This is the first intellectual outcome and the ”foundation” (but also the ”roof”) for the whole project. The project idea arise from particular needs common to all partners but we need an overall view of the ”state of art” in each country, common points and possible areas of transferability.
In this respect we will develop a research during the whole project, in three main steps:
- Desk research related to Crafts sector – will include a first general part, with overall description of the sector at national level, national legislation, some statistic data (ex. total number of artisans – from which how many are working individually and how many are employed in SME’s, some numbers related to their medium income, yearly turnover etc. – the structure and content of this chapter will be defined and agreed by all partners at the first TPM) and, most important, the main problems senior artisans face with during CV-19 crisis. After each country presentation we will have 4-5 pages with conclusions (analysis with common SWOT points).
The second part will be dedicated to personal stories – each partner will identify 2 success stories about artisans from the region or country (we will also agree, all partners, about the structure of the story and artisan’s typology at the first TPM, but the persons should be 50+ and good entrepreneurs) The chapter will include relevant pictures and movies (for the on-line version) about subject persons and their crafts. - Participatory research will include also two parts:
– a focus group (7-10 participants, at least 3 will be 50+ artisans with low entrepreneurial and ICT skills, facing with great difficulties in making their products known and marketable in on-line environment, the rest will be persons from public and private structures interesting in promoting crafts sector at national and international level); this aims to assess the training needs of the final beneficiaries of this project – 50+ artisans with great artistic skills but almost illiterate in entrepreneurial and ICT fields. After processing the information from all partners and drawing the conclusions we will establish and agree the first content of O2
– conclusions after piloting O2 (the training kit) on at least 20 artisans (50+ and low level of entrepreneurial and ICT competences) – each partner will apply proper evaluation tools (some are already described at the appropriate chapters, some will be developed and agreed by all partners after the focus groups, all of them will be included in O2) and describe how the training and all project activities (emphasising the transnational interaction between learners and blended learning mobilities) improved the personal and professional skills – and life, generally talking – at the level of senior adult learners involved. - Policy recommendation – from each chapter but also from feedbacks collected during all project activities – including multiplying events – we will collect some recommendation both at the level of each partner’s country and at EU level. In the end we will create an ”open letter” for European Commission and each partner will send it to our MEP, asking them to promote it and try to do something for improving the EU crafts sector. Similar letters – with policy recommendation at national level – will be sent to different decision makers (persons and institutions) in each partner’s country. This action will be also an important dissemination activity and underline the transferability potential of the output at the level of national and EU decision makers. Another possible transfer is at the level of different public and private structures dealing with adults’ education, that could use the whole IO for adapting their methods and instruments to the training needs revealed in this document.
There are two important elements of innovation in this document: the participatory approach (not only focus groups but also involvement of participants to local piloting activities) and the final chapter with policy recommendation – we don’t simply make a research and put it in a chest after project ends, we will try to trigger some changes in order to improve the situation of our beneficiaries. In this way we expect a relevant impact at policy decision level, through the last chapter. Another innovative element (applicable to all IOs) is the interconnectivity with O2 and O3.
The transferability potential arises from the content of this output. The relevant information included (about educational needs at the level of seniors but also in a wider range of small artisans, especially from rural areas) could be the basis of future activities related to entrepreneurial and ICT education and European identity awareness at adult learners’ level.
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