MedTOWN is a social innovation initiative, which aims to strengthen the role of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) in the co-production of public goods with local networks and communities, through research and experimentation. Co-production seeks to empower people to achieve well-being outcomes at an individual and service level by involving them in the design and operation of services. MedTOWN embraces the use of social innovations like complementary currencies and promotes the role of social enterprises, co-operatives, user-led services and other forms of SSE as types of organisations that lend themselves well to applying co-production principles because they are often democratic membership organisations.

The event aims to maximise synergies between ENI CBC MED SSE-focused innovative projects and establish common reference parameters to evaluate the challenges and the limits of social experimentation and to offer a space of critical reflections and debates.

The Seminar will focus on knowledge acquired by social innovation projects with the capacity to transform the way in which the public administration and SSE entities relate to each other. It will take a twofold approach: Showing how social experimentation and innovation can affect public policies in fighting poverty, inequality and social exclusion; and exploring the limits of regulatory framework to for the development of social innovation projects in the Mediterranean with the support of SSE entities.