Community Action to Activate Learning your Social Enterprise Erasmus Project

Project Title

Community Action to Activate Learning your Social Enterprise

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

CATALYSE (Community Action to Activate Learning your Social Enterprise) is a 24-month adult education initiative designed to empower and equip social entrepreneurs with the skills and confidence to respond to community and business opportunity.

Latest European figures indicate that there are up to 160 million people who are members of social economy enterprises and social economy enterprises contribute to the EU’s employment, social cohesion, regional and rural development, environmental protection, consumer protection, agricultural, third countries development, and social security policies. Social enterprises and the communities they reside in are challenged to invent, develop, and manage innovative solutions to address the most pressing societal issues faced. Social enterprise impact on critical social issues is critical: they are constantly trying to create jobs, tackle disadvantage and support community development. It is evident what commercial entrepreneurs contribute to economic development, however, the potential of entrepreneurship in the social sector remains largely underdeveloped. CATALYSE has been formulated to assist existing and future entrepreneurs & adult learners in social enterprise with the capacity to sit within their own communities, large not-for-profit organisations such as charities and voluntary organisations making a further impact often in more than one area e.g. towns and rural areas.

Target participants of Catalyse are social entrepreneurs, future social entrepreneurs, social start-ups; adult learners, low skilled/qualified adults, community workers unemployed, early school leavers, disadvantaged minorities and migrants; Adult Education providers and those who deliver Community Services Programs (CSPs), community training, Comprehensive Schools, Community Schools, 4: Social community leaders, Not for Profit, Volunteer and Community Support organisations & 5: Local Support Organisations, local authorities, local development organisations, socio-economic actors, regional skills authorities, local government and wider stakeholders at local government level.

The objectives of CATALYSE are to provide social enterprises, their communities and adult education with the resources that will help them add to the social and economic fabric of their communities by way of social impact, to assist existing and future entrepreneurs to gain the skills they need to support community development and develop new and existing innovative solutions to address the entrenched social and environmental challenges they face and to scale and replicate and to build healthier, competitive more inclusive communities where everyone has access to opportunities such as education and jobs.

CATALYSE fulfils these objectives through a targeted programme of specialised and complementary activities: 1-Increase awareness, understanding and commitment to social entrepreneurship by evidencing its contribution to social and economic development, through the production and dissemination of a Social Enterprise Guide with examples of best in class experts spanning across the private, non-profit, community and public sector social enterprises, 2- Strengthen the capacity of community-serving organisations to teach social entrepreneurship through multilingual OER’s targeted at Adult Education Providers and 3-maximise the number of adult learners by sharing the model via an online course and interactive platform. The project realises that social enterprises and communities do not just need resources to solve their social challenges but need new ideas, be able to create their own ideas, then test, evaluate and develop them. This will drive their entrepreneurship and create new products, services and eradicate inefficiencies. The above resources will help them to increase their social impact, develop long term effective sustainable solutions.

Within the project lifespan at least 500 learners, educators, organisations, and other stakeholders will use the IO’s, gain knowledge of best practice in social enterprise, develop new skills and have the confidence to integrate these into new social enterprises. 2,500 community leaders and other stakeholders will access the online platform and, strengthening their social enterprise skillset and leading to hundreds of innovative community projects. Over time, it is envisaged that social entrepreneurs will be more engaged, have better skills and feel connected and empowered to initiate, develop and manage social enterprise projects in their communities, making a positive social and economic contribution to the society around them.

As a result of the project, the participants will be able to take advantage of competences that can advance their skill sets, employability and careers and have the knowledge, functional skills and ability to complete a social enterprise activity, task or function confidently which will harmonise their learning experience.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 191620 Eur

Project Coordinator

Omagh Enterprise Company Limited & Country: UK

Project Partners

• MOMENTUM MARKETING SERVICES LIMITED
• Latvian Adult Education Association
• Roscommon Integrated Development Co. Ltd t/a Roscommon LEADER Partnership
• European E-learning Institute
• E-CODE