SOCIAL INNOVATION – SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION TO TACKLE ENERGY POVERTY IN URBAN AREA

Abstract

Innovation is about “new ideas” and social innovation is any activity, law, software, internal procedure, which is implemented for bringing added value into specific area and without those actions, couldn’t be possible to have better outcomes. A decision which is taken by the local authorities and it is improving the welfare it is also a social innovation. Often there is a confusion between “doing my job” and “social innovation”. In public administration there is a real need for social innovation, any good project could be a real social innovation if it brings added value. The paper presents a pilot project, with a target of 35-50 private houses selected in order to create a heterogeneous project with different type of buildings, from different geographic areas from District 1, from different years of construction, with a low level of income for each building, under 1000 euro/units. This last criterion has the roll to sustain and to tackle energy poverty. In terms of novelty, this represents a new approach in Romania, through the project we intend to test and to develop the sustainable and efficient technical solutions.