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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