Social Entrepreneurship in a European Dimension Erasmus Project

Project Title

Social Entrepreneurship in a European Dimension

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education

Project Summary

The main action of the project “Social Entrepreneurship in an European Dimension – SEED” consisted in the Cooperation for Innovation and Exchange of Good Practices, and the impact was in the field of Strategic Partnerships for Education and Vocational Training. The project implementation period was 01.09.2015 – 31.08.2017.

SEED-OER aimed at improving the competitiveness of social enterprises and strengthening their potential within the EU by developing an OER platform that includes relevant training solutions adjusted to the specific needs of the sector, good practices and case studies.
The methodology was a scientific one and was based on the creation of certain competency profiles, outlining the needs and developing a customized training. The training has been tested and validated, being subsequently made available free of charge to the large audience through the platform.

The project brought together 9 partners from 6 countries (Romania, Belgium, Macedonia, Italy, Greece, Spain): HR Specialists (HRS), Association – Access for all (AFA), Community Development Institute (CDI), Institut de Haute Formation aux Politiques Communautaires asbl (IHF) ), IDP Sas Di Giancarlo Costantino (IDP), Internet Web Solutions SL (IWS), Fondazione Antonio Genovesi Salerno (SDOA), Ethniko Kentro Koinonikon Erevnon (EKKE), Power Net Consulting (PNC).
The partners contributed with their experience to: training and consulting (VET), social entrepreneurship at national and international level, information and communication technology (ICT), social development, public research.

The activities have been organized throughout the 24 months of implementation as to maximize partners’ contributions, knowledge and expertise: research, analysis, development and capitalization.

Schematically, the project was organized according to the following structure:
1. O1 SEED OER PLATFORM (01.09.2015 – 31.08.2017):
– O1-A1 Define OER-SEED Platform: 01.09.2015 – 31.10.2015
– O1-A2 Maintain and operate the SEED OER: 01.10.2015 – 31.08.2017

2. O2 CAPACITY GAP ASSESSMENT (01.09.2015 – 31.03.2016):
– O2–A1 Common Methodology for Gap Assessment: 01.09.2015 – 30.11.2015
– O2–A2 Perform Capacity Gap Assessment: 01.11.2015 – 31.03.2016

3. O3 TRAINING CONTENT IN MULTILINGUAL VERSIONS – 7 LANGUAGES (01.02.2016 – 30.11.2016):
– O3-A1 Developed template training modules: 01.02.2016 – 30.04.2016
– O3-A2 Develop training content BOTH offline & online: 01.04.2016 – 31.08.2016
– O3-A3 Collate BP, LL, Case Studies, SE Testimonials: 01.04.2016 – 31.08.2016
– O3-A4 Translate training courses, materials and content into 7 languages: 01.09.2016 – 31.11.2016

4. O4 200 SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS TRAINED IN 6 COUNTRIES (01.10.2016 – 31.08.2017):
– O4-A1 Test and Validation Plan: 01.10.2016 – 30.11.2016
– O4-A2 Train SMEs + collect feedbacks: 01.12.2016 – 31.07.2017
– O4-A3 Consolidate feedback in fine-tuned SEED Training + guidelines for future training: 01.05.2017 – 31.08.2017

The results provided by the SEED project: innovative training modules and training content, centered on the supply demand both online and through physical presence, the best practices tool, case studies.

SEED has generated an immediate impact over various organizations, target groups and stakeholders, bringing together the public and private sector, NGOs, social entrepreneurs (and potential ones) and VET providers throughout the implementation:
– when assessing capacity gaps: a total of 57 social enterprises were involved
– during the pilot phase: 207 existing and future social entrepreneurs were trained. In addition, online statistics from the final day of the project (31.08.2017) show a total number of 1.603 students (1.573 representing people who participated on their own initiative, being attracted by the courses provided).

Indirectly, SEED-OER has benefited to a wide range of people:
– 44.975 unique visits on the platform compared to 4.000 as it was originally proposed
– multiplier events: all partners hosted multiplier events in their countries in order to provide the greatest possible visibility of SEED-OER and to involve stakeholders (local and national) and social enterprises. A total of 310 stakeholders have indirectly benefited from the project.
An unexpected result consisted in the creation of a contact database that can be accessed for future projects.

SEED-OER has provided and will continue to provide practical tools and training resources. The OER platform will be maintained beyond EC co-financing for long-term impact and sustainability.

By implementing the project activities, especially during face-to-face courses and multiplication events, partners have established relationships with the beneficiaries, information has been exchanged and new resources have been gained for future projects.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 152049 Eur

Project Coordinator

SC HR SPECIALISTS SRL & Country: RO

Project Partners

• Asociatia “Acces pentru Toti”
• IDP SAS DI GIANCARLO COSTANTINO (ITALIAN DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS)
• Fondazione Antonio Genovesi Salerno
• ETHNIKO KENTRO KOINONIKON EREVNON
• INSTITUT DE HAUTE FORMATION AUX POLITIQUES COMMUNAUTAIRES
• ZDRUZENIE INSTITUT ZA RAZVOJ NA ZAEDNICATA
• Internet Web Solutions SL