How Social Innovators Build Trust among Target Groups

Social innovation depends on the people it aims to support. Beneficiaries are not only recipients of a service; their experiences, needs, and feedback shape whether a solution works in practice. This makes trust essential. Without it, people are less likely to engage, share openly, or take part in shaping a project.

Many of the case studies in the Social Innovation Match database have developed strong relationships with their target groups. Four clear approaches emerge. This article explores how these approaches are applied in different contexts and regions across Europe.

Respect the opinions of your target group

Building trust starts with respecting the perspectives of the people you are working with. Márta Bokonics-Kramlik from Reminiscence with Museum describes this approach as “extreme empathy”.

Projects such as proBUDI VJEŠTinu in Croatia work with people with disabilities, the long-term or repeatedly unemployed, and those experiencing poverty or social exclusion. The project creates an inclusive and supportive environment where participants’ ideas and contributions are valued.

Portugal’s Ubuntu Schools works with a similar target group and places particular emphasis on making participants feel seen, heard, and valued. The project uses non-judgemental active listening while respecting confidentiality. As Rui Nunes da Silva explains, they underline the importance of “authenticity and horizontality” – dismantling the power dynamic. By giving participants a voice, they create trust, and “when participants recognize themselves in the process, engagement and trust naturally deepen”.

Achieving this requires social innovators to avoid making assumptions or imposing a pre-defined agenda. Necto, which supports Danish employees of SMEs who may be experiencing mental health issues, takes a deliberate approach to this challenge by combining design methodology with action learning. This allows participants to shape the process through their own experiences and needs. The project follows three basic principles: Experimental learning, Contextual understanding and Active involvement.

Demystification, simplification and visibility of your ideas

People are more likely to trust an initiative when they understand it and can see its value. Social innovators can sometimes become so focused on their own work that they lose sight of how it appears to the people they want to reach. Beneficiaries need to understand why an action is relevant to their lives and circumstances.

For the Reminiscence with Museum project, which works with people living with dementia and their caregivers across several countries, it is essential that museum spaces shift from being a “tourist destination” to a “safe haven”.

For many social innovators, this means ensuring that their activities deliver visible benefits. In the case of proBUDI VJEŠTinu, participants take part in practical activities such as furniture repair, carpentry, and upcycling. They can see the results of their involvement while providing useful services to the community, including affordable repair and reuse options. The project also reinvests profits into community and youth initiatives, making its impact visible.

Simplicity can also play an important role in building trust. Demografieberatung Digi+ engages employees aged 45+ by ensuring its services are free of charge and low-threshold, with minimal bureaucratic effort required from companies. The project combines robust, standardised analysis tools with tailor-made solutions to make its offer accessible and relevant.

Ensuring there is consistency and long-term commitment

Trust develops over time. People are more likely to engage with a project when they know it will be there for them and remain committed to their needs. Social innovation therefore needs to be sustainable, not only in terms of the project itself but also in its relationship with the target group.

Re(ad)dress – enter the change supports approximately 400 sex workers in the Austrian region of Carinthia, including those who are not officially registered. The project runs over three years. Marcel Leushner recognises the value of sustained commitment and how much more could be achieved through longer-term funding.

In France, the Collectif pour un service Civique Europeen’s ALMA project supports young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs). It builds trust through consistency, proximity, and accessibility, using a gradual and human-centred approach.

Ubuntu Schools has also built trust over time through consistent, relational, and ethical practice. This has created what the project describes as “predictable structures”. Much of this is achieved through “small rituals”, such as signing in and moments of reflection, which reinforce a sense of continuity and belonging.

Relying on existing stakeholders and sector professionals

Trust is often strengthened through relationships that already exist. Social innovation rarely involves only the innovator and the beneficiary. It often depends on a wider network of organisations and professionals that people already know and trust.

As Márta Bokonics-Kramlik from Reminiscence with Museum explains, close collaboration with a nearby hospital and care home provided a vital “seal of approval”. Patients and their families felt more secure knowing that museum educators were in regular consultation with trusted doctors and healthcare professionals.

The ALMA project relies on local actors who already have established relationships with beneficiaries. Re(ad)dress – enter the change works with established organisations in the field as recruitment partners. The project goes one step further by employing former sex workers who have completed the programme as role models.

Trust also depends on confidence that a solution is reliable and effective. In some cases, this requires the involvement of specialists. The METALAID Research Group at Eötvös Loránd University works with the National Social Innovation Laboratory in Hungary to develop a tool that can automatically identify metaphors in online texts about suicidal ideation. This initiative combines technological innovation with a clear social purpose and requires collaboration with suicide prevention professionals, psychologists, psychiatrists, and linguists.

How to build trust among target groups

Social innovation is driven by the goal of meeting unmet needs, but this depends on building strong relationships with the people a project aims to support. The SIM database highlights four common approaches:

• The opinions of your target group should be respected.
• The social innovation itself should be visible and easily understood.
• The action should be consistent and committed.
• Other stakeholders and sector professionals should be involved.

While commercial innovation often relies on investment capital to fuel growth, social innovation relies on social capital and the collaborative relationships it creates. That is why building a community through Social Innovation Match is so important.