Innovation 4 Society is not simply a coworking space. It is a societal innovation laboratory where Creative District activates its field expertise to transform social housing into catalysts for creativity and entrepreneurship.

The 3,500 m² physical space serves as a proof of concept to demonstrate that a diverse ecosystem of social housing actors can co-create innovative solutions when provided with a structured and facilitated collaboration framework.

1. Create a Collaborative Innovation Ecosystem

Our primary objective is to bring together and facilitate a network of complementary actors – participatory real estate developers, committed architects, social support structures, social entrepreneurs – to foster the emergence of innovative projects through strategic networking and co-creation.

Target impact: Spontaneous collaborations between organizations, collective responses to project calls, and the emergence of new working methodologies in the social housing sector.

2. Experiment and Document Participatory Approaches

Innovation 4 Society is an experimentation ground where Creative District tests, refines, and documents citizen participation methodologies, co-design, and open innovation in the specific context of social housing.

Added value: Each project (anti-discrimination, talent recognition, ecological transition) becomes a case study enabling the capitalization of learnings transferable to other territories and contexts.

3. Connect Public Policy and Field Realities

By working directly with both social housing residents AND institutional decision-makers (SLRB, SISP), Creative District fulfills its role as “Honest Broker”: translating field needs into policy recommendations, and conversely adapting institutional programs to lived realities.

Strategic positioning: Innovation 4 Society becomes a bridge between “bottom-up” (residents’ and field professionals’ needs) and “top-down” (social housing public policies), enabling constructive dialogue and better-informed decisions.

4. Strengthen Sector Actors’ Capacities

Through trainings, thematic workshops, and individualized support, Creative District contributes to skill development of hosted organizations and sector professionals (project management, fundraising, impact communication, participatory methodologies).

Capacity-building approach: Rather than simply providing offices, we invest in strengthening organizational capacities so each actor can maximize their social impact.

5. Demonstrate Viability of a Replicable Model

Innovation 4 Society serves as a demonstrator: proving that a hybrid model (infrastructure management + community facilitation + action research) can be economically viable and socially impactful, with the ambition to replicate it in other urban contexts.

Long-term vision: Document the model sufficiently (methodologies, results, costs, success factors) so it can be adapted and replicated by other cities, regions or countries facing similar social housing innovation challenges.