About us

Vision, mission, values of the European Social Fund Agency

Our mission is to be a partner in delivering targeted and meaningful investment in people.

We fulfil our mission as:

• Laboratory for New Solutions and Good Practices (LAB)
  – Development of good practices, testing, application, dissemination of social innovations;
  – Measurement of the impact of implemented social innovations, evaluation, validated according to the social innovation criteria
• HUB
  – Network of experts
  – Platform of data and information, knowledge, models, tools, examples, practices available
• Partnership (TEAM)
  – A platform for peer-to-peer learning, capacity building and collaboration, enhancing
  competences
  – Synergies between public sector, business, NGOs, academia to shape change, bottom-up

Our vision is to create a more inclusive, conscious and sustainable world through social innovation.

The Agency aims to create supportive social innovation ecosystems across the EU that:

• accelerate the transfer and development of social innovations, in particular in employment and labour mobility, education, social inclusion, including contributing to the eradication of poverty, and thus to a more socially responsible and inclusive Europe, through the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the promotion of the European Green Deal and the adaptation of Europe
  to the digital future;
• Adopt evidence-based policies and strategies for societal progress and well-being that overcome current gaps and meet future needs;
• involve and mobilise Europe’s citizens in shaping their own living and working conditions,
  thus taking responsibility for social change and reform (“bottom-up”);
• help address the effects of the pandemic, the economic and
  social damage caused by the Russo-Ukrainian war, and rebuild a fairer, more inclusive, conscious and sustainable economy and
  society.

To achieve our objectives, we are guided by Esfa’s operational policy and uphold the following values:

The European Social Fund Agency is a public non-profit-making legal entity with limited civil liability, established in 2002. 22 August The ESFA is founded by the State, represented by the Ministries of Social Security and Labour and Education, Science and Sport, which act as ESFA shareholders.

Last modified: 2025-01-27