SIP_logo(01)SIP_logoOverview

COORDINATOR:  Rotaract Club Bucuresti (Romania)

PARTNERS: EDInet (UK) and Ustav (Czech Republic)

IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: September 2015 – November 2017

MAIN RESULT: The Social Innovators Programme Training Guidelines (SIP E-Guide), a complete training manual for organisations to use in order to provide social innovation and social entrepreneurship training for young people. 

The Social Innovators Programme (SIP) began in 2015 as an entrepreneurial education project developed by Asociația Rotaract Club București (Romania) in partnership with EDInet (Scotland and Ustav Socialnich Inovaci (Czech Republic). 

According to the European Commision social innovation means developing new ideas, services and models to better address social issues. It invites input from public and private actors, including civil society, to improve social services.

Project Activities – Piloting, Training, Implementing

Over the course of two years, we have worked to create a training manual on social innovation and social entrepreneurship by transferring know-how from Scotland to the Czech Republic and Romania, adapting the information received to the social and economic context of the two countries, but more importantly, to the local reality of young people.

We have had 3 transnational meetings – in the Czech Republic (2015), Scotland (April 2017) and Romania (November 2017).

Between December 2015 – July 2016 we created, translated and adapted the training materials and methodology.

From September 2016 to July 2017 we piloted the training materials and methodology. Rotaract Club Bucuresti and Ustav socialnich inovaci organised 3 training sessions, supporting young people to develop their social innovation projects.

A study visit in Scotland in March-April 2017 was organised by EDInet. 20 young people, selected based on the project proposals from among the participants in the training sessions, went to Edinburgh, Scotland, for an advanced 9 day training course during which they met social entrepreneurs and discovered social innovation projects,

In June 2017 we organised a multiplier event titled ‘SIP Ideas in Action’.  This multiplier seminar gathered over 45 people, representatives of youth organisations and young people interested in developing social innovation projects. The agenda included a project presentation followed by sessions dedicated to the Social Innovators Programme Training Guidelines (SIP E-Guide). A similar multiplier seminar was organized by Ustav socialnich inovaci in the Czech Republic.

The final conference titled ‘Social Innovation Day’ was organised by the project coordinator and took place in Bucharest in November 2017. The final conference brought together stakeholders involved in social economy and youth education in order to support young people in developing their own social innovation projects.

The project result is the Social Innovators Programme Training Guidelines (SIP E-Guide), a complete manual which organisations can use to implement social innovation and social entrepreneurship training for young people.

The SIP E-Guide features:

  • Theoretical materials on: Social Innovation, Marketing and Branding, Financing, Legal and accounting for social initiatives, Social Impact, Leadership and Communication, Pitching and Public Speaking.
  • Training methodology using non-formal methods of education, and not only.
  • Social innovation case studies from Scotland, the Czech Republic and Romania.

The training course format is structured as follows:

  • Non-formal education activities;
  • Speaker sessions on Social Innovation, Marketing and Branding, Financing, Legal and accounting for social initiatives, Social Impact, Leadership and Communication, Pitching and Public Speaking;
  • On-site visits to social innovation initiatives.

Future perspectives 

We encourage organisations to use the Social Innovators Programme Training Guidelines (SIP E-Guide) and organise social innovation and social entrepreneurship training for young people.

Reach out to us via the website and we will answer your questions, provide information and offer support to help you implement a social innovation training course for young people.

About the partners

  • Rotaract Bucharest (Lead Partner) – Established 21 years ago, Rotaract Bucharest is an NGO of young volunteers with ages between 18-30 years old, students and young professionals working together. Its activity focuses on educational and environmental projects for the community, but also on the personal and professional development of its members. From arts and crafts for underprivileged children to planting trees and raising awareness about environmental issues, the members of Rotaract initiate activities based on their own experience, education and personal learning objectives, but also on the needs of the community. With backgrounds in marketing and communication, social studies, economics and international business, law and IT&C, Rotaract members contribute their skills, time, energy and enthusiasm to service projects. For the 35 Rotaract members, every project is a good opportunity to learn about the community, about each other and about themselves, developing skills and building friendships.
  • Ústav sociálních inovací, o.p.s. (in English – Institute of Social Innovation, p.b.o. – public benefit organization) is the non-profit non-governmental organization from Kobylnice, Czech Republic. The organization’s work is oriented mainly towards socio-economically disadvantaged areas – the areas of Jihomoravsky region and partially also Olomouc region. Ustav can bring to the partners more than 10 years’ experience with training and social innovations activities in the Czech regions). In 2014 our organization had 13 staff members and turnover approx. 200 thousands EUR. We are based in the Southern Moravia region (NUTS II Southeast) being active also in the other regions of the Czech Republic.
  • EDInet – see About page.