact

This journey was a unique opportunity to discover inspiring initiatives, identify shared challenges, and explore alternative approaches that can help strengthen social services in our own context. The time spent together over these five days of Innotrip and the chance to learn from some of Finland’s most innovative social projects also fostered meaningful dialogue and collective learning among participating organisations — exchanges that will continue well beyond the trip.

We at the iSocial Foundation would like to thank all the participating organisations for their active engagement and interest: ABD, AMPANS, Fundació Família i Benestar Social, Fundació Joia, Fundació Catalana Síndrome de Down, Fundació Resilis, Pere Claver Grup, Fundació Idea, Fundació El Maresme, FAFAC, Agintzari, REIR, Som Alba, Intress, Fundació Hàbitat3, Grup ATRA, Grupo SSI, Som Fundació, Fundació Aspace Catalunya, Grup MIFAS.
We are also deeply grateful to all the Finnish organisations that welcomed us and generously shared their knowledge and experience.

The Social Innovation Chair of the UdL evaluates the Vincles project in Erill la Vall

Last Thursday, March 27, the team from the Social Innovation Chair of the University of Lleida (UdL) began the evaluation of the Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran project in Eril la Vall, taking advantage of one of the activities promoted within the framework of the project: the monthly traditional cooking workshop. The Vincles project, coordinated by the iSocial Foundation, aims to detect and intervene early against unwanted loneliness in people over 65 years old, and is active in several municipalities in the Alt Pirineu and Aran territory, including the municipality of Eril de Vall.

Vincles combines the use of technology with community activation, which, through activities such as this cooking workshop, seeks to create community and socialization spaces to improve the quality of life of older people. From a technological standpoint, the project uses Big Data technology to identify and classify the risk of loneliness in individuals, allowing for more precise and effective community intervention.

The University of Lleida is one of the project’s partners, and the involvement of its Social Innovation Chair is key to ensuring the measurability and reproducibility of the results achieved in the implementation of Vincles. During the evaluation carried out in Eril de Vall, the research team, which is currently in the first phase of qualitative analysis, organized several focus groups with the workshop participants to gather information on how the project has impacted their perception and experience of loneliness. This methodology has allowed them to collect data on the participants’ satisfaction with the actions and initiatives developed within the project framework.

The evaluation process will continue in the current weeks with new visits to other areas of the project, such as Cerdanya, Val d’Aran and Alt Urgell, to continue expanding the collection of data and analyzing the effectiveness of the interventions. The Vincles project, in which the Regional Councils and Municipalities of the Alt Pirineu-Aran also participate, in addition to the entities ABD, Alba Jussà and Integra Pirineus, is supported by the Diputació de Lleida, the Fundació La Caixa and the Generalitat de Catalunya through the Next Generation funds.

The Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran Project is now active in over twenty municipalities and has 171 community agents

The Minister of Social Rights, Mònica Martínez Bravo, visited the “Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran” project in Sort—an initiative aimed at tackling unwanted loneliness in the Alt Pirineu and Val d’Aran through community intervention, technology, and citizen involvement. The visit was also attended by the President of the Pallars Sobirà County Council, Carlos L. Isus Castellarnau; the Mayor of Sort, Baldo Farré; the Public Health Deputy of the Lleida Provincial Council, Òscar Martínez; the County Director of Social Services, Adriana Vidal; and the Director of the iSocial Foundation, Toni Codina.

During her visit, the Minister learned firsthand about the program’s operations. Since 2023, Vincles has been established in over twenty municipalities across the Catalan Pyrenees. The project introduces a more proactive approach to addressing unwanted loneliness, leveraging Big Data technology for early detection of social isolation in people over 55 and activating local networks and citizen participation to intervene and provide support in identified cases.

Following the project presentation, Vincles representatives and the Minister visited a local business involved in the program, where they spoke with the project’s community activator in Pallars Sobirà, social worker Elena Santos, as well as two community agents (local business professionals who voluntarily participate in the project to identify potential cases of unwanted loneliness) and two elderly beneficiaries. This exchange provided valuable insight into the work of Vincles and the positive impact it is having in the region.

Positive Impact of the Project

Since its launch, Vincles has achieved significant results: it currently has 54 social and healthcare professionals working across the six Pyrenean counties, along with 171 trained community agents who help identify and address cases of unwanted loneliness in towns and villages. Additionally, 47 social awareness training sessions have been conducted to improve detection, and 209 community activities have been organized for beneficiaries, including workshops, participatory processes, and talks.

The project, led by the iSocial Foundation and funded through Next Generation funds from the Department of Social Rights of the Government of Catalonia, has become an innovative solution and a benchmark in Catalonia and Europe in this field.

The meeting provided an opportunity to share the work done so far and to coordinate the promotion and management of Soliguia, an online social services search engine.

On March 18 and 19, the iSocial team attended an international meeting of the Solidigital project in Toulouse, where the seven partner organizations of the project came together. The goal of the meeting was to finalize the details for the launch of Soliguia, an open-access online search engine for social services that will soon be available in Catalonia and Andorra.

During the meeting, we validated the joint dissemination strategy for the project and discussed technological aspects related to integrating Soliguia with our Nidus app and the French app Coffre-Fort Numérique by Reconnect.

Solidigital is a European project co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg POCTEFA program. Its objective is to create a comprehensive database of social services and facilities across Catalonia and Andorra, ensuring that the data is verified and up-to-date, and making this information accessible to both the general public and professionals. Soliguia will provide access to this information through an online search engine, where resources will be listed based on proximity and will include key practical details such as operating hours, risk of saturation, and the target audience for each service.

Soliguia is based on the model of its French counterpart, Soliguide, a tool that already facilitates nearly 3.5 million searches per year. As part of the project, Soliguide will also be expanded to the French departments of Occitanie.

We at iSocial would like to thank Solinum and Reconnect, the French partners of the project, for their warm welcome in Toulouse, as well as our Catalan and Andorran partners—Associació Alba, Fundació Resilis, Grup Pere Claver, and Fundació Andorra Recerca i Innovació—for their contributions and all their hard work. Their efforts will help make Soliguia an efficient and accessible tool, fully integrated into the social services ecosystem.