<< Objectives >>1.To improve awareness and promote a culture of sustainability in Hospitality 2.To educate VET Trainers and Hospitality Managers in order to have sustainability at the core of their business strategy3.To reinforce the commitment to sustainability by developing leadership skills that will influence and transform the current ethos and practices in hospitality.4.To Demonstrate the significant role of VET in the development of sustainability leadership in hospitality.<< Implementation >>1. Project Management and Quality Assurance Activities2. Dissemination Activities3. 4 Transnational Partner Meetings4. A Training-of-Trainers Activity 5. Activities for the Development of a Methodology for Sustainability Leadership in Hospitality6. Activities for the Development of the VET Course and Training Materials for Hospitality Leaders7. Activities for the Development of the 'Hospitality Eco Footprint e-Tool'8. 6 Multiplier Events in 6 different countries<< Results >>The deliverables that will be developed through the HOSP-ECO Project are:1. A VET Delivery Methodology Document based on a) Target Group Learning Needs Interviews and b) Partners' Cumulative Findings Reports2. Hospitality Eco Footprint e-Tool, a stand-alone digital tool that monitors the sustainability performance of a hospitality property3. A VET Course and Training Material for Hospitality Managers on Sustainability Leadership

<< Background >>With a 90% deduction in tourist arrivals, it is expected that substantial revenue loss will affect around 85% of European hotels (EC 2020). As one in ten Europeans are employed in the tourism industry, this will have even further implications on unemployment rates and social services into the coming years. Research and previous surveys with small business owners in tourism, uncovered the impacts on daily operations, as hotel managers must implement and report health measures, while at the same time balance guest, staff and supplier needs. With the coronavirus pandemic persisting and tourism activity unlikely to return to 2019 levels for at least a few years, the priority challenges expected for the hotel industry include the need for health and safety management, revenue reductions, lack of liquidity and changing travel behaviour. When taking a closer look at the impacts of COVID-19 on GHG reduction efforts, an immediate effect on the mitigation of global emissions can be observed. However, a forthcoming rebound effect is expected due to increased need for energy and heating to extend the season, as well as generation of waste to implement health and safety regulations. Moreover, the lack of liquidity forces the hotel industry to put the implementation of GHG reduction measures on hold as health measures and keeping staff employed take priority. Hotel associations are, however, optimistic that if cost savings of GHG reduction measures and benefits for the brand image are properly promoted, the interest of hoteliers will be raised again. It is expected that the focus will be less on cost intensive GHG reduction measures, but rather on smaller, step-by-step investments and behavioural approaches.Despite the efforts by governments to support the recovery from the pandemic, the tourism industry experienced a strong decrease in investments compared to pre-crisis levels (EC 2020p). Considering the large share of the GDP that the tourism industry contributes in many European economies, it is crucial that additional efforts provide the industry with the tailored support needed for a sustainable recovery. Based on the stakeholder interviews and market analysis, a package with recommended initiatives to promote a green recovery of the hotel industry should be made available manly including short-term recommendations include trainings for hoteliers on behavioural and technical measures to create rapid cost effects and implement hygiene and safety regulations into their daily operations. This could also be accompanied by a step-by-step approach to facilitate the implementation of GHG reduction measures for hoteliers. In addition upskilling and the use of digital solutions can offer substantial assistance to small business owners in order to tranform their touristic product and service as a unique sustainable experience.<< Objectives >>The logic behind the SURE TO Tourism project is that such support instruments can also be developed so that they include both economic and environmental aspects in order to assist a green recovery of the hotel industry. (Opportunities for a green restart of the hotel industry arising from the COVID-19 pandemic ii development of new policies and instruments to support a green recovery).Small businesses within the tourism sector (which represent 80% of global tourism) are particularly vulnerable.The crisis is an opportunity to rethink how tourism interacts with our societies, other economic sectors and our natural resources and ecosystems; to measure and manage it better; to ensure a fair distribution of its benefits and to advance the transition towards a carbon neutral and resilient tourism economy. The period until the total recovery for the Tourism Sector, although a difficult and uncertain time, can also be seen as a preparatory period for transition to the updated face of Tourism. This recovery period offers an opportunity to adjust to the developments and trends in the industry that were already apparent before COVID-19, such as:- the growing interest in sustainable tourism, - digitisation of the tourism experience and- increased importance of authenticity and adaption to personal needs of travels. This project will focus on small Tourism businesses and the short and medium term measures that are able to support a green reopening of the tourism industry by contributing to:-A sustainable recovery-Achieving the GHG emission reduction targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-Introduction of Digital technologies and solutions -Development of the tourism product as a unique value and experience destinationThe short-term measures will include:- Trainings for hoteliers on behavioral and technical measures to create rapid cost effects and implement hygiene and safety regulations into their daily operations.- A series of themed training video courses/ webinars on how small Tourism Business can achieve a Sustainable recovery (Manage Waste minimization, Energy efficiency, Climate neutralization)- Step-by-step approach to facilitate the implementation of GHG reduction measures for hoteliers :- A Digital Guide to Zero Waste for Small Hotels- A Digital Guide on Developing a Green profile for your local community and your customers- Training for hoteliers in order to create awareness on low-cost GHG reduction potentials for employees and guests- Innovation best practices in the form of:- digital solutions for the tourism business and- development of the tourism product as a unique experience- development of the SURE To Tourism E-learning Platform - Implementation of platform- Hotel Awards to highlight and encourage sustainable initiatives and green practices by hotels which manage to recover from the pandemic crisis through the implementation of sustainable practicesThe main objective of SURE To Tourism is to address the training needs of tourism SMEs owners in key transversal skills based on new updated research, and strengthen their business activities in terms of economic social and environmental impact. SURE To Tourism is a EU partnership designed to develop core and innovative learning methods that best encourage sustainable recovery of the small tourism business , answering the need for education and training thanks to an innovative proposal based on participation and ICTs<< Implementation >>The activities framework of the project starts with the description of activities, outputs, and objectives, including associated indicators and means of verification. In its planning it has identified possible risks, in order to anticipate them and safegard the project's quality implementation. Implementation methodology includes: - Identification of project's needs- Plannig& design - Development - Testing - Mainstreaming Supporting activities mentioned within the managementsection of the application are: -A1: Project management (SWU): it will include major monitoring tools as described in the management section for the project technical and financial follow-up. This activity will involve all the partners and include the elaboration of reports to be sent to the National Agency. -A2: Quality evaluation (DIAS): under supervision of the project leader, it will include the quality plan and check, as described in the evaluation section, and in accordance with the stated qualitative and quantitative indicators. This activity will involve all the partners as well as external stakeholders invited to provide recommendations on the project implementation.Corrective measures might be applied to the intellectual outputs after the quality evaluation. -A3: Dissemination: Under supervision of FyG, it will include the dissemination strategy, its implementation and evaluation as well as application of corrective measures, as described in the dissemination and impact section. All the partners will be involved in this activity.FYG will be in charge of the website production and all partners will provide contents for the updates of this tool. It will include the participation to events, but not the organisation of specific events, which will be funded under Multipliers events item. -A4: Effective exploitation: under supervision of SWU, it will include a reflection for the long term exploitation strategy, sustainability and transferability of the project outputs. All the partners will work on the valorisation of the projectthanks to contacts with relevant networks and will engage discussion for continuing actions within the project field.Indeed, once the tool developed, the partnership is interested in its effective implementation, as it offers the perspective of a significant improvement of the service that they already offer to the target group. They engage to provide efforts for the real exploitation of the project outputs. As for the Project results, they will follow a logical chain of actions set up to achieve the final objectives. The methodology will be participative, as it will involve the targets groups, final users and stakeholders since the beginning of the project for the development of a tailor made product. The product will also be tested and evaluated by the targets themselves. The outputs will be progressives: the continuous evaluation of the work performed will lead to permanent improvement, according to the “Check and Act” principle. In addition, the tool will be open source and after the project ends, it will be open to further updates and new inputs. Finally, inaddition to dissemination, multiplier events will be organised to reinforce the visibility of the project, to explain the utility and application of its outcomes.<< Results >>Four main outputs will be developed during this project, a digital report (skill card) on tourism entrepreneurs skills needs, an online training course for sustainable recovery for Small and medium enteprises in Tourism sector and an innovative Online Interactive Tool for tourism enteprises which will contribute to their sustainable recovery. These products are expected to have a great impact on the project target group. Also, this project as set a series of indicators at short medium and long term to fix the objectives to be achieved.The following activities will be taking place along the 24 months of funding phase of the project:Project Results:PR1 - Digital Skill card Creation / Training Curriculum DevelopmentPR2 - Development, Istallation and Administration of eLearning PlatformPR3 - SU.RE to Tourism - Training packagePR4 - Development of Online Interactive Tools for Tourism Sector EnterprisesIn addition, one of the expected results of this project will be achieved in terms of involvement of target groups in multiplier events, and involvement of the partners themselves, as they will be the first to exploit the project products.Events:E1 – E6: National presentation of Project results.The results expected during the project and on its completion regarding the transversal activities are:-Project Roadmap, which will include the partnership agreement, detailed work plan (including information about project meetings, project activities and tasks), detailed description of the roles and responsibilities of each partner involved and listing of project indicators and impacts to be achieved;-Project Management Handbook which will compile all necessary management and reporting tools to be used by the partners, including templates for quarterly reporting, contacts from the Staff team allocated to the project, guidelines for management, administrative work and financial control;-Interim and Final Reports: following the format requested, the Interim and Final Reports will be written by the coordinator with the support from all partners and will be submitted to the National Agency.-Quality Management Plan, which will describe the quality-check procedures that will be implemented to ensure high quality of the project achievements (intellectual outputs namely) and consistency of the work performed within the project. It will also include a description of the actions that will be taken to guarantee the efficiency and quality of the project outcomes and procedures;-Coordination and Partnership Quality Reports will be tools for assessing and monitoring the quality of the project activities and results according to defined methodology and strategy;-Exploitation Plan, which will include the strategic statement, the IPR agreement and will provide the necessary support and guidance to support the follow up of the project.Last but not least, partners expect, thanks to this project, reinforce the cooperation started among the entities taking part in this project implementation. They wish to pursue the undertaken activities in the field of entrepreneurship training to enlarge their perspective to new targets and competences and share their expertise on business development at a wider scale.

The importance of innovation for SMEs is widely recognised. Innovation boosts productivity and facilitates substantial growth in sales. Survival rates are also higher in SMEs that innovate, for the simple reason that they are flexible and better able to adapt to challenging market conditions.In order to operate effectively, a systematic approach is needed if improvement efforts are to succeed and businesses are to remain competitive in dynamic markets. Capacity enhancement trainings must meet the needs of the small firm and have to be easy to apply. However there are already some innovation standards on the market, the current approaches based on these do not satisfy the total requirements of the SME. Most solutions fail to provide a holistic, practical and effectively integrated approach to innovation management; the available ones too are prescriptive, overly complex and do not meet the needs of the organisation. It is clear that this deficit must be addressed.To meet the urging need, the EPIC project consortium is planning to develop a complex educational package that helps SMEs to increase their innovation capabilities and productivity based on the content of the technical specification of the CEN/TS 16555 1-7 “Innovation management” European standard family for both middle/top and innovation managers of SMEs and for any employees taking part in innovation projects or processes. It will enable SMEs to establish and manage an innovation management system as well as to implement successful innovation projects. Hopefully, this will help them to overcome the economic challenges that might get more difficult given the current pandemic situation around the word.Within the 24-month duration of the project, we foresee the development of the following Intellectual Outputs by implementing the described vertical activities:O1: Study of innovation management skills/competencies/knowledge- A1 Face to face interviews- A2 Quantitative research- A3 Desk research- A4 Research summary reportEPIC aims to improve the capacity of European SME’s to implement effective innovation initiatives. To do this, we must adopt a user-centric approach so that the intellectual outputs we develop aligns well with the needs of the end user. To ensure this, we will conduct research to assess the needs of innovative SMEs regarding the competences, skills and knowledge their employees are lacking or should improve in terms of innovation management to be able to carry out successful innovation projects; methods and parameters (length, depths, design) of a training that would be suitable and motivating for employees to do.O2: Online self-assessment tools - A1 5 self-assessment tools - A2 Facilitator guides- A3 Internal testing (Joint Staff Event)- A4 Corrections and translation- A5 Digitalization- A6 External testing- A7 O2 finalizationBased on the findings of research (O1) we prepare 5 online self-assessment tools and facilitator guides. These materials will be tested first by the partnership and secondly by the members of the target group.O3: Training package- A1 Templates for training material- A2 Training material development- A3 Offline interactive training kit development- A4 Internal testing (Joint Staff Event)- A5 Corrections and translation- A6 External testing- A7 O3 finalization and printingThe training material includes 6 chapters, 12 best practices and 18 practical group exercises. It is complemented with an offline interactive training kit.The training material and the offline interactive training kit will be tested internally and externally (by the target groups).The main short-term impacts on partners and end-users of EPIC results are that they will acquire new ways of thinking and acting and be equipped with the competencies, methods and skills to implement effective innovation management structures tailored to their specific needs.Long-term impacts – among others:- the partners’ extended networks, (e.g. educators, SMEs and clusters) will be better connected, which this bridges the gap which often divides the fields of education and industry.- participants will be able to pinpoint personal and organisational development needs to improve and develop their approach to innovation especially if supported by training resources.The EPIC project is implemented by a consortium of 7 partners – an innovation consulting company, an adult training and consulting provider, three training and business consultancy organisations, a manufacturing company and a business association - from 7 countries (Hungary, United Kingdom, Cyprus, Portugal, Greece, Slovakia, Romania).

<< Background >>BACKGROUND & NEEDS | In this project we plan to provide a digital game for teenagers that will help them internalise a growth mindset and develop so-called grit. While growth mindset principles have become more popular and widespread since professor Carol Dweck first coined the term, research by PISA in 2018 showed that on average, around 63% of students in OECD countries can be described as having a growth mindset, believing that your intellect is something that you can develop. That’s a majority, but not a big majority. This is a shame, as students who believe that intellectual abilities are qualities that can be developed (as opposed to qualities that are fixed) tend to show higher achievement across challenging school transitions and greater course completion rates in challenging courses, even among students with less (educational) opportunities caused by poverty, as a 2016 national study among all 10th grade public school students in Chile showed. Growth mindset is an important topic to address especially for teenagers, as it enables them to fulfill their full potential and develop into happy, resilient adults. Currently there are some tools that use the growth mindset, but most of them take the growth minded principle as something that is already in place. We want to focus on really internalizing the growth mindset first. Also we are determined to get the adults and peers around the teenager involved, as consistency is key to internalising this outlook. During a short survey we did among teachers and youth workers, it was reported that the mindset of the parents play a big role in how children feel about their ability to develop their capabilities. If these parents become familiar with constructive ways to provide encouragement - focussing on process and not on ‘inborn’ talents’ - the game will have a bigger impact. Another issue we plan to address is the way in which the internet has had an impact on children’s stamina and willingness to put in effort in something for a longer time span. In our preoperational survey, different teachers reported their worries about the way children have become very used to immediate responses and successes. One teacher wrote: ‘Nowadays, young people even if they want to learn a new skill they don't have the patience, system and stamina to learn something from zero. As a generation they are used to easy and fast access to knowledge which doesn’t necessarily means access to learning something.’ As contradictory as it may sound, we believe there are ways to mitigate this tendency through a game app. We want to explore the right game mechanics for this. Ideally, the game would ‘celebrate’ failing and having different talents. By evaluating together, you get to directly experience that everyone has their own flaws and skills that they need to work harder at. This will make it less scary to try something new. We think the game format is a very good way to actively engage users with the material, addressing a need that also was mentioned in our orientation survey: teachers feel that growth interventions should play a role in the classroom, but as soon as the material is too ‘schooly’ it is considered boring by the students. They tend to get more excited if the material is presented in a technological exciting way. The game format is very fitting to internalizing the growth mindset, as it provides a safe environment to fail. The whole appeal of a (video) game is to keep trying without real consequences. You just start a new round or play the same level again. PERSONAL MOTIVATION | On a personal level, we’re very enthusiastic about this project because we truly believe having a growth mindset is key to a happy life (on an individual level) and innovative societies (on a global level). We actively promote a growth mindset on the workfloor and have seen the positive effect this has had on team members that weren’t very familiar with this before.<< Objectives >>The ‘dream impact’ of this project is to increase the use and knowledge of growth mindset principles throughout all socio-economic backgrounds, thereby contributing to more equality of opportunity in education and encouraging innovativeness in European societies. To make sure the project contributes to this goal, we need to reach the following objectives. 1. The game to be developed is well-researched and co-created with the target audiences. It addresses a) informational needs by visualizing ‘brain development’ in a way connecting to the children’s b) provides gamified ‘growth’-exercises to bring in practise the learnings c) dares players to challenge each other in a fun way - especially on subjects you’re not necessarily good at d) encourages a longer, more focused attention span while doing the exercises (i.e. social media block, timer) 2. Children using the Growth Game report that they believe their capacities can be developed and have a demonstrable deep understanding of growth mindset theory. 3. Children using the Growth Game report putting their knowledge of the growth mindset (i.e. how to hand out compliments to peers, siblings, parents) to use in their social circle. 4. In all participating regions, 10% of the schools have implemented the Growth Game within a year of completion of the project.<< Implementation >>The activities that we’re going to implement can be roughly divided in four categories: PREPARATION & RESEARCH | Including: Discussing detailed timetables for all PR’s during transnational strategy meeting(s), desk research on theoretical background, expert interviews in all countries involved, survey among teenagers aged 10-14 in all countries involved, setting up a zero measurement method.CONTENT DEVELOPMENT | Including: Analyzing PR 1: BEST PRACTICE REPORT and adjusting course during transnational strategy meeting. Start working on PR2: CURRICULUM and PR4: User Guide, including desk research, expert interviews, pilot tests in all partner countries. GAME DEVELOPMENT | Including: development of PR3: GROWTH GAME, research on game incentives fitting to growth mindedness, graphic design tests with target audiences, pilot tests with target audiences in all partner countries. Analyzing and optimizing PR2, PR4 and PR5 during transnational strategy meeting(s).FINALIZATION | Including: finalization of all PR's during transnational strategy meeting(s), Multiplier Events to launch the game in all involved countries, Plan of Action for long term sustainability and implementation in existing training programmes.<< Results >>After the completion of the project, there will be a very clear and well-founded output that’s fitted to be distributed all over Europe through youth work organisations and schools. We intend to produce the following project results: PR1: BEST PRACTISE REPORT | Interviews and desk research on current growth mindset interventions and their bottlenecks for both teachers/parents and childrenPR2: CURRICULUM | A set of researched and tested exercises/mini-games that stimulate grit and growth capacities + information on neuroplasticity, the working of the brainPR3: SERIOUS GAME | The Game connects PR1 en PR2 and uses the right incentives, game mechanics and art styles that speak to a teenage audiencePR4: USER GUIDE | For teachers, educators, parents.PR5: ASSESSMENT METHOD | Method to conduct a zero measurement at project start, method to measure impact in different stages (tests) of the development process and optimizing the evaluation method for implementation in the User Guide. Other outcomes are a set of (promotional) articles on our research efforts and pilot tests and a project website. We will disseminate and maintain the project results and other outcomes through this website. All needed instructions and content for promotion can be downloaded from the platform. The Growth Game itself will be made available through the App Store and Google Play Store. The User Guide will include an evaluation method for professionals and parents, which will continually provide the community of users wirth insights and tips. We’ll explore ways in which these insights can be shared in the long run, for example through the project website or during informal meetings after completion of the project. This can potentially be combined with measuring the extent to which our objectives are being met.

"While organisations primiraly focus on profit, sustainable organizations are committed to measuring and making key decisions based on measures that look after the profit, the planet and the people. These represent the three pillars the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework is based on, a sustainability business model suitable for every organization, regardless of its size. It is a feeder road to a highway called ""sustainable growth"".UseWine aimed at increasing the sustainability outlook of European Wine SMEs by guiding them through their first crucial move: the adoption of the TBL model. TBL is not widely known within SMEs, and those who have heard of it, consider it as an unfeasible model for the small size of their organisation. The fact that ""the planet"" and ""the people"" are part of the sustainability equation creates negative attitude since both are considered to lead to additional expenditures. The project aimed at:- guiding Wine SMEs in establishing a sustainability strategy that will cover financial, environmental and social elements- fostering a TBL culture in Wine entrepreneurship- creating common strategy among the Wine SMEs, the local authorities and the social and environmental stakeholders applied through policies which support TBL- developing leaders among the Wine SMEs who will manage the TBL change - establishing performance indicators to measure the penetration of TBL principles in Wine entrepreneurshipUseWine's consortium comprised of ten organisation from 8 different countries. The organisations involved have had the competencies or relations to the target groups in order to have fast access to them. One of the partners (ETA from the UK) has been offering consultancy services to SMEs using TBL on a professional level.The project was launched by assessing the current TBL related practices applied by the Wine SMEs, the existing TBL related policies and regulations in enforcement by the policy makers (local governments/regional authorities) and how the citizens (social and environmental groups) reacted to such actions taken by both. The results of this research establish the state-of-art and set the baseline. Having a clear picture of the current situation, the project designed a training curriculum to be used for the training of facilitators who would support Wine SME leaders in their to introduce TBL related policies and procedures in their organisations. The curriculum also embedded leadership training as leaders needed to sharpen their leadership qualities.The training curriculum required the creation of the corresponding pedagogic material. A set of tools which were designed to provide a framework of smaller projects within the Wine SMEs and to support activities for all three pillars (profit, people, planet).The skills on how to train the leaders of the organisations were delivered by a professional TBL business consultant to a selected number of facilitators during a 5-day train-the-trainer workshop which was organised by the lead partner. Each partner organisation designated two experienced consultants who were trained to become the facilitators of the leadership workshops and of the implementation of the methodology during the testing phase of the project.Awareness activities also took place in the form of half-day events in every partner country (in some cases more than one due to geographical situation of the areas), where market stakeholders, local authorities and entrepreneurs were exposed to TBL which was projected as an SME sustainability mechanism. Success stories were presented, derived from the respective national market to better relate to. The awareness activities, lead by the trained facilitators, were necessary to stimulate interest with the stakeholders and to attract candidates for the upcoming pilot/testing phase.One hundred eleven Wine SMEs from the partner countries took part in the testing phase. The testing phase lasted 6 months during which the trained facilitators supported the Wine SME leaders to identify areas within their organisation that needed change and deploy measures to bring about changes in the business culture of their organisation. The last phase of the project was to measure the impact the project had had on the target groups and their perception of SME sustainability. The project had not only enlightened the various stakeholders on the importance of looking after ""people"" and ""planet"" besides ""profit"", but also demonstrated how to achieve to go about achieving substantial progress."