1. Introduction to the Social Start Ups Project
Social Start Ups is a project funded by the European Union, under the Erasmus + KA2 Programme. Led by Tamat; an Italian NGO, the project partners are the Futures Entrepreneurship Centre at Plymouth University( UK), Parco Tecnologico 3-A( Italy), Municipality of Brtonigla( Croatia), Amsed NGO( France), and the Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia( UK).
The goal of the project was to develop, test and validate a learning methodology for adult learners by experimenting the Ethical Purchasing Groups( EPGs) model as a real laboratory for the acquisition of key competences. To do this, the Social Start Ups project adopted a‘ learning by doing’ approach, which included the direct involvement of adult participants in the Ethical Purchasing Groups start-up and management activities. The project also aimed to define, through a participatory approach, a sustainable model of EPGs that met the needs of both producers and consumers.
Amsed( in France), Verteneglio Municipality( in Croatia) and Tamat( in Italy), implemented the designed methodology created by Dr Haya Al-Dajani and her colleagues at the Futures Entrepreneurship Centre of Plymouth University. During this experimentation phase, these organisations worked with EPGs in their localities to develop social enterprise models associated with the EPGs’ priorities. The experimentation phase was completed in September 2016, and the toolkit was finalised based on the outcomes of the application during the experimentation phase. Please go to http:// www. tamat. org / index. php / en / our-projects / europeanprojects / item / 31-social-start-ups. html to download the Social Start Ups Project documents which are available in Croatian, English, French, and Italian, and where you can find the complete toolkit.
Introduction to the Project’ sMethodological Tool
This document presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Social Starts Ups Methodological Tool. In the ensuing pages you will learn about the project partners delivering the methodological tool, as well as its curriculum and toolkit, how they were designed and developed, how the mentors were trained, and the methodology they applied in Croatia, France and Italy. This document concludes with the outcomes of the evaluation of the experimentation phase of the Social Start Ups project and the results of the participants’ learning.
By reading this document, you will be gain an in-depth insight into the Social Start Up project rationale and execution, and you will also able to replicate the Social Stars Ups methodology beyond the contexts in which it was experimented.
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