It is with the reconfigurations in the labour market, which have occurred mainly since the late 1990s, that the narrative of entrepreneurship becomes dominant, accentuating the neoliberal logics rooted in the development of a generalized employment crisis. A rhetoric based on freedom and individuality, which requires an “attitude”, a “spirit”, an innovative, differentiating “way of being” capable of solving “individual” problems (Campos & Soeiro, 2016). Without being immune to these transformations, Amaro (2014) poses the challenge of entrepreneurship as one of the challenges that SW faces today within the structure of contemporary society and naturally the profession itself. This challenge is particularly associated with the profound changes in the labour market which, marked by levels of precariousness, do not guarantee professional inclusion of social workers, and makes the possibilities of facing the exercise of the profession in the Third Sector or in the free market more and more urgent. This article presents part of an investigation in SW about innovation in the professional and academic field of SW, namely the potentialities that entrepreneurship and innovation bring to SW, regarding the integration of socially vulnerable publics. The aim is also to develop a thorough discussion of the limitations of this approach in solving such problems and how this can be seen as a further expression of individuation policy trends. To do so, we’re guided by a mixed methodology, applying quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques. In fact, for this paper, we intend to emphasize the results of a content analysis process of European strategies since 1996 - the year in which the concept of entrepreneurship was first referenced in this context; but also, with a particular look, to Portuguese government programs from the same date on, with the intention of, first, placing the reference to entrepreneurial activity, second, to understand the integration of European guidelines and, third, the framework in which it is presented. The analysis will proceed focusing on: (i) a top-down approach to social policies in the European context, their incorporation in the design of Portuguese public policies, and the implications of such orientations in the fields of SW practice and training; (ii) the potentialities and limits that (social) entrepreneurship and (social) innovation entail for SW itself, particularly in relation to its ethical values and principles. Finally, we will try to situate this discussion in the three chapters of the European Pillar of Social Rights, exploring the guidelines that are foreseen for the next decade and seeking to leave clues to strengthen the social innovation-Social Work connection.

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Social Work,Neoliberalism,Entrepreneurship,Innovation,Social Rights,European Pillar