The ESIRA project is grounded in three interrelated key concepts that shape its overall approach and implementation logic. Social Economy, Social Innovation and Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs) provide the conceptual and operational framework through which ESIRA addresses rural challenges. Together, these concepts define how social and economic value is created, how innovative solutions emerge, and how diverse stakeholders collaborate to foster inclusive and sustainable rural development

“The social economy covers entities sharing the following main common principles and features: the primacy of people as well as social and/or environmental purpose over profit, the reinvestment of most of the profits and surpluses to carry out activities in the interest of members/users (“collective interest”) or society at large (“general interest”) and democratic and/or participatory governance. Traditionally, the term social economy refers to four main types of entities providing goods and services to their members or society at large: cooperatives, mutual benefit societies, associations (including charities), and foundations. They are private entities, independent of public authorities and with specific legal forms. Social enterprises are now generally understood as part of the social economy. Social enterprises operate by providing goods and services for the market in an entrepreneurial and often innovative fashion, having social and/or environmental objectives as the reason for their commercial activity. Profits are mainly reinvested with a view to achieving their societal objective. Their method of organisation and ownership also follow democratic or participatory principles or focus on social progress. Social enterprises adopt a variety of legal forms depending on the national context” (European Commission, 2021).

Social innovation refers to a process of social change associated with the capacity to create novel solutions to unmet social needs and enable new forms of collective action (Sforzi et al., 2025). Social innovation has the potential to develop new approaches to addressing challenges and social, environmental, and economic problems in rural areas, benefiting a range of stakeholders, including vulnerable groups.

ESIRA MAPs are flexible platforms composed of people linked to the pilot rural areas, participating either individually or on behalf of institutions (civil society, policy, business and academic) who are active in collaboration and come together to co-define challenges and co-create solutions with the common goal of achieving inclusive rural development through innovative social economy initiatives. MAPs are key players in social innovation facilitation in their rural areas and long-term assets that can activate, expand, and mobilise new projects, policy processes and community-led initiatives (Marcos et al., 2025).