The economic and social crisis that is afflicting Europe from 2008, on one side, and the education more and more focused on using ITC, on the other, generate a gap between the youngest, ITC skilled, inside the Learning Process population and those, adults learners, outside the Learning Process, with low ITC competencies, out of the labor market. “SOCIAL START UPs - Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Talent of EPG’s” aims at promoting entrepreneurship and active citizenship through a new learning path (new curriculum, innovative methodologies, etc.), using the “EPGs” (Ethical Purchasing Groups) set up and management as a “learning-by-doing” lab. Why EPGs? Because EPGs represent a friendly well known environment where the target group can get re-skilled, gain access to learning paths, get confident with ITC tools, while each phase of running an EPG is leading to the development of a Key competence. Specific objective of the project is to ameliorate the acquaintance of and the access to key competences of adult learners and, in particular, of low skilled, unemployed people, vulnerable groups including women, housewives, single parents, small farmers, migrants, by using the set up and management of the EPGs as a tool, while supporting adults’ empowerment and future learning. The project is addressed to 3 different target groups: - 90 among unemployed, low skilled, vulnerable people, - 8 staff members among the Participating organizations, - around 100 stakeholders, identified among existing EPGs, local associations working in the field of Adult Education, Support to entrepreneurships, Sustainable Development, farmers’ association, Training centers and Universities; Local/Regional Authorities Offices, Development Agencies, Employment Centers; Policy makers/Public Stakeholders. Local and national Media. The project, lasting 2 years, will focus on activities defining the project methodology and assessment of key and technical competences, as well as the curriculum and the experimentation process. In particular, thorugh: - the Mapping phase, state of the arte and networking among EPGs operating in each partner country and in EU; - the Methodological framework development; - the definition of the Learning Path through the Curriculum Development and Learning Modules; - the Experimentation, through the set up and management of EPGs and the validation of the Methodology ; - Several multiplier events organized in formal and non formal activities will be held to support project dissemination and capitalization, ending with the “SOCIAL START UPs -” Fair, to unlock the Entrepreneurial Talent of Ethical Purchasing Groups, combining the interest of citizens toward food, model of consumption, sustainable development with personal empowerment, professional development through social entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning. The main methodology will be focused on learning-by-doing approach. The innovation relies on the fact that EPGs are already existing entities but the project will make them a tool for life long learning. New EPGs are borne every day stressing their vitality and the interest that citizens have for them. Main expected results of the project are, among participants, an increased level of key and technical competences and in particular sense of initiative for employability and business creation (including social entrepreneurship); increased level of technical competences related to food safety, hygiene and quality; increased opportunities for practical entrepreneurial experiences; more active participation in society of the participants At systemic level, results refer especially to the assessment of key and technical competences; increased opportunities for professional development; the improved use of ICTs and open educational resources (OER) and a reinforced interaction between non formal, formal and labour system; promoted take-up of practical entrepreneurial experiences; production and adoption of OER, curricula and new methodology in diverse European languages supported. Furthermore, also members of the participating organizations will gain increased level of knowledge and experience, increase their cultural awareness and expression, and their level of technical competences on Entrepreneurial mentoring and food safety, hygiene and quality, due to specific training for partner staff and the participation to the technical training for beneficiaries. The project results can be used and exploited in the longer-term, as the project support the user through self learning and assessment. All the intellectual outputs that will be provided for free to the general public are self-learning and self-evaluation instruments and they are aimed to empower the beneficiaries and their organisations. That will permit easily a sustainable approach and replicability as the foreseen outputs have been planned especially to make them easily “usable and reusable” by not only stakeholders but final users too.
The idea of the Social Start Ups project was born on the assumption that the current labor market and the economic crisis generated an increase in the gap between the generation of young people and that of adults, highlighting the difficulties of the latter in access to the labour market. The Social Start Ups project has promoted active participation and entrepreneurship among adults through the development of an innovative methodology that transforms Ethical Purchasing Groups (E.P.G.) into learning by doing training environments. The aim of the project was to encourage, through the start-up / management of EPGs, the empowerment, access and transfer of key competences (in particular entrepreneurship) to adult people, focusing specifically on people with a Low educational level, unemployed, vulnerable groups, single parents, small producers, migrants. Social Start Ups has involved 6 partners from 4 different countries: - Tamat, project leader, is an NGO in Perugia since 1995. Tamat's role has been to coordinate the project, monitoring, and experimentation of methodological tools. - The Faculty of Economics of the University of Plymouth was the partner in charge of developing methodology and methodological tools, training and mentoring project mentors. - The University of East Anglia, Norwich, has held the role of the University of Plymouth in the early months of the project. - Amsed is a Strasbourg-based NGO with considerable experience in the field of mobility and integration of migrants. Amsed has supported all project activities and has played a key role in the experimentation phase of the methodology. - Municipality of Verteneglio (Croatia), the newcomer of the Erasmus + program, has been the third partner in charge of experimentation. - Parco Tecnologica Agroalimentare 3A, an agency of Umbria Region, deals with research and certification in the food court and had the role of developing and Output Trainings related to hygiene, food safety and quality. The project was addressed to 3 different target groups: - 92 adult participants in the 3 countries where methodology has been tested (Italy, France, Croatia) - 8 staff members (mentors) of the 3 partners who conducted the methodology test (Tamat, Amsed, Municipality of Brtonigla) - over 300 members of possible stakeholders such as: EPGs, local associations, training centers, development agencies, public bodies, universities. Social Start Ups, lasting 2 years, has been completed through the development of the following phases: 1) the mapping phase of G.A.S., through which quantitative and qualitative data were collected on purchasing groups in Italy France and Croatia. This phase was crucial for contextualization of the project at the various intervention place. 2) the development of the training plan and the methodological framework 3) experimentation and validation of methodological tools through the start-up / management of EPGs. 4) Realization of multiplier events for dissemination of the project and Intellectual Output In total, Social Start Ups has achieved: - 6 transnationa lmeetings - 8 multiplier events - 3 transnational training activities, of which two were for staff and one for participants - 8 intellectual output The project has achieved the expected results of the adult target group: - Increased the level of key competences and, in particular, of the entrepreneurial spirit and initiative for self-employment and enterprise start-up - increased technical knowledge on safety, hygiene and food quality - increased opportunities for practical business experiences - active participation in social and community interest activities From a systemic point of view, the project has allowed the development, testing and validation of a methodology able to transfer competences to the participants but also able to allow the development of new prototypes of EPGs based on the social enterprise model. This aspect, entirely innovative and not anticipated during the writing and design of the project, has had a significant impact, which will also benefit in the medium to long term at local, national, and European level. Social Start Ups has been an opportunity for participating organistaions’ staff to increase its skills on: - mentoring activities for enterprise development - start-up of initiatives of Community interest such as G.A.S. - hygiene, safety and food quality - European cooperation