The initiative aims at developing tools that are accessible to stakeholders so that they can evaluate the needs of their users at a territorial level within the context of the socio-ecological transition toward sustainable development and then compare those needs to the services offered in that territory as well as to the territorial public indicators. This process will allow the stakeholders to together define pertinent joint projects then evaluate their efficiency and economic, social and environmental impact. A diagnosis was made on a 400-inhabitant sample group in Franche-Comté region (which regroups nearly 1 200 000 inhabitants) by way of an example. A web mapping prototype made a cartography of these results in relation to the regional public indicators. The methodological and software innovations have been the subject of a patent application. The creation of a workers cooperative ensures the continued existence of the tools, as well as of the training and the support to the stakeholders.

The Laboratoire d’intégration d’innovateurs sociaux (LIIS – Lab for the Integration of Social Innovators) is a shared observatory for social innovation and entrepreneurship within the Quartier de l’innovation (Innovation District), a recently designated innovation ecosystem in South-West Montreal. This is one of the most cosmopolitan and dynamic districts from the cultural point of view, which also encompasses socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.The LIIS gathers researchers, students and specialists in order to examine innovative social enterprises in depth as well as the factors and processes that lead them to failure or success. Universities will work with the organizers of the local social economy in order to facilitate multidimensional creation and the transfer of know-how, without losing sight of the goal of achieving a better understanding of the factors that support social innovation and entrepreneurship.