Despite Social entrepreneurship (SE) being an established field of academic scholarship/training for more than two decades the development and implementation of this economic model has been uneven across Europe. Research has stressed the need to provide training in promoting social innovation, and that social enterprises need to focus more on practical skills and competences. SEs need more soft skills and to adapt to the use of digital technology. Many Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) do not expose their business students to the concepts/challenges of SE. SocialB aims to develop and deliver an innovative approach for teaching competencies in SE capacity building, by developing specific Learning Resources which can be used by relevant stakeholders. The project will train students and social enterprise practitioners on critical skills and competencies. HEIs, VETs, Development Agencies and SEs from Ireland, Italy, Greece and Slovenia will deliver a high quality network within Europe to advance the SE agenda.SocialB will explore the skills gaps in current educational/training programs and develop the competencies of students/social entrepreneurs by creating effective pedagogies for active learning relevant to SE. The project will deliver a comprehensive assessment of the knowledge/skills gaps in key areas critical for SE survival and growth. Based on this knowledge, SocialB will design and pilot 16-24 Learning Units which will incorporate a mix of delivery methodologies, to students and SE to facilitate the development of critical entrepreneurial skills. The SocialB Elearning Platform will offer an accessible resource for self-training, organizational training and network development to support the longer term sustainability of SEs. SocialB will stimulate significant changes in the university curricula, course content, and VET training programs by integrating the learner-centred approach oriented to real problem-based in social entrepreneurship.
a)build the social entrepreneurial mindset and competencies of those interested in social enterprise by bringing real-world practice into their learning environments;b)develop a replicable partnership model between SEs and VET institutions/HEIs and to inform them about the development of state-of-the-art learning and educational resources and materials;c)raise awareness and exploit SocialB’s learning learning material, strengthening social economy ecosystems within the EU
Social entrepreneurship is ‘a key driver of economic and social development in Europe’, according to the European Commission (2015, p.3). However, SEs’ policy and legislative support levels vary within EU countries. Extending previous EU-supported projects (SESeu, SETTLE, SESBA), SocialB aligns with European Economic and Social Committee recommendations on SEs, encouraging the ‘launch [of] capacity-building programmes to support and facilitate social innovation’ (European Commission, 2014, p.2).
<< Background >> Social entrepreneurship is ‘a key driver of economic and social development in Europe’, according to the European Commission (2015, p.3). However, SEs’ policy and legislative support levels vary within EU countries. Extending previous EU-supported projects (SESeu, SETTLE, SESBA), SocialB aligns with European Economic and Social Committee recommendations on SEs, encouraging the ‘launch [of] capacity-building programmes to support and facilitate social innovation’ (European Commission, 2014, p.2). << Objectives >> a)build the social entrepreneurial mindset and competencies of those interested in social enterprise by bringing real-world practice into their learning environments;b)develop a replicable partnership model between SEs and VET institutions/HEIs and to inform them about the development of state-of-the-art learning and educational resources and materials;c)raise awareness and exploit SocialB’s learning learning material, strengthening social economy ecosystems within the EU << Implementation >> SocialB designed, developed and piloted an accessible suite of educational resources and e-learning platform to support individual and organisational learning and network development in SE's by firstly identifying, through a three-phase multiple data collection, common training and learning gaps in the current social entreprise skills repository and challenges in the SE sector relating to management, growth and sustainability issues. << Results >> The development of 6 training/learning modules and 24 learning units based on innovative pedagogical approaches (action and experiential learning, e-learning, work-based learning, problem-based learning and gamification approaches and techniques). SocialB enables SEs’ stakeholders and students to have widespread accessibility to training material and practice toolkits. This project also brought together varied academic and practitioners’ skills, expertise and knowledge.