Specific aim of the project was to spread and promote in Europe a new professional curriculum, namely the European Expert in Social Innovation incubation (ESII). Social innovation processes rely on the inventiveness of citizens, civil society organisations, local communities, businesses and public servants and services. They are an opportunity both for the public sector and for the markets, so that the products and services better satisfy individual but also collective aspirations. But this inventiveness needs to be directed and guided towards market-relevant initiatives, to become social businesses, i.e. enterprises with a positive social impact.Who can offer this guidance and facilitation service? The European ESII, a professional in virtual incubation, that provides expert consulting and tailored workshops to help social entrepreneurs and innovators build the skills, strategies and networks they need to succeed. In different contexts in Europe, there are some consultants dealing with social innovation incubation, although a common training path is missing and the profession of ESII is not recognized. This hinders the transparency of competences and creates barriers in the mobility of individuals within the European labour market. In addition, the lack of a recognised profession in this field, means a shortage of competent and qualified experts able to unleash the potential of emerging ideas and initiatives, allowing the creation of social changes and social businesses.Organisations working as consultants, training providers, incubators for traditional business, should get prepared to also support social entrepreneurship and scale up social innovation initiatives, in light of the primary role that social business plays in the economy and in society.Hence, in order to favour mutual recognition and transparency of competences, the project will develop:1. The ECVET competence profile of the European ESII2. The curriculum of a training course for ESII3. A procedure for the recognition of competences 4. Guidelines for the accreditation of organizations carrying out training addressed to ESII5. A comprehensive training course to become ESII, accessible online as Open Educational ResourceThe direct target group includes all existing incubators, chambers of commerce, consultants and business support service providers, as well as students in business and economics, that will benefit from a free training course to help them acquire skills and competences recognised at European level for the experts in social innovation incubation. Indirect target groups are all the stakeholders that may exploit the outcomes for training activities and internal staff professional development: VET providers, universities, local authorities, traditional businesses (that may be interested in creating links and synergies with social enterprises).The direct target groups and organisations will be involved in various phases of project activities: the initial in depth-research to design and implement the ECVET profile, the training delivery and pilot test activities, the events and dissemination activities.It is intended to directly involve at least 300 people and 20 organisations per country, for a total of 1500 beneficiaries.Thanks to dissemination and exploitation activities, the consortium aims to reach about 5000 people in Europe, counting also on the European networks the partners belong to, such as the European Business Network, which has a direct interest in exploiting the results within its members (more than 150 business innovation centres). The main tangible results will be:1. the implementation of the ECVET system to the field of social innovation incubation, a growing sector in Europe lacking a common framework for transparency of competences. 2. An innovative learning environment to train ESIIs, through an interactive platform offering educational materials and simulation toolsThe expected result is to favour the acquisition of new competences in terms of social innovation incubation and facilitation by the actors offering support to business and local development. The project will provide new opportunities for economic growth as the partners’ networks of business support services acquire the new knowledge and skills delivered through the project to help social enterprises evolve and grow. On a national, European and international level the project will influence policy and help to shape the future of social entrepreneurship. The impact is translated into new businesses thereby reducing systemic unemployment, which results in new employment opportunities for the long term benefit of citizens.As for systemic impact, the project intends to give a boost to social innovation in Europe, in order to contribute to Europe 2020 objective of making the European economy intelligent, sustainable and inclusive.

"BACKGROUND There are a number of frameworks, standards and protocols to assist companies adopt and implement the sustainability practices. However, those frameworks, standards and protocols can be complex, especially for SMEs, and are designed as “one size fits all” with large enterprises in mind (Tutterow, 2014). SMEs today, lack important knowledge regarding sustainability problems (many SMEs admit to confusion over what sustainability is and which programme to follow to introduce sustainability into their businesses). At the same time accountants need to know more about the principles of sustainability if they are to take an independent proactive approach to their work. Report-ASAP concerns the lack of specific experts and expertise in relation to sustainable accounting and reporting practices and techniques. OBJECTIVES - A useful first step to implement sustainability for SMEs. - Encourage the spread of a CSR culture among SMEs operating in the six EU countries of the partnership. - Make sustainability easy to implement while delivering business benefits in terms of cost savings, marketing and employee engagement. - Practical sustainability advice: cover key topics such as energy efficiency, waste and recycling, travel, food, water, health and well-being. - Develop policies/practices to make it easier for SMEs to adopt sustainable practices in their day to day business. PARTICIPANTS [7 partners from 6 countries] The partnership comprises a university actively supporting the up-skilling of SMEs from the region, a software house with significant experience in bespoke web applications, a HEI Foundation which promotes the development of collaboration channels within its socioeconomic environment, a business school and business incubator, a consultancy offering accounting and training services to SMEs, a chamber serving SME members and an educational technology specialist with experience in personalised learning. ACTIVITIES - An analysis of the current awareness of target groups in relation to sustainable accounting and the benefits of corporate sustainability practices in terms of cost savings, marketing and employee engagement. - The design and development of an online training course and supporting tools addressing the missing knowledge and expertise for the adoption of sustainable accounting practices by SMEs. - The establishment of a framework for the recognition of skills and achievements by learners. - The validation of the training course through training sessions. - The dissemination of the training course through multiplier events and its sustainability through the growth of a network of adopters facilitated by a virtual space providing infrastructure, resources and assistance. METHODOLOGY - Identify and depict the existing approaches to ""Sustainable Accounting"" and determine the missing knowledge and skills - Compare national approaches from a critical viewpoint leading to ""Sustainability Reporting Literacy Levels"" across participating countries - Derive a set of recommendations to help even out the ""Sustainability Literacy"" levels - Design & Develop a Training Course addressing the identified shortage in knowledge and skills. - Model the course inside a Learning Motivation Environment (LME) - Design a dynamic demonstrator to visually explain key concepts of the course. - Create a virtual space as the single entry point to all outputs and provide the necessary infrastructure to support and grow a network of adopters. RESULTS - Set of recommendations for addressing the shortage in knowledge and skills related to sustainable accounting - Training Course and Trainer's Guide - Online Delivery Environment and Dynamic Demonstrator - Open Badges Framework for skills and achievements recognition - A virtual space providing the necessary infrastructure to support an international network of adopters. IMPACT - Increased awareness about Sustainable Accounting practices and reporting systems - Acquisition of Sustainable Accounting skills. - Mobility through ECVET provisions and the Skills and Achievements Recognition Framework. - Improvement of current training opportunities and tools in support of sustainable accounting and reporting practices and techniques. - Increased trust among investors and consumers. - Promotion of Sustainable Accounting practices as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility policy. - Accessible training opportunities of high quality and value. - Improvement of company image and positive impact on balance sheet. LONG TERM BENEFITS The diffusion of the CSR culture among SMEs operating in the six European countries of the partnership. Benefits of sustainability reporting for SMEs include increased appeal to environmentally conscious customers, strengthening relationships with suppliers, positioning their brand as a good corporate citizen, generating greater loyalty and commitment from employees, and reducing operating costs resulting in improved profitability."

Context Professional exchange amongst cultural educators across Europe is essential to ensure sustainable existence and competitiveness in the fast changing European cultural landscape. Mobility within the European cultural sector has increased, which has raised environmental concerns as well as questions of access to mobility. Hence, resource-efficient modes of learning that allow participation with limited time and money are needed to complement face-to-face training and exchange activities. These modes of learning require open education and innovative digital practices in order to include those with limited traveling opportunities.Target Groups and their NeedsWith cultural educators we mean both employed and self-employed professionals in the creative and cultural sector from all over Europe that regularly transmit their knowledge, knowhow and experiences to young professionals, peers or professionals. They can include arts educators as well as curators, cultural managers, etc. and be affiliated with the public sector or civil society.With the consortium of partners we identified the following core topics of relevance to the different project partners and their networks relate to a) creating and sustaining collective impact in the field of culture, b) transcultural knowledge production and transfer, c) working with new migrants and marginalized groups in our communities, d) new forms of community and international collaboration and e) integration of artistic and social work, f) digital education in the creative and culture sector. Each of the consortium partners holds expertise in at least two of the topics and has been engaged in previous projects.Objectives-To qualify at least 200 cultural educators in either of the following topics: a) creating and sustaining collective impact in the field of culture, b) transcultural knowledge production and transfer, c) working with new migrants and marginalized groups in our communities, d) new forms of community and international collaboration and e) integration of artistic and social work, f) digital education in the creative and culture sector-To strengthen the relations and cooperation mechanisms between the consortium of partners -To strategically disseminate knowledge digitally to at least 1000 further cultural educators throughout Europe-To provide an open source toolkit for digital education in the creative and cultural sectorTraining Activities3 educational events with 60 cultural educators eachC1 – Creating and sustaining collective impact in the field of cultureC4 – New forms of community and international collaborationC6 – Digital education in the creative and culture sector3 educational events with 20 cultural educators as participants eachC2 – Transcultural knowledge production and transferC 3 – Working with new migrants and marginalized groups in our communitiesC 5 – Integration of artistic and social workSeries of webinars after each educational event to disseminate the results in the forms of lectures, digital peer-to-peer exchange and panelsDigital toolkit for conceiving, preparing, implementing and documenting international online learning to be disseminated at the end of the projectTransnational necessity and necessity for long project durationThrough the set-up of the consortium of partners all European regions are covered and allow diverse perspectives to enter the project. All topics are concerns in the creative and cultural sector all over Europe. The consortium of partners estimates that the topics will remain concerns in the years to come. Hence, it is believed that cultural educators will only remain competitive and their work with societal relevance, if they continue the transnational exchange.At the same time, the consortium of partners believes that the project will benefit from the long duration of 36 months as it will allow different cultural educators and the partner organizations to bring in their on-the-ground experiences from other projects into the training activities.Impact This transnational project will thereby make a significant contribution to open education and innovative digital practices in the field of culture throughout Europe. It will thereby foster inclusion of less mobile cultural educators in transnational education activities.

"Qualification, training, entrepreneurial activity promotion, sense of initiative installement and youth employment have become matters of major concern in our European countries. If in all European countries the number of self-entrepreneurs is increasing and more and more young people want to turn to entrepreneurship, they are not ready to launch themselves in a competitive world that they know little. Most of the young people under the age of 25, having left the education and training system without any diploma, have had no practical experience of entrepreneurship in their training path and often lack of sense of initiative and entrepreneurship (SIE).Based on the fact that ""cooperative learning"" can be an important key to empower young vulnerable people to face their future, EYES project aims to support professionals in vocational training and integration in changing their teaching practices, to promote the development a collective entrepreneurial culture and promote democratic values among young people ( in risk of social exclusion, in a situation of dropping out of school, falling into small delinquency, in a situation of long-term unemployment, in a situation of exclusion, coming from the difficult / priority neighborhoods of urban policy, ...).EntreCoop partnership, composed by 7 organizations from 6 Member States (France, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria) works to promote entrepreneurship among vulnerable young people by equipping professionals to unite them around a common project in a suitable, secure and educational environment, allowing to each of them:- to assess their capacity to be enterprising, individually and collectively;- to immerse themselves in the creation and management of a collective enterprise; - to better understand the realities of the world of work; - to use their initiative and assert their points of view; - to understand the value and importance of teamwork;- to be actively involved in the development of their territory; - to gain/increase self-confidence; Companies will be essential partners in the definition , evaluation and validation process of youth skills.Intellectual products developed by the partnership are:O1. Benchmark - best innovative practices for entrepreneurshipO2. Methodological guide for trainers to support the implementation of EntreCoop training program O3. Training program and Curricula EYESO4. Platform for training EYES"

"ContextThe European labor market is undoubtedly facing major changes. It is not certain that the skills and qualifications provided by the European education system are capable of meeting current and emerging needs, which means that there is a possibility of continuing imbalances and gaps in supply and demand for skills. The European Commission (EC) has launched the ""New Skills for New Jobs"" initiative to provide a general framework for the implementation of policy actions in the European Union (EU). Building on this initiative, the EC has highlighted the need to enhance the attractiveness of VET, for example through ""An Agenda for New Skills and Jobs: o European Contribution to Full Employment"" and ""A New Impetus for European Cooperation in education and training to support the Europe 2020 strategy ""(EC, 2010a; 2010b).Following the analysis of needs and shortcomings made by partners to prepare this proposal, the main problems identified were:- Practice traineeships in the EU continue to be underdeveloped. The situation varies greatly by country. Those enrolled in apprenticeship, strictly speaking, account for 33% of secondary VET students. 24 EU countries have programs where students spend more than 50% of their time at work, but the scope of the systems varies greatly.- Efforts are needed to invest in expanding apprenticeships and in internships in countries where opportunities for this type of learning remain very limited.- The permeability between IVET and CEFP is often an important challenge for individuals in pursuing their professional training.- Lack of experience at work, skills and professional skills is one of the factors contributing to the ""skills gap"" in the EU today. While 5.6 million young people in the EU suffer the consequences of unemployment, 36% of employers' reports refer to the fact that they are struggling to find new recruits with the skills they need. The project aimed at the homogeneous and systemic application of WBL principles at the level of the VET provider, the development of VET programs (both EIT and CEFP), guaranteeing transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications, increasing employment opportunities, lifelong learning behaviors and mobility for learning and work within the sector.PurposeThe project aimed at developing a European Training and Training Instrument to support the practical implementation of labor-based learning at all stages of education and training. Furthermore, the project supports the implementation of WBL quality assurance mechanisms in VET in the fashion sector, with a specific focus on feedback loops between iVET and cVET systems.Project objectives were as follows:- The qualitative increase in the VET offer, leading to more professional qualifications for the labor market and hence higher insertion capacity.- Greater professional collaboration between VET providers and businesses as part of the learning process.- Increasing the level of interest among businesses and VET providers, adopting learning methods based on work experience, as learning tools.-Developing a European-level technical education and a set of tools to support and apply on-the-job learning at all stages of textile education and training.PartnershipThe project brought together 9 partners from 4 European countries, forming a transnational cooperation partnership with a balanced geographical representation of the Erasmus area and a qualitative representation for Romania.The project partners were companies, VET providers, chambers of commerce, universities, schools, from Romania, Italy, Bulgaria and the Netherlands.The main activities of the project were: the development of the management and quality plan, the definition of bilateral cooperation agreements with partners, the organization of virtual partner meetings, the development of operational, administrative and financial management (including organization of partner meetings, project brochures and other dissemination materials, exploitation and sustainability strategy and IPR agreement.The results obtained within the project were:-Report on the Implementation of Learning and Quality Assurance in VET in the 4 partner countries in the fashion sector.- Set of tools to support WBL to implement concrete WBL (learning-based learning) programs in IVET.- Quality assurance guidelines and tools for WBL.- Learning program for IVET teachers and trainers (tutors, mentors, coaches) in WBL and Quality Assurance.Impact: supporting iVET programs to align quality initiatives with European sectoral education and training policies,help providers in this sector and local / regional / national authorities understand the level of change needed for VET providers and delivery to align WBL and QA with existing WBL and QA policies, promoting awareness-raising of work-based learning and quality among stakeholders in the sector, creating a space for cooperation and trust between iVET providers at national and European level."