ImpAct Agencies intends to reshape and make more efficient, through the Twinning Advanced methodology, a set of services to support BICs and incubators. Through an open social innovation model, the project will allow BICs and incubators to support social impact SMEs and entrepreneurs to achieve a better impact and play an active role within the local social innovation ecosystem. By matching and integrating social entrepreneurship support programmes, policy strategies and online tools, ImpAct Agencies aims to design a modular kit of tools and services for accompanying entrepreneurs in improving their social impact. The consortium is composed by four Innovation Agencies: ART-ER (Italy) - the project coordinator, Fundecyt-Pctex (Spain), WestBIC (Ireland) and IFKA (Hungary). All of them already work on the topic of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in different ways: shaping policy instruments, developing specific networks and projects or supporting and implementing policy strategies at local level. This twinning advanced action has a multiple goal, since it will support partners in: - carry on a peer review and assessment on their respective service through an active stakeholder engagement activity; - reshape and combine those services linked to open social innovation model; - design a new service package for BICs and incubators dealing with social innovation ecosystems; - set up permanent relations within the partnership with the aim of improving each partners’ services and - build an interregional community of social innovation agencies. The final output of the project is the drafting of a complete Design Option Paper, dedicated to analyse and describe all different scenarios in terms of background, framework conditions and organizations, process and service delivery system and stage of development. This will allow to transfer and mainstream the service delivery system to different EU contexts and agencies.

POWDERBLADE aims to gain market acceptance and rapid market take up of an innovative materials technology involving carbon/glass fibres in powder epoxy to be commercialised initially in the production of larger wind turbine blades (60 metre +). The immediate impact of this disruptive materials technology in the wind energy sector will be reduced wind turbine cost (-20%). This in turn will lead to increased productivity of low-carbon energy from more rapid market deployment of large turbines. The reduction in costs and increase in productivity will reduce the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for the European citizen – the ultimate beneficiary of this innovation. This ambitious project is led by Éire Composites, an established industry player in composites manufacturing for the Aerospace and Renewable sectors and an experienced FP7/Horizon 2020 participant.In the year after project end, ÉireComposites will generate over €7m in revenue from direct sales of larger blade components using the new materials, increasing to €39m by 2021. The longer term commercial strategy is to focus on recurring revenues from the supply of advanced materials directly to manufacturers to produce blades and other products under license. This revenue stream will generate €60m by 2021. ÉireComposites will employ an additional 78 staff in direct production at project end increasing to 489 employees over both revenue streams three years later. Suzlon, a large wind OEM and end user, is the second industry partner. Their involvement demonstrates early market acceptance of the new technology. Suzlon are committed to investing substantial funds in the commercialisation of this technology in return for the opportunity to gain significantly as the first large industry player to market with light, cost-effective carbon-glass hybrid blades. Technology partner (University of Edinburgh) and innovation specialists (WestBIC) will support the industry partners in achieving the goals of POWDERBLADE.

<< Background >>The project is composed of interlinked activities resulting in the production of a pack with resources and methodologies adapted to the targets to be used by VET providers, social animators and tourism organisations, proposing a new multilevel and engaged learning process, mediated by real testimonies and life stories and narratives of those who have succeeded in business and who have successful companies in low-density territories.The project is intended for social educators, trainers, animators that will embrace a final target facing the greatest difficulties in finding employment, with priority being given to:* adult people 50 +, whether graduates or not, with or without training, and who are unemployed or underemployed* job seekers from urban areas that want to try new life experiences in rural areas * job seekers in rural areas.The stakeholders of the project will be Schools, Universities, Companies, Community Centres, Social and collective Associations, Professional Associations, Tourist Bodies, Vocational Training Centres, Tourism Schools, Local Development Associations, Regional and local authorities and Local Creative Industries. All these players will be involved in the project activities and events, not only by testing the results, but also acting as multiplier agents during and after the term of the project.The partners estimate that the course and its resources will reach unemployed people, VET providers, schools and other institutions in the partner’s countries.By achieving its aim, the ENTRUST project will be a huge step towards a more ambitious objective of fostering entrepreneurial mindsets, innovation and business creation and by improving the economic situation of unemployed and underemployed seniors. By creating their own job opportunities, based on traditional occupations/crafts at risk of disappearing, cultural heritage and authentic rural activities, these targets will assure a more positive individual situation as well as more sustainable low population territories. Given current gaps in the provision of effective solutions to reduce unemployment amongst people aged 50+, ENTRUST presents a training strategy for senior entrepreneurship.At the conclusion of the project, participants will understand how to:•Investigate whether their enterprise idea is feasible and undertake suitable market validation research;•Use ideation, creativity, innovation and business development tools so as to develop the necessary thinking and skills required to become an entrepreneur and to commence a new enterprise/business with a tourism/cultural and heritage focus and incorporating elements of sustainability;•Develop and manage an enterprise in a logical fashion;•Incorporate sustainability principles in the development of tourism business with a social and/or cultural heritage focus.<< Objectives >>ENTRUST is a training & development programme where people aged 50+ will be supported in bringing an idea for a sustainable tourism business from concept to commercialisation.While no prior knowledge is required, the project targets senior entrepreneurs and those over 50 who:•Are interested in researching the potential for a new sustainable tourism business idea with a social and/or cultural heritage focus;•Have retired from their previous business/career but now want to establish a new enterprise;•Who have been made redundant from a previous related position & now wish to establish their own business;•Have identified an opportunity to improve upon existing products/services in the area of sustainable tourism business with a social and/or cultural heritage focus;•Believe in the concept of active ageing & who wish to create employment and wealth creation opportunities for themselves and others;•Challenge their own skills & cognitive abilities while also contributing to the economy and their communities;•Want to sustain the social, cultural & heritage fabric of their respective regions, particularly those in rural communities;•Provide an economic/entrepreneurial underpinning in support of the conservation of cultural and environmental heritage in rural areas with tourist potential.Project’s specific objectives: 1. Promote a blended training package, and develop a programme where people aged 50+ will be supported in bringing an idea for a sustainable tourism business from concept to commercialisation, towards social sustainability, especially in low population territories;2. Create interactive tools with a view to connecting and engaging this generation of people aged 50+ years in low population territories throughout Europe;3. Provide people aged 50+ with an interactive learning platform containing relevant training and support material;4. Deliver guidelines for VET providers on using the developed materials and resources in their practice in support of the creation of business ideas based on the use of traditional tourism, culture and heritage activities at risk of disappearing.<< Implementation >>The project is managed via a global plan Project Management plan - PM. The project management methodology will ensure that project activities lead to the achievement of project objectives and delivery of the planned results.Methodological StructureMethodology combines related practices, methods and processes that determine how to better plan, develop, control and deliver the project during its implementation until its successful completion. It is a systematic, controlled, evidence-based approach, describing each step in depth, so that the project team knows what to do to implement the work according to the target group's schedule, budget, and specification.- Definition of the need of a target group- Established a common language- Cost estimates are complete, accurate and reliable- The products use a common methodological approach- Most conflicts are detected/resolved early- Deliverables and expected solutions are implemented quicklyActivities to be carried out under Project Management:In addition to evaluation, monitoring and quality assurance, project management will include:*Dissemination & exploitation, sustainability and impact*The dissemination strategy will provide information about the project and results and will create awareness amongst the target groups to encourage their use of the outputs as well as encouraging decision-makers to consider ENTRUST in policy-making.DisseminationThe 1st meeting of the project will result in a plan based on regular campaigns, online visibility, participation in public events and cooperation network, close to the target public and stakeholders.Website is created and maintained for another 5 years after the end of the funding period.Website, in the 4 partner languages, includes: Landing page; Home: attractive image, vision, languages and social media; Project: history and context, goals, transnational meetings, photo and video gallery, partners; Generic presentation of the outputs and the availability of links to the platform, in the 4 languages.Channels and promotional material are as diversified as possible and partners take every opportunity to present the project at public events and use their networks for dissemination cooperation.Newsletters and brochures: 4 marketing campaigns using newsletters with updated information about the project, activities and achievements, issued by MailChimp, or similar platform.ConferenceAlso planned are 2 flyers: 1 at the beginning for project promotion, including goals, partnership agreement, operational plan for project development, dedicated social media and project dissemination plan, and a final flyer to promote the ENTRUST package.Exploitation, Sustainability and ImpactThe 3rd meeting presents an Exploitation, Sustainability and Impact plan to ensure the sustainability of the project after its completion, and will address:- IPR - Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights: a multilateral agreement on intellectual property clarifying the public and common rights of use of the products originated by the project.- Stakeholders support statement: at the end of the project, each partner identifies stakeholders organisations who will agree to make sustainable use of the ENTRUST package. An online version is available- Guidelines and detailed agenda for the Final Conference- Make the package available to key actors and stakeholders to persuade them to adopt the project results. Distribution at the final conferencesThe Reports to be submitted to NA is supported by Interim and Final Reporting of Dissemination & Exploitation, Sustainability and Impact, with input from all partners. Summary of all the evaluation activities, as well as the results achieved, will be made.<< Results >>R1 - Course / curriculum – Design and developmentThe project curriculum is a methodological document and guides the development of Course (R2), and Platform( R3) activities. Its development is preceded by knowledge transfer, literature review and target group survey. It supports the understanding the associated problem through theories, frameworks and other structures that exist in the literature and that allow the practical implementation of the course (R2) and platform (R3) that will support it.R2 – CourseThe course is an excellent and innovative opportunity to empower and develop the capacities of adult educators and trainers to ensure their role in linking the needs of learners from diverse social backgrounds to share key values such as their contribution to social cohesion and the preservation of heritage and culture, and to prevent and combat depopulation in rural areas. Based on a participatory, holistic and learning-centered strategy, adult educators will have the opportunity to participate in a unique learning experience in a diverse and supportive environment in a creative process, enabling them to learn by doing, through new methodologies mediated by documentaries of good practices, well adapted to the target audience needs. Documentaries will be used to break down stereotypes and inspire new life stories. The subject of this result is divided in 2 parts: the content-based part, including opportunities to learn from best practices in the field. The second part is activity-based, combining the interactive tools provided on the platform, allowing participants to create new ideas and work collaboratively.R3- PlatformThis intellectual output provides the development of the ENTRUST platform and the programming of e- tools (self-assessment, collaborative network, creative lab).The platform will be built from an open-source platform, such as Moodle, which allows the creation of custom learning environments. It will be user-centered, offering the creation of management and personal profiles through a simple process of sign-up and supporting the evolution of the learning process. The platform should use gamification techniques, which make the learning experience more appealing, involving the participants more. Some of these techniques include:- Progression: moving gradually to more complicated learning material, from theoretical content through analysis of documentaries to the development of self-assessment and job creation actions; - Challenges: problem-based exercises, which the learner should resolve to progress towards training completion; - Meaningful choices: give participants the possibility to create their own trail/pathway; - Social interaction: collaborating with peers for solving common problems using the interactive tools, exchanging ideas in a forum or at the collaborative network; - Achievement: collecting points for the completion of certain learning paths, culminating in the award of a completion certificate path.R4 – Guidelines - Learning / teaching / training material – Manual / handbook / guidance materialGuidelines for VET Providers introduce the ENTRUST rationale / approach for the target audience and illustrates how to use the assets in the ENTRUST pack (Curriculum, Course, e-tools within the e-platform, etc.). It also presents the session plans for the modules and units of the training program to be applied in full and suggestions of activities that adult educators/trainers can use in their training activities, taken from the Course. The requirements for receiving a Certificate of achievement on the training end will also be presented. These guidelines aim to explain the nature of the ENTRUST training material and to encourage VET providers to use them. It will explain how trainers should guide and support learners throughout the blended learning course. It will also give recommendations for adopting the ENTRUST material to face-to-face training sessions if needed.

"The BIC for SME project builds on the previously completed project, the POWER2INNO (Horizon 2020, 2016-2017), which included peer learning activities between three innovation agencies, directed to raising their competences for empowerment of small and micro companies’ for innovative entrepreneurship. The POWER2INNO project produced knowledge on building a regional system for enhancement of innovation with small and micro companies, one of the key elements being training and education for entrepreneurs. However, the limitations of the POWER2INNO project prevented the partners from preparing concrete usable learning tools for such education. The Erasmus+ programme provided a perfect opportunity to address this. The main objective of the BIC for SME project was to upgrade the POWER2INNO project results by providing concrete tools for the education and training of entrepreneurs for innovative entrepreneurship, training of educational staff of the participating organizations and pilot training for selected individual entrepreneurs. All of these were delivered and in this way, the BIC for SME project contributes to quality improvements of C-VET programs in the area of innovation and entrepreneurship, to innovation excellence of small and micro entrepreneurs as well as to internationalization at the level of participating organizations, through enhanced transnational cooperation between different training providers. Thus, the project: • Contributes to improving the quality and access to vocational education and training in the area of small and micro innovation entrepreneurship; • Contributes to improving knowledge and skills of employees in relevant consulting and training organizations; • Contributes to improving the employability and professional success of learners interested in this subject. Points which were validated from feedback of participants during piloting and dissemination events.BIC for SME has helped to reduce the gap between market demand (people seeking training for small and micro entrepreneurship) and training system supply, which is currently predominantly oriented towards small and middle-sized enterprises / entrepreneurship. This has been addressed as follows: • Development of training program for ""BIC for SME"" for trainers; • Development of training program for small and micro entrepreneurs interested in boosting their innovation activity; • Development of relevant learning materials. The project included five competent partners from five different countries: lead by the WESTBIC, an innovation agency from Ireland, there are also the RDA Green Karst, Centre for Innovation and Development from Slovenia, BIC Euronova from Spain, Tecnopolis technology park from Italy and the EFMD international network which operates actively in the area of training and education in a wide area of EU and beyond. All partners have experience in Erasmus+ as well as other EU-supported programs, such as transnational programs, HORIZON 2020, COSME, FP7 etc., and this experience was vital in helping to guide the BIC for SME project through the challenges posed by Covid 19. All partners are also experienced in entrepreneurial training and other services. They participate in several professional networks and have the potential to ensure the widespread use of the project's result, in accordance with the dissemination plan which was also developed during the project, along with other management and coordination tools, through which successful and quality implementation took place.Some key outcomes to note (and which will be further addressed post project completion) are:BIC Euronova signed an agreement with Fundación Andalucía Emprende (a public regional institution dealing with entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Andalucía region (8 million inhabitants), comprising almost 1000 consultants / mentors, 263 centres, and almost 15,000 entrepreneurs / start-ups), to collaborated on testing of training material and to adapting the BIC for SME tools and materials as a standard for their daily work.In Ireland, WestBIC are to have follow up discussions with Dr. Brían Ó Donnchadha, at the Centre for Adult Learning and Professional Development, on the possible use of the BIC for SME outputs while follow-up discussion is also to happen with GMIT Letterfrack on possible use of the outputs as part of the Enterprise Development module on the Furniture Design and Furniture and Wood Technology programmes. Galway Technology Centre will also consider the Diagnostic Tool as a client management tool.Beyond a European context, EFMD will use the modules in short online trainings called Cápsulas de gestion. The trainings cover various aspects of management aiming to develop entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity in Cuban universities accompanying the modernisation of the Cuban economy. This will act as a model for EFMD to implement a similar format of the programme in other European countries."

Europe’s economic growth and jobs depend on its ability to support the growth of enterprises. Entrepreneurship favours new companies, opens up new markets, and nurtures new skills. The most important sources of employment in the EU are the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The EU objective is to encourage people to become entrepreneurs and also make it easier for them to set up and grow their businesses. Education for entrepreneurship can make a difference as young people who go through entrepreneurial programmes and activities start more companies and earlier.The main objective of the GET UP project is to provide a learning tool to promote entrepreneurship for youth by using new information and communication technologies (ICT), empowering participants with the knowledge and mechanisms to design their proper business models. The innovative aspect of this project is the Geomarketing supported on concepts of Location Intelligence that enables finding the best geographic location based on the intersection spatial data and several variable factors supported by a set of techniques for analysing the economic and social reality from the geographical standpoint, which includes mapping and spatial analysis tools on a cloud-based mapping platform, directing the needs of the entrepreneur for the location with higher potential of success and allowing to attract investment to different and deprive regions in the partner countries. Finally a business plan design is envisaged to be developed during the training course, including the definition of the product and of the financial, material and human resources, which are a great tool to support young entrepreneurs. The partnership is composed by 6 organisations from Italy/LUISS University, Portugal/AidLearn and ESRI, Greece/AUTH University, Spain/University of Salamanca and Ireland/WestBIC. The partners were chosen firstly based on their expertise facing the main objectives defined for the project and taking into account the desirable interaction between research and business fields; and secondly the majority of them presents a high experience in previous EU projects, which also enrich the partnership. Finally, the partners were chosen taking into account the youth unemployment rates present in their countries, the implementation of the GET UP project is an added value to the relevant economic and social needs of the partner countries. The main goal of the GET UP project is to increase awareness of the end-users, youth under 25s, unemployed with secondary school or higher education diploma and young secondary or graduate people seeking first job, on how to become an entrepreneur using the Geomarketing and location intelligence concepts to achieve their objectives and implement their business ideas. The GET UP project is structured in 3 Outputs: O1: Research on Entrepreneurship: a detailed research on Entrepreneurship able to a deeper understanding on what is an entrepreneur according to EU politics and the national requirements to create a company. O2: Research on Geomarketing: a detailed research on Geomarketing and Location Intelligence to know concepts, their application on business decisions and data to be used. O3: GET UP Learning Platform: an advanced Learning Platform with updated, high quality, easy and attractive contents. The GET UP project results are: - Research on Entrepreneurship - Research on Geomarketing - GET UP Learning Package - GET UP Learning Platform The GET UP Learning Platform, which combines the GET UP courses, an online Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Open Spatial Data Set, enables further assistance to the end-users to understand the importance of combining geographic data with business and market data in order to gain critical insights, make better-informed decisions, design processes and enhance operational efficiency. The GET UP Learning Platform is a useful tool to promote self-employment and also restore the confidence of unemployed youth through taking full advantage of the resources available in their countries, knowing the business community, market trends and getting knowledge about the territory where they live and segmenting it, in order to isolate the best places to put their business ideas into practice. GET UP main goal is to allow and support a concrete implementation of innovative businesses, enabling participants to become effectively entrepreneurs, spreading the concept of Entrepreneurship and Geomarketing as an essential core to make business, also to other potential entrepreneurs. The GET UP project is an excellent opportunity to reinforce the economic growth, helping to rebuild the economies of partners countries and reaching potentially 1,4 million of unemployed youth (under 25s) in partners countries (actually 36% of youth are unemployed in EU28), maximizing also the most creative human capital of those countries.