To gain new knowledge and practical skills in developing and implementing innovative social services, specialists from municipal social services, NGO representatives, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders from the Vidzeme region took part in the Society Integration Foundation (SIF) training cycle “How to Create Social Innovations in the Field of Social Services?” held from late February to early April.
A total of 140 participants attended the five seminars in Vidzeme, giving the training content an overall rating of 8.8 out of 10. Participants praised the knowledge gained, lecturers’ expertise, and practical experience stories, highlighting the generation of new ideas and networking opportunities with industry peers as the main benefits.
“I’m very glad I took part! I gained confirmation of what I already knew and learned many new things. I’ve already submitted a project application, and after this training, I feel confident that I’ve written everything correctly. Meeting colleagues and gaining new ideas – that was the most valuable for me,”
shared Jolanta Kočāne, Head of Lubāna Social Care Centre.
The sessions were led by experienced experts from various fields:
Liesma Ose, communication and social work expert, lecturer at the University of Latvia;
Vita Brakovska, lecturer at Riga Technical University, head of the association Knowledge and Innovation Society, business coach;
Liene Kupča, innovation mentor and service design strategist;
Juris Osis, social service planning expert with extensive experience in the Riga City Municipality;
Una Lapskalna-Alksne, head of Ventspils Social Service.
To deepen understanding of social innovation and the specifics of the social service sector, the training cycle was enriched with three experience stories:
Anitra Šatrovska, head of the Camphill village “Rožkalni”, the only community in Latvia where people with intellectual disabilities live and work together with support staff in a certified organic farm;
Kaija Muceniece, head of Valmiera Municipality’s Department of Social Affairs, presented the most common challenges in the social field and the department’s work in solving them;
Inga Brente-Mieze, head of Vidzeme and Latgale social services at the Samaritan Association of Latvia, shared insights on implementing and scaling innovative social services.
“The seminar was valuable and inspiring — it helped me see the bigger picture and move forward with preparing our project application. I gained new contacts and ideas!”
said Agnese Gaidelione, head of the social enterprise Ieber.lv, after the first seminar “What Are Social Innovations?”.
“Very interesting! I’ll definitely apply the knowledge in my work managing a social care institution. Using new, previously unused methods, we’ll be able to improve our services in the future,”
shared Aivars Damroze, board member of Gatarta Service Agency, after the second seminar “How to Identify the Right Problem?”.
“This session gave me practical tools — the lecturer not only explained what to do but made us apply it, like modeling situations with LEGO blocks. Usually, we work with laws, regulations, and forms, but these practical tasks reminded us that the priority is the person. It’s essential for professionals like us to see this and bring it back to our leaders,”
said Ilze Fārneste, head of Madona Municipality Social Service, after the third seminar “How to Design Solutions Using the Social Innovation Approach?”.
Participants of the fourth seminar “Practical Steps in Developing Social Innovations” highlighted as main takeaways clarity, structure, specific recommendations, ideas, and confirmation of their existing views.
“I gained new insights into building cooperation and generating ideas, and the contacts with industry colleagues are extremely valuable,”
shared Jana Beķere, deputy head of Limbaži Municipality Social Service, after the fifth seminar “Sustainability in Social Innovation and Cross-Sector Cooperation.”
The training cycle “How to Create Social Innovations in the Field of Social Services?” consisted of five thematically linked seminars:
1️⃣ Introduction to Social Innovations – key concepts and understanding community-based services;
2️⃣ & 3️⃣ Identifying and Defining Problems – distinguishing causes from effects and designing innovative solutions;
4️⃣ Practical Development Steps – focusing on Latvia’s system and legal framework;
5️⃣ Sustainability and Cross-Sector Cooperation – covering social impact, scalability, and partnerships.
SIF is organizing these training cycles in all regions of Latvia. They have already concluded in Kurzeme, Riga, Vidzeme, and Zemgale, while Latgale continues with its final sessions.
More information is available [HERE].
SIF sincerely thanks all Vidzeme participants for their time, energy, involvement, and commitment to developing social innovations in Latvia!
The training cycle “How to Create Social Innovations in the Field of Social Services?” is part of the ESF+ project “Support for New Approaches in the Provision of Community-Based Social Services”, implemented by the Society Integration Foundation to promote social innovation and ensure the development of modern, needs-based, community-oriented services.
This information was prepared by the Society Integration Foundation within the ESF+ co-financed project No. 4.4.1.1./1/24/I/001 “Support for New Approaches in the Provision of Community-Based Social Services.”
The Society Integration Foundation is responsible for the content of this information.
📸 Photo gallery: https://www.sif.gov.lv/lv/galerija/ari-vidzemnieki-apguvusi-zinasanas-par-inovativu-socialo-pakalpojumu-radisanu
