Linköping is a city with an eye on the future. A city where world-leading research and ground-breaking innovations are creating a better future, where the university, the municipality, civil society and the business community work together to make innovative ideas become reality. Linköping, with 166,700 residents, is Sweden’s fifth largest city. Over the last decade, the number of residents has increased by almost 20,000, which makes Linköping one of the fastest growing cities in Sweden – and there are no signs of slowing down. Just like many other cities, Linköping faces a number of societal challenges. Meeting these challenges will take courage and innovative thinking in a close collaboration between the public sector, academia, the business community and civil society. Since 2001, the municipality has carried out its work according to the promise that Linköping is a place “where ideas come to life”, which means that we strive to create environments where people can thrive, grow and bring their ideas to life. In order to fulfill this promise, we must all work together towards a common goal. In this application, we highlight five of the biggest challenges that Linköping needs to address. Every specific area and success story we present below, is connected in one way or another to the identified societal challenges. Linköping has its sights set on transition to a greener, digital, more equitable future and strives to be a leader in promoting innovation and development to enable this transition.

1. The overall aim of this project will be to develop and test a new 'Skills Escalator' model and approach to the development of the skills and competencies of front line health and social care staff working with elderly people living with dementia, using innovative digital technologies and methodologies. The project will include a strong emphasis on workplace learning and mentoring as well as the development of a range of flexible online and blended learning resources and content accessible through a wide range of means including PCs, tablets and smartphones. 2. The context and need for the project were identified through background research by the partners and their practical experience of working together on related EU and other projects focusing on the needs of elderly people living with dementia. Within the EU rapid growth is forecast in the elderly population and in their health and support needs and the numbers living with dementia are forecast to grow from 9.6 million in 2016 to 15 million by 2035 (OECD / European Commission estimates). This is resulting in growing labour and skills shortages in the care sector with care providers often having to recruit staff who lack the qualifications and experience required to work with a client group with complex needs. 3. The project is led by the R & D Centre Linkoping from Sweden and includes 4 other partners, Dundee and Angus College from Scotland UK, Somorrostro Training Centre from the Basque Country in Spain, Zemgale Planning Region from Latvia and TTC Ilfov from Romania. A transnational approach is needed because of the urgent need to upgrade the skills of care staff working with the ultimate target group in all the partner countries, and the added value that will result from the exchange of knowledge and expertise and joint development and testing of innovative approaches between the partners to address this issue.4. The objectives and main activities of the project will be;(i) To prepare a Baseline Study which will focus on the care services provided in each region, staff and skills shortages particularly among care / nursing assistants, and existing training provision.(ii) Establishing a Knowledge Triangle within each region through stakeholder forums bringing together employers / care providers, municipalities / policy makers/researchers and VET providers to provide an ongoing 'knowledge loop' of input and feedback.(iii) Developing a dedicated Skills Escalator transnational learning and knowledge platform providing flexible access to learning opportunities for both existing and potential care staff.(iv) Developing an online / blended dementia care learning programme for front line care and nursing staff in both specialist dementia care and generic key employability skills which can be tailored to individual learner needs.(v) Piloting the platform, learning programme and learning resources with care staff in each of the partner regions.(vi) Developing a Skills Escalator Toolkit which will include guidance for care providers seeking to implement the model. (vii) Producing a Final Innovation Report and organising national / transnational mainstreaming and dissemination programmes.5. The main results and impacts of the project will be;- Development of a delivery model and package of tools and resources which will provide a powerful and accessible vehicle for developing the skills and competencies of care staff with low / no qualifications and enhancing the quality of care for elderly people living with dementia.- Directly developing the skills, competencies and qualifications of 150 learners in the partner regions who will participate in the piloting.- Exploitation of the outputs / products through the project's mainstreaming and dissemination activities, 1,200 people will participate in launch and dissemination events and a further 1,500 will benefit through stakeholder forums, presentations, network meetings etc.6. The EU exploitation potential of the model, methodology and products is considerable and the partners will make full use of their own transnational networks as well as EPALE, and the Erasmus Plus Results Platform to maximise usage and take up.

1. The context and background of the project was extensive collaborative research undertaken in recent years by the partners into the needs of marginalized families & the effectiveness of professional services provided to them. A major research study by the R&D Centre Linkoping in Sweden and the NTNU, Trondheim Child Welfare Research & Innovation Centre which involved 900 families concluded that despite interventions by a range of professionals, there was often little change in the situation of these families over time due to a lack of innovation skills at practice level and the need for a more collaborative & holistic approach to service delivery. The R & D Centre Linkoping led a related practice based research project, the 'Family Pilot' which found that greater impact could be achieved by placing more emphasis on the family's point of view in identifying & implementing solutions & by a more coordinated case management approach which reduced & prioritized service interventions. The Faculty of Social Work at the University of Ljubljana also led a transnational research programme , ' Helping Families in the Community' which showed that the co creation of solutions between professionals & families & a more multi disciplinary approach could produce better outcomes. 2. The LIFE project sought to build on the findings of this research by developing the methodologies & tools required to enable social workers & related professionals to innovate & adopt more effective interventions in working with families with complex needs & challenges. The specific objectives of the project were; (i) To undertake a Baseline Study/Needs Analysis to map the competency and skills needs required by social workers/other professionals involved in this work and develop a Competency Framework (ii) To develop a 'Knowledge Triangle' learning model which will use abductive learning to strengthen links between researchers, educators and practitioners working with vulnerable families (iii) To develop a transferable Innovation Skills Development Programme together with a 'toolkit' of supporting learning materials (iv) To test these products through a pilot programme involving professionals from each partner region who will each work with a small number of families during the course of the programme (v) To review the results of the piloting including impact on work with the families and to amend the products (vi) To produce an Innovation Toolkit and Final Innovation Report project report & organise national and transnational mainstreaming and dissemination, including through the use of ECVET & other tools.3. The 5 partner organisations in the project all had extensive experience of working with the target group & of successfully delivering transnational including EU funded projects. The R & D Centre Linkoping is a collaboration of 9 municipalities in the region of Ostgotland and the University of Linkoping & has led over 100 projects in the welfare field based on a close interaction between research & practice. The NTNU Trondheim Child Welfare Research & Innovation Centre & the Faculty of Social Work ,University of Ljubljana are both research & professional training organisations specialising in this field. APCC in Coimbra is an NGO specialising in the provision of services to people with disabilities & their families, while the Municipality of Cervia directly manages & delivers social work services to families.4. The main activities of the project included; (I) The preparation of a Baseline Study/Needs Analysis which pulled together the findings of previous partner research & mapped the partners perceptions of the needs of multichallenged families, services currently available & gaps in existing provision & trining programmes.(ii) Using the study findings to develop the content the main intellectual outputs I.e. the Competency Framework, the Knowledge Triangle & the Innovation Skills Development Programme. The partners developed an additional product, the 'Work Assessment Tool' to assist social workers in their initial assessment of the needs of the individual family & prioritization of interventions.(iii) Piloting these products through a 12 month training programme with 27 practitioners participating ( minimum 5 from each partner country)..This included both transnational & national components.(iv) Amending the products & developing 2 further intellectual outputs, the Innovation Toolkit & the Final Innovation Report.(v) Dissemination & exploitation of the outputs & results which have been continuous throughout the project culminating in multiplier events in each country.5. The results & impact have been considerable;* The 5 original intellectual outputs have been developed & finalised following piloting plus an additional output* 27 practitioners have participated with 85% reporting that the training had a direct impact on their practice.* Mainstreaming & dissemination has had a major impact in all regions.

<< Objectives >>This project will develop & test a new transferable 'Learning & Innovation Lab' model to the delivery of more integrated & person centred health & social care services to vulnerable client groups & to the development of new competencies & skillsets required by stakeholders & front line staff to challenge systemic barriers & develop/test & implement innovation. Key products will include a Learning & Knowledge Platform & a Learning 2 Innovate competency framework & blended learning programme.<< Implementation >>1. To prepare a Baseline Study based in national reports by partners 2. Development of a Learning & Innovation Lab model & 6 labs in individual partner regions targeting different vulnerable client groups3. Development of a Learning & Knowledge Platform to promote knowledge transfer & host the learning programme4. Development of the Learn 2 Innovate learning programme5. Piloting the products through 6 regional labs & 150 people 6. Evaluation & dissemination leading to roll out of products<< Results >>1. Development of a robust Learning & Innovation Lab model together with a Learning & Knowledge Platform & Learning 2 Innovate competency framework & learning Programme which can support the integration of health & social care services & provide staff with the new skillsets they will need to implement this.2. Piloting will result in 6 regional labs & 150 people developing new skills & competencies3. Dissemination will roll out the lab network & other products at local, national & EU levels.