"A rapidly changing global economy and concerns about the EU ability to create a competitive workforce have focused attention on Member State's education and training systems. Policy reforms have focused on improving the quality and accountability of education and training, through a shift from defining standards based on teaching inputs to learning outcomes .This has impacted on providers of compensatory education such as second chance education which find that the use of informal and nonformal learning makes success factors less easy to measure.In 2012 DGEAC commissioned research into good practices in second chance education and its success factors with a view to identifying transferability to initial education and training. The study concluded there was ""strong potential"" for transferability and lessons could be learned from second chance provision but gaps in qualitative and quantitative measures of success could not provide evidence of the longer term effectiveness of provision designed to reduce ESL. The DGEAC study recommended the development of a quality framework to underpin the active transfer of good practices from second chance education and to build the evidence base of long term impacts and outcomes of second chance education . SMART has brought together 8 partners,experts from different sectors to share best practice in self evaluation and self monitoring including higher education, adult education , upper secondary education and second chance education. The SMART project developed a quality framework as its aim, for use by providers of second chance education that can help to address the gaps identified by DGEAC, enable providers to evidence their success factors and enhance the quality and relevance of the learning offer. The objective is to raise the visibility and profile of compensatory education with policy/decision makers and encourage the adoption of compensatory measures within prevention and intervention measures through greater transparency and accountability.SMART conducted a review of existing good practices in evidencing success factors and identified training needs of teachers/trainers.An online Systematic Measurement System with accompanying quality indicators and measurement tools that facilitates ongoing monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning has been developed through a ""bottom -up"" approach. The SMS has been tested, following 2 training events for teachers. Guidelines for implementation of a self evaluation system have been developed for policy makers and educational organisations, together with a handbook for teachers. 5 Multiplier events have enabled stakeholders to share best practice and provide input into the SMS development. In the immediate term the teacher training programme has raised awareness of the benefits of self evaluation and raised teacher expectations of learners through transparent evidencing of success. The expected long term impact will be the upgrading of the quality of informal learning through a self evaluation process. Raised aspirations drive forwards improvement in teaching and learning, impacting on methods used by professionals and ultimately benefiting disadvantaged young people at risk of ESL."

The RISE Project had the intention to investigate the integration of unemployed adults and young people into the labour market through the mechanism of Social Enterprise. The RISE Project focussed on the creation of positive social change for individuals and communities while at the same time enabling our learners to harness their entrepreneurial potential in order to deliver a viable, commercial product or service within a spirit of co-operation and collectivism.We are confident to have reached all our objectives as set out in the application:- We shared and documented the information on SEs in the partner countries- We documented innovative approaches and prepared an overall synthesis, focussing on the situation of adult education in our respective countries- We established contact with local/national networks working in the field to bring these networks together with our target groups- The information of exchange was a core part of the project: We used different channels to realise this topic: Country reports, presentation of best practices during the project meetings, invitation of external experts to our meetings.The consortium consisted of adult education providers from seven European countries working in the field of general adult education.The coordinator looked out for an interesting geographical distribution – from Ireland in the West to Romania in the East -, a very different situation of the national labour market – from Greece with an unemployment rate of app. 23 % to Germany with app. 4 %. A second aspect was important during the preparation of the application: If these institutes of adult education are interested being involved in the set-up of a social enterprise after the projects end.We began the project work with the recherche of best practices together with the establishment of relations to regional, national and European networks of SEs. Main argument for choosing these examples was the fact to reach the target groups mentioned in the application: persons at risk of social-exclusion and unemployment, young people and adults with disabilities, single mothers and mothers of many children, young persons and adults experiencing unemployment or the risk of it due to area depopulation and closing down of services, autistic people, long-term unemployed refugees, who want to start their own business and have innovative ideas, civil society organizations, people who are distant from the labour market, low-skilled, long term unemployed and young people at risk of social exclusion, low skilled women; gypsies; mentally disabled adult citizens; rural low skilled farmers.We introduced the European dimension inviting a representative of ENSIE, the European umbrella organisation for SEs to the Brusses meeting.After the third meeting in Germany we began to work on the guidelines for setting up a social enterprise: The more examples we had a look at during the meetings the more the picture became clearer about the fundamental recommendations.The last two meetings - scheduled for Romania in April and Portugal in September - were organised as zoom meetings in October.Dissemination activities became more difficult, but still we gathered addresses and names of stakeholders, the best practices, and the umbrella organisations we met during the project. This network of experts are the perfect addressees for our products.For the monitoring and evaluation activities we agreed on a questionnaire for the participants. The results were the main element for the coordinator to evaluate if the project work keeps the track.Quoting the objectives:1.Share and document informationEvery partner presented an overview of the activities of SEs in his/her country by producing a lecture, report or presentation.Main element was the collection of 27 best practices in the partner countries; this collection is a valuable tool for providers of adult education and external stakeholders.2.Consider and document innovative approachesThe consortium agreed on common guidelines for setting up a SE. From project meeting to project meeting this document was growing, and the expertise of the group as we were following the presentations of the best practices.3.Liaise with local social enterprise networksIn every country the partners contacted the umbrella organisations of SE and national and regional stakeholders.4.Exchange of informationThis worked perfectly as every partner presented a country report and included external experts representing one or more SEsAfter the project the partner institutions are part of the regional/national networks of SEs, and the persons who were involved in the project as well.We are ready to engage ourselves in any activities leading to the foundation of a social enterprise and offer the services as adult education provider.One example would be the plan of VHS Wien to open up cafeterias in 10 of its premises in Vienna hiring long-time unemployed and/or disadvantaged persons.

The EDGE (Enhancing the Delivery of Guidance and Employability) Project aims to enhance the progression prospects of socio-economically disadvantaged adults in order to promote social inclusion and equality measures. Amongst the partners (Ireland, Wales, Portugal, Austria, Greece), these learners comprise both young and mature adults who are early school-leavers, as well immigrants. The opportunity presented by Erasmus+ has enabled partners to share best practice, drawn from our considerable collective experience in the delivery of second-chance education for adults and young people. Specifically, the objectives of the EDGE Project were to develop innovative approaches (career guidance, learner engagement strategies, self-evaluation tools, e-learning resources) in the provision of employability skills development. These have been achieved through the production of our four Intellectual outputs:Open Badges Open badges are a new online 'learning currency' that can operate in conjunction with formal accreditation but can capture the granularity of the learning experience. The project developed a framework for creating, issuing and verifying Open Badges, created over 30 ready-to-use Badges, piloted these across the strategic partnership and incorporated the learner and staff feedback into the Badge framework. Learner and tutor/teacher resources have also been developed and are available (along with the Badges) on our website for practitioners, learners and other organisations to use.ePortfolioThis tool consists of a Moodle-based Guidance and Employability Course which enables the learner to develop and collate their skills and achievements. This then feeds directly into the Mahara-based ePortfolio where a learner has a choice of using simple pre-built templates or designing their own ‘space’ to showcase their achievements and accomplishments so far (including any Open Badges they may have been awarded). Selected pages, using secret URLs, can then be shared with prospective employers or educational organisations. Learner Retention GuidelinesThe project also compiled and produced a set of guidelines for improving the engagement and retention of poorly motivated learners. All five partners perceive preventing early drop out as one of the keys to improving employability skills and enabling learners to develop and continue on a career path. A set of questionnaires was devised and agreed upon and then conducted among key focus groups in each partner country. The focus groups consisted of learners, teaches/tutors and programme managers. The results were collated and a set of ‘best practice’ guidelines were produced and disseminated across the strategic partnership and beyond. See project website for a full list of the guidelines.Final ReportThe first part of this is a concise handbook for practitioners that includes a step-by-step guide on how to set up and begin using the ePortfolio and Open Badges. This guide is available internally to any manager or tutor/teacher to learn about and implement our digital tools in their programmes. This guide is also available to any external party that would like to develop and implement Open Badges and the ePortfolio in their own organisations. The second part of the report details the research, methodology and the results from our focus groups and pilot studies.In order to produce the outputs above, the project undertook the following activities: Five transnational meetings, research and presentation on the national unemployment context, current policy and responses and resources available in each country, conducted focus groups to ascertain barriers to learner retention and solutions to improving retention of poorly motivated learners, piloted our two digital tools - ePortfolio and Open Badge Framework, up-skilled key staff in the use of these digital tools, created a website (www.edgeproject.eu) to share and disseminate our outputs and results, developed and implemented a Monitoring and Evaluation strategy and disseminated our results locally, regionally and internationally through local media, events, and the production and distribution of five newsletters.Our target groups now have two new digital tools to improve their employability skills and therefore improve their chances of gaining employment. Our Open Badges offer our target groups recognition of their existing informal/non-formal skills as well as making them aware of the skills and attributes that they need to acquire. Secondly, through the ePortfolio our target groups have access to a one-stop guidance resource which takes them through an online course designed to identify what skills they have and what skills they need and then showcase these along with their formal accreditation, Open Badges, and other achievements. These two outputs are supported by our Final Report which has a step-by-step guide to setting up and using these digital tools.

The value of democracy is at stake in Europe. In some countries, a sceptical or negative attitude to democratic processes has emerged. It is becoming increasingly evident that substantial sections of European societies have either lost faith in the democratic process or feel there is no point in participating. This partnership has enabled our target groups to participate more actively and more inclusively in the societies in which they live in our respective countries.Every partner produced a country report about the political landscape; worked on a needs analysis identifying its special target groups the partner wants to focus on.Beside these reports every partner gathered best practice examples in its country, a valuable tool for interested political parties, special interest groups like chamber of commerce, chambers of labour, trade unions, NGOs etcDuring the workshop – final step of the project work – the partners identified one or more best practices from the other partners to be realised in one’s own institution thus strengthening the idea of sustainability.ObjectivesThe exchange of information between the partners was fulfilled on a high level; the different country reports gave an insight on the political landscape far beyond the average consumption of news from the partner countries.The importance of political education in our institutions was raised, and will lead to new educational offers in every partner country.The collection of best practices is a valuable tool for other educational stakeholders in the partner countries, and will lead to different new formats in reaching out to the target groups we identified.The feasibility studies we worked on during the LTTA are deepening the idea of sustainability and are a promise for the future, and will lead to different other activities in the partner countries.ParticipantsThe target groups of the DEMOS Project were people who may not be fully aware of their rights and responsibilities while living under a democracy, they may also display low levels of civic engagement and low patterns of voting e.g. • New and hard to reach migrant groups, refugees and asylum seekers (AT, IE, FI, SE) • Younger learners especially those from marginalised and underserved communities (CZ, BG, RO) • Adults from marginalised and underserved communities (BG, IE, AT, DE) • Women – particularly as they are proportionately underrepresented in our parliaments (PL, BG, RO, FI)Multi sectorial Partner Groups were another target group of interest to the DEMOS project, particularly those who operate in the civic space and who work with underserved communities to promote civic and political engagement e.g. MEP’s, political institutions such as the local Councils, political parties, third level Institutions - departments with a remit around politics and civics, arts organisations who can collaborate with us on this project.ActivitiesWe produced 9 country reports including a needs analysis and the target group every partner will focus onCollection of best practices in the partner countriesRealising one of the best practices in one’s own institution during the projectCollection of feasibility studies. Every partner chose one of the best practices from the other partners and will realise this example in its own institution after the projects endThe consortium organised 5 project meetings and an LTTA.Results - Impact•Country reports•Collection of best practices•Feasibility studyWe learned innovative methods for reaching marginalised groups and we will integrate these into future educational provision.This lead to a higher degree of political and social inclusion and already offered new perspectives to our target groups.Longer-term benefitsPolitical participation is a main topic in the national discussions on improving our societies. As we learned many innovative examples during the project every partner will spread the information nationally and thus influence the future political landscape. Times are over when political parties just presented their program for the elections and the only thing voters had to do is make their mark at the voters bulletin every 4 or 5 years. Participatory budgeting, referendum on cities or districts decision about traffic, urban planning, fighting the climate change are political models for the future. As long as educational institutions are partners in the development of societies they will be playing an important role in this whole spectrum.

The building sector holds a prominent position in energy consumption (40%) and CO2 emissions (36%) within the European Union. Moreover, current construction and renovation practices are huge raw material consumers and highly waste producers. Despite the efforts, on an EU scale, renovation rates are far below the minimum required, now only reaching around 1% of the building stock per year. These drawbacks bring forward the impact of rising material extraction, shrunk global circularity from to 7.2% in 2023. To facilitate closing this performance and design-to-market gap in the built environment, DeCO2 aims to address the compelling need for advancing innovative technological applications and solutions on the built environment, focusing on building elements, materials, products, and technologies. The project also aims to set up solid and long-lasting partnerships within the legal and regulatory framework and other stakeholders addressing the whole value chain for socio-economic innovation, facilitating to close the performance and design-to-market gap, including for historical and cultural heritage buildings. A well-segmented audience targeting developers, policymakers, and the construction industry will ensure effective market penetration, as DeCO2 is projected as an aligned solution to the EU's sustainability aspirations. Collaborative engagement, showcasing tangible benefits and dedicated digital presence will embrace the entire building-life cycle and all the relevant stakeholders involved in each innovation action stage of renovation projects, materials, and techniques (targeting TRL 8) that contribute to space users’ overall health and wellbeing, comfort and inclusivity.