<< Background >>In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on the European tourist sector in general, it is vital that appropriate policies and measures are taken at the local level across Europe to ensure that the new, post-pandemic tourism industry becomes competitive and relevant to needs and expectations of future visitors. Both digital experiences and sustainability are key issues for many tourists today when deciding which cities and countries they want to visit, and so we believe that these two issues hold a great potential for development in the respective partners’ local ecosystems. To take advantage of such a potential, it is necessary for local officials together with tourist organizations and professionals in toursit sector to get upskilled through innovative continuing education and training.<< Objectives >>General Objective:•To increase the digital skills of the actors in the field of sustainable tourism while promoting new learning pathways in order to contribute to the recovery of the sector.Specific Objectives:•To identify gaps in the skills of the local business actors and develop training solutions accordingly;•To develop re-scalable training solutions for business actors in the field of tourism related to new digital solutions to be applied locally;•To improve cooperation between the local authority and the business actors by developing a learning ecosystem focused on sustainable tourism.<< Implementation >>The project implmentation will be based on the following activities•Project coordination meetings (M1-M15-M30) (Vänersborg, Rijeka, SERN) and online coorindation meetings•A transnational seminar aimed at discussing the results of the survey and at exchanging practices•Peer review activities between representatives of the local ecosystems of the partners•the organisation of 3 multiplier events to promote and disseminate the project results•Joint work for the achivement of the project results: A map of the training needs of the local ecosystem, a C-VET training package for sustainable tourism professionals, a guide for follow-up activities at ecosystem level. By organizing the different methodologies and training activities under a mutual partnership like in this project, the participants will help each other work towards common solutions and shared objectives in a more effective manner than what would otherwise be possible if they were to do it on their own domestically.<< Results >>The project will have the following outcomes In relation to the first objective: to identify existing gaps in the skills of the local business actors in the field of sustainable tourism, the expected outcomes and results will be:-A Map of the digital training needs the local sustainable tourism ecosystem will be created-Increased knowledge about the training needs of the professionals and civil servants -Improved understanding of the local ecosystem digital skills gapsIn relation to the Specific Objective 2: To develop re-scalable training solutions for business actors in the field of tourism related to new digital solutions to be applied locally, the expected outcomes and results will be: - Improved digital skills among local business actors in the field of sustainable tourism;- A Better use of open data at local level among civil servants and professional;- A set of new training contents developed ;- Best practices discussed exchanged; - Peer review methodolgy shared among partner and modelled to the specificity of the business sector;- A Training package for the actors of the local sustainable tourism ecosystem is createdIn relation to the third specific obejctive i.e. to improve cooperation between the local authority and the business actors by developing a learning ecosystem focussed on sustainable tourism, the expected outcomes and results will be:- Increased contacts between the local ecosystem and the municipalities- A long-term approach to C-VET and learning at local ecosystem level adopted in the partner organisations- Improved knowledge of decision-makers about the local ecosystem -Guidelines for follow-up activities and continuous upskilling of the local ecosystem on sustainable tourism developed

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.