Training action as agapic action: workshop for social innovation

This paper explores the role of training as a strategic lever for social innovation within the context of welfare transformation. Starting from the inadequacy of traditional redistributive approaches, the authors analyze three training systems—pre-programmed, divergent, and contractual—highlighting how only the latter, conceived as a research-oriented and generative process, can foster meaningful change. Framing training action as agapic action, the study emphasizes its surplus-producing and identity-shaping potential, engaging the whole person beyond technical competences. The article illustrates these dynamics through the case of the “Reconsider the Fight Against Poverty” workshop, designed as a contractual finalized system (S3), where participants collaboratively transformed information into knowledge and creative projects. The findings suggest that training, when structured as research and oriented toward generativity, can drive organizational and cultural innovation, offering new pathways for welfare effectiveness.