The project aimed to enhance the skills of coordinators with the ultimate goal of strengthening the impact of community initiatives that support the social inclusion of frail older people. We focused on collecting and prioritizing needs for training and knowledge. And with the project we also aimed to raise awareness among stakeholders (public authorities, care, and wellbeing organizations) about these initiatives and encouraging collaboration between organisations and municipalities to improve social cohesion in neighbourhoods. The project emphasized the continuous involvement of coordinators in the development process, reflecting their experiences, needs, and practices. The goal was to empower coordinators, providing them with learning opportunities to improve their ability to manage their work in the community centres and neighbourhoods, using digital tools, and enhancing the sustainability of these efforts. Additionally, the project focussed on improving volunteer management, increasing volunteer participation, and developing innovative programs to engage frail older people. The results aimed to enable partner organizations to improve their programs for social inclusion for the ultimate target group of frail older adults.
With the continued demographic change and pressure on European care systems, local groups of volunteers increasingly start to organize care and support for frail older people in their neighbourhood. These so called "community initiatives" in Europe, come in different shapes and sizes, each with their own way of organising. Some communities have become more formally organised, collaborating with professional care providers, charities, or forming care cooperatives, while others remain informal, making use of mostly the volunteer “workforce” in the neighbourhood. Despite the diversity in their organisation, all share the common goal of supporting older people in their neighbourhoods, with volunteers often led by a coordinator doing a lot of important work for vulnerable older people and the community as a whole. However, these efforts are often unrecognized, with coordinators struggling due to limited resources, lack of training, and support. In this project we wanted to develop a toolkit that would support coordinators in coacing their volunteers by providing best practices and a platform to share experience and inspiration.