On July 5th, the CATÓLICA-LISBON Yunus Social Innovation Center (YSIC) organized a relevant event discussing social innovation and business strategies, titled IMPACT FRONTIERS: Social Innovation and Business Strategies.

Dedicated to promoting social entrepreneurship and aiming to empower individuals and organizations to create positive social impact, the CATÓLICA-LISBON Yunus Social Innovation Center facilitates access to researchers and specialists and promotes the integration of academic knowledge with social innovation practices.

Founded nearly two years ago, in partnership with the Santander Portugal Foundation, Galp, and CATÓLICA-LISBON, this event also aimed to review the activities of the YSIC and share future projects.

Filipe Santos, Dean of CATÓLICA-LISBON, opened the IMPACT FRONTIERS: Social Innovation and Business Strategies event by posing questions to the audience: “How does social innovation intersect with social strategies? Given the current state of the world, who holds the responsibility and capability to act, and what approach should we take?”

In a time when technological evolution is apparent to all, the pressing question is, “Despite having a society where knowledge is so widely shared, distributed, and accessible, what is failing?”

Pragmatism was the word of the day, as the practical approach to problem-solving, Filipe Santos stated, “It’s not about thinking and reflecting, not withdrawing and getting scared. It's about facing situations and addressing them in the most actionable, clear, and direct way possible. In a way, pragmatism believes that the world is changing” and this is the focus of the YSIC, always looking towards the future.

Frederico Fezas Vital, Executive Director at YSIC, recalled the evolution of the Yunus Social Innovation Center based on the maxim “N'allez pas trop vite” asserting that a calm approach leads to more precise and excellent progress. Frederico Fezas Vital also presented the three strategic pillars supporting the YSIC: empowering social entrepreneurs; enabling and accelerating corporate social innovation; and catalyzing systemic changes.

In an overview of the last 20 months, Frederico Fezas Vital reported that a total of 781 students had engaged with the Yunus Social Innovation Center through learning experiences, 3 Case Studies, and 20 engagement activities with communities and businesses. The Executive Director of YSIC also announced the opening of registrations for the Executive Master's in Impact and Sustainability Management, taught by Filipe Santos, to “place the theme of sustainability at the strategic center of business decisions.”

João Cotter Salvado from the Scientific Committee at YSIC and Professor of Entrepreneurship moderated the roundtable discussion alongside David Berners, Global Director of Strategy & Investor Relations at Yunus Social Business; Mariana Brilhante, Co-founder at D&I Journey; and Gustavo Barreto, Chief Commercial Officer at AGEAS, who provided valuable insights on how companies can integrate social innovation practices into their business strategies.

The roundtable discussion was enriched by inputs from Filipa Lancastre, a member of the Scientific Committee, as well as Carlos Azevedo, Marta Coutinho, and Inês Lagoutte from the Research Team, who shared their analyses of business models for social innovation, further enhancing the debate by discussing the knowledge production projects the Center has undertaken.

Filipe Almeida, President of the Portugal Social Innovation Mission Structure 2030, addressed the “Next Steps” for Social Innovation in Europe. Filipe Almeida emphasized the journey of Portugal Social Innovation, discussing the past, present, and future, beginning with a tribute to Filipe Santos, Dean of CATÓLICA-LISBON and former President of Portugal Social Innovation, described as a crucial part of “a positive astral combination of wills and visionary people.”

Filipe Almeida highlighted four strategic priorities for the future of Portugal Social Innovation: Simplification; Impact Assessment; Public Policies, stressing the importance of aligning the program with public policies to improve results; and Internationalization, underscoring the need to connect with the European and international ecosystem.

The event concluded with a cocktail reception for networking and synergy creation.