The Foundation
iSocial is a foundation created in 2018 on the initiative of various third-sector social organisations with the aim of promoting innovation in the social services sector and thus contributing to its transformation and modernisation.
We currently have 16 member social organisations from Catalonia and the Basque Country.
At iSocial we are driven by the conviction that the social action sector needs to innovate in order to continue to guarantee its transformative impact on society and on the most vulnerable people and communities; that it needs to invest in knowledge to review the validity of the concepts that underpin its actions; and that it needs to equip itself with tools, procedures, new models and new professional practices to respond to the social challenges of the present and anticipate those of the future.
To make this possible, the iSocial Foundation acts as a bridge between the fields of knowledge and action, generating alliances between the third sector, administrations, universities and companies.
Our focus
At iSocial we want to transform a social care model that cannot lag behind what human rights standards and our society demand today, and which must respond to changes in the environment. For all these reasons, the innovation we want to achieve is oriented towards these four objectives:
- Transforming intervention models: Right of choice, personalisation, connection with the community, participation, preventive intervention, self-management, empowerment, global vision and action on all areas of the person…
- Transforming intervention tools: digitalisation, information systems, apps and cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, predictive and preventive instruments, self-management solutions, 3D printing, immersive technology, sensorisation, robotics…
- Transforming professional roles: In a model in which social services become facilitators and promoters of the deployment of people’s abilities and skills, the role of social action professionals takes on new forms whose aim is to accompany rather than attend.
- Transforming the system: De-institutionalisation, community-based support, independent living systems, integrated care services, inclusive cities, fully accessible environments, relational governance, proximity care…
Methodology
At iSocial we innovate based on co-creation, participation and commitment, with the involvement of all stakeholders: users, professionals, decision-makers, regulators, service providers… which, step by step, allows us to achieve innovative projects.
We boost and accelerate innovation because we generate an ecosystem of people and organisations prone to innovation, because we favour hybridisation between fields and systems that are not very connected, because we strengthen networks for the exchange of local and global experiences, because we deepen joint work with the world of research and knowledge, because we enhance the recognition and self-esteem of professionals in the sector, and because we encourage co-production with the users of the services.
Activities
Our actions and projects are articulated around three areas of activity:
Member organisations
The iSocial Foundation has 16 member social organisations in Catalonia and the Basque Country. All of them have a long history and prestige in the social services sector and are characterised by their constant effort for innovation and continuous improvement.
Stakeholders
Public and private organizations that contribute to making the activity of the foundation possible.
Transparency
By-laws, reports, financial and miscellaneous reports and other basic iSocial documentation.
