Kick-Off meeting of the European SONYA Project

Last summer, as part of Horizon Europe, the European funding programme dedicated to research and innovation for the period 2021-2027, the consortium led by Rennes School of Business was awarded the maximum European grant (3 million euros) for the SONYA project. Rennes SB thus became the first French business school to lead a Horizon consortium. All the partners met last month at the school’s premises in Rennes for the official launch of this major project.

The kick-off meeting of the SONYA project took place from November 18 to 20, 2024, marking the official launch of this financed European initiative. SONYA addresses critical challenges in social elderly care, aiming to empower Social Economy organisations (SEs) to foster innovation, improve working conditions, and create sustainable, inclusive services, particularly in rural areas.

With an aging population across the EU, the demand for quality elderly care has surged. However, Social Economy organisations face significant hurdles, including complex legal frameworks, gender imbalances, and limited access to resources in rural regions. SONYA seeks to transform these challenges into opportunities by enhancing the capacity of SEs to retain and attract social care workers, develop community initiatives, and implement participatory networks.

The SONYA project will:

• Empower SEs to lead social and environmental community initiatives by enhancing their organiational capacities.
• Scientifically measure the impact of social elderly care services using sustainability, inclusivity, and efficiency indicators.
• Inform better legal and policy frameworks to support SE participation in public and private networks.

SONYA will create scalable frameworks, tools, and recommendations to improve ecosystem conditions, aiming to revitalise rural areas and deliver inclusive high-quality social care services.

The SONYA consortium brings together a diverse group of European academic institutions and practitioners, led by Rennes School of Business in France.

Key partners include :

• Universitat Jaume I de Castellón in Spain,
• l’Università degli Studi di Firenze in Italy,
• The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,
• la Fundación de la Comunitat Valenciana El Olmo en Espagne,
• Federazione Trentina della Cooperazione in Italy,
• Sdruzhenie Aktivno Obshtestvo in Bulgaria, and
• Zabala Innovation in Spain.

Associated partner:

• Deakin University en Australia

The European Union funds the SONYA project. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA).

This initiative signals an important step forward in addressing the EU’s urgent need for innovative, inclusive, and sustainable approaches to elderly care.