EU funded projects
EU funded projects
The Esade Center for Social Impact (ECSI) has built a track record in developing and delivering EU-funded collaborative projects over the past few years. Across impact measurement and management, impact investing, gender lens investing, impact entrepreneurship, social innovation and the circular economy, ECSI works with universities, practitioner networks, investors, social-purpose organisations and entrepreneurship ecosystem partners across Europe.
These collaborations turn shared challenges into applied research, learning programmes and practical resources that can be tested and used in real-world settings. ECSI contributes research, methodology design, teaching and ecosystem engagement, bringing the knowledge generated through each project into its wider work to advance a more just and sustainable economy.
ECSI welcomes opportunities to exchange knowledge and work with organisations seeking to strengthen social innovation, impact investing and entrepreneurship ecosystems across Europe through shared learning and collaboration.
Our EU-funded projects
Explore how ECSI and its European partners are developing knowledge, tools and learning programmes in response to complex social and environmental challenges.
I4IM: Impact Intelligence Infrastructure for the Impact Investing Market
European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) | 36-month project
I4IM addresses a persistent challenge in impact investing: fragmented and inconsistent impact data that is difficult to generate, compare and use. ECSI is working with Euclid Network, Impact Europe, Impact Tools, Kimso and Stone Soup Consulting to develop a cost-efficient, inclusive and scalable impact measurement and management solution. Building on an existing tool, the project aims to help social-purpose organisations and impact investors generate, exchange and apply impact data more effectively—supporting better decisions, stronger market transparency and more credible impact practice across the ecosystem.
Levelling the Playing Field: Key Levers to Mitigate Gender Bias in European Venture Capital
EIT Community Supernovas | Research and toolkit launched in November 2025
Women-led founding teams continue to receive only a small share of venture capital investment. ECSI worked with Equinox Equality Experts and six European VC firms to examine how gender bias enters sourcing, due diligence, pitching, decision-making and internal culture. The resulting study and Gender Bias Mitigation Tool set out five practical levers for change across awareness, leadership, team culture, investment processes and the wider ecosystem. Together, these resources help VC firms identify bias throughout the investment cycle and embed more equitable practices when evaluating and supporting founders.
Social X-Change
Erasmus+ | 2023–2025
Social X-Change connected social innovation and entrepreneurship centres to strengthen teaching and learning on social entrepreneurship across Europe. The consortium brought together Esade, ESSEC Business School, Munich Business School, TED University, Impact Hub and the European Center for Social Finance. Through cross-country research and knowledge exchange, the partners developed curricula and practical resources on impact measurement and management, impact investing, catalytic capital and frameworks for impact-related businesses. Outputs include Navigating Impact Measurement & Management, a practical handbook for social enterprises and the organisations that support them.
EXPAND: A Challenge-based Idea Accelerator and Toolbox
Erasmus+ | 2021 - 2023
EXPAND developed a replicable approach for accelerating ideas that address complex social challenges. Esade co-developed the methodology with ESSEC and piloted it through an MSc course focused on homelessness. Students combined ethnographic research, systems thinking, design thinking and social innovation tools to develop responses informed by real cases and local organisations. The project produced research on homelessness in Barcelona, Paris and Ghent, alongside a toolbox for higher education teaching staff to adapt the challenge-based accelerator methodology to other contexts and societal challenges.
0Waste
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) | 2021–2022 academic year
0Waste supported entrepreneurs developing business ideas to reduce waste and advance the circular economy in Barcelona’s B30 industrial area. Delivered by ECSI and eWorks as part of the CircularB30 project, the initiative comprised a hackathon, a pre-accelerator and a three-month accelerator. Participants received expert input, training and mentoring to develop their ideas and business models. The accelerator ran from June to September 2022 and concluded with a Demo Day, giving early-stage teams an opportunity to present their ventures to investors.
Frequently asked questions
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