Designing future WELFARE systems
▶Summary
The WELFARE project partnership aimed to enhance training and support for social innovation and entrepreneurship for university students, professionals, and practitioners. It offers: - Integratio...
▶Objectives
The main objectives of the WELFARE project were: To develop high-quality Open Educational Resources, including curriculum, online/face-to-face training content, and training courses. To promote and enhance understanding of the importance of social innovation and entrepreneurship within partner countries' welfare systems. To create an open university, training, and networking environment for discourse, research, and social innovation in the welfare system both within partner countries and transnationally through the WELFARE platform.
▶Activities
The WELFARE project included 1 multiplier event, which was the final conference in Iceland, 3 transnational partners' meetings, dissemination materials such as 3 online newsletters and articles in periodicals and open science journals, as well as 5 project results. The project results demonstrated the project process, including GAP and needs analysis, university curriculum development of 4-5 ECTS, high-quality open educational resources for both online and face-to-face training, and short documentaries presenting best pracices and social entrepreneurs. Pilot training with key stakeholders and practitioners took place over spring/summer 2023, followed by the finalization of project results and follow-up pilot training over 5 months in autumn 2023, using adapted results. Parallel to the implementation of project results, the WELFARE training and networking platform was developed as a platform for online support, training, and mentoring for social entrepreneurship.
▶Impact
Project outcomes encompassed online training materials for social entrepreneurs in multiple languages. Key outputs include: - Vives led a GAP analysis, literature review and desk research as defining needs and skills with qualitative research and developing case studies of social entrepreneurs. - Vaxandi oversaw the creation of the WELFARE Curriculum, comprising 8 modules and teaching methodologies, piloted in English and then adapted to partner languages. - Stimmuli managed the development of Open Educational Resources (OERs) based on the curriculum, covering topics like Design Thinking and legal frameworks, including country-specific information. - Pilot training sessions were held in spring and autumn 2023, refining materials based on stakeholder feedback. - A WELFARE training platform was established in multiple languages, serving as a resource for trainers and innovators within the welfare system. All partners contributed to each outcome, with lead roles allocated based on expertise. Results were accessible on the project platform for at least 24 months post-project.