Creativity, The Connected Economy and Offenders Erasmus Project

Project Title

Creativity, The Connected Economy and Offenders

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 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Project context/background:

European Economy/Society is in a period of rapid change, a “Great Reset” – transition from the Industrial Economy to Connected Economy which is about exploration, risk-taking, personal production, networking, making connections, active participation. At the heart of this new emerging connected economy is creativity. For offenders/ex-offenders to embrace this new economy they need to develop their creative capabilities/understand how to make positive connections to increase their Social Capital. Creativity allows one to learn about oneself, develop fullest potential, survive in an ever-changing world and with many mutually reinforcing strands, resettlement from prison is supported.

Project Objectives:

• Sharing of good practice from across the EU in the use of ‘creativity’ for the engagement into employability focuses learning/support
• Development, testing and evaluation of the ‘Creativity, The Connected Economy and Offenders’ tools contained in The CCEO Manual, which supports offenders/ex-offenders/individuals at risk of offending
• Up-Skilling of offenders disadvantaged in society
• Promotion of social entrepreneurship/enterprise mind-sets
• Increased social inclusion by development of social capital
• Development of digital competences
• Publishing an evaluation report as the ‘Study of lessons learned from the CCEO programme in 4 EU Member States’
• Dissemination of learning across the EU through 4 Multiplier Events

Number and profile of participating organisations:

The project partnership is diverse specialist organisations in the criminal justice system from four EU member states consisting of: a women’s prison in Lithuania, a 3rd sector network in Latvia, a Not for Profit specialist social inclusion organisation in Portugal and a UK creative Social Enterprise working with offenders.

Description of undertaken main activities:

The project partnership has:
• Run one learning, teaching and training activity for project managers and trainers
• Developed 8 training tools/modules and learning materials
• Run a series of pilot training programmes, in prison and in the community, to test the training tools/learning materials
• Evaluated and revised where applicable the training tools and materials
• Created and published The CCEO Manual, which is a comprehensive manual of the tools and learning materials developed, in a suitable format for any trainer to copy and use. Each tool has an easy to follow training plan, supporting training materials and trainer notes.
• Translated each training tool into English, Lithuanian, Latvian and Portuguese.
• Evaluated the training pilots such that each partner has in their own country produced a comprehensive National Training Report, which forms the basis of the ‘Study of lessons learned from the CCEO programme in 4 EU Member States’ report.
• Translated Part 1 of the ‘Study of lessons learned from the CCEO programme in 4 EU Member States’ into English, Lithuanian, Latvian and Portuguese. (Due to the size and comprehensive nature, the National Training Reports section of the ‘Study of lessons learned from the CCEO programme in 4 EU Member States’ is in English.)
• Produced 6 newsletters, translated into English, Lithuanian, Latvian and Portuguese.
• Created a project website that will be maintained by Pictora in the years to come beyond the Erasmus+ funding period.
• Held a multiplier event in Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and the UK, attracting policy makers, staff working in the criminal justice system and other parties interested in mainstreaming the project outputs.

Results and impact attained:

In addition to the previous outcomes and outputs, the project impact has been:
• 80 disadvantage learners (prisoners, ex-offenders or individuals at risk of offending) trained as part of the national training pilots.
• Project evaluation captured in the National Training Pilot Reports that evidences the positive impact on learners, particularly when considering employability and resettlement.
• Development of a better knowledge among project staff and trainers of the criminal justice sector across the EU.
• Some project partners are planning to work together on spin-off projects after the Erasmus+ funding ends.

Longer-term benefits:
The multiplier events have supported a range of actions, including the potential mainstreaming of the programme into other prisons across Lithuania and the formalisation of key elements into a formally recognised qualification by the UK national awarding body, NCFE.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 53635 Eur

Project Coordinator

Pictora Ltd & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Associação Humanidades
• Panevezio pataisos namai
• Resocializacijas un Integracijas Asociacija