Project holder: Veneto Region
Partners: Foundation for the Promotion of Partnership and Development of Civil Society, Istria County, AIX-Marseille University, RCDI - Development and Innovation Network, Region of East Macedonia and Thrace (REMTH) - Regional Development Fund Treviso and Belluno Chamber of Commerce, Technological Institute of Aragon , Greek Free Open Source Software Society (GFOSS), Barcelona Activa - Barcelona City Council, Open University of Catalonia - UOC, PRIZMA - Foundation for Improvement of Employment Possibilities, National Association of Italian Municipalities and the Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Albania.
Financial support provider: European Regional Development Fund and IPA funding, Interreg Mediterranean Program
Total project value: € 3,278,529.80
Total funds for the Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development: € 188,383.00
Total funds for the County of Istria: € 181,950.00
Project duration: 01.02.2018.-31.01.2022.
Location: Italy, France, Croatia, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Slovenia and Albania.
Project + Resilient creates a partnership between 8 Mediterranean countries to foster a climate of innovation aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of socially responsible SMEs and to encourage job creation with an emphasis on entrepreneurs operating in the field of social entrepreneurship. The aim is to accelerate the process of policy change at the regional level in the areas involved, resulting in the integration of successful elements into the new cohesion policy (EU2020 +). It is an integrated project that establishes a structural approach to improving policy and practice in the emerging dynamics of social innovation through a comprehensive process based on the intertwined use of open data and the creation of a supranational socially responsible value chain. This includes studying, adapting and testing existing initiatives, with the ultimate goal of implementing them in the field of MED.
Within the + Resilient, 8 national pilot projects will be implemented, one of which is ReCeD'Istria, while at the international level, one pilot project will be implemented in cooperation with grey partners. Also, a web platform on open data has been created. To ensure the implementation of the pilot project and launch a web platform, a series of activities were held by 14 partners in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Albania and Croatia.
Due to the importance of developing more social enterprises in Istria, the Foundation for Encouraging Partnerships and Civil Society Development organized a series of activities aimed at raising awareness of key stakeholders, decision-makers on the importance of development and benefits of social innovation and social entrepreneurship. Several round tables, working meetings were held, as well as focus groups that contributed to the creation of the Regional Center for the Development of Social Innovation - ReCeD'Istria.
Among the most important educations and workshops, we can single out the workshop on social innovation "Design Thinking" method - 40 stakeholders from civil, private, public and academic sectors from the Istrian County developed innovative ideas for social innovation using the Design thinking method. There is also the first “Virtual School of Social Innovation” with the theme of local philanthropy. By developing ideas obtained at the Virtual School of Social Innovation, the Foundation wants to develop the potential that Pula as a city has in its philanthropic story, which will greatly contribute to creating the foundation for future generations for socially responsible behaviour and living. Also, during the implementation of the project, excellent cooperation was developed with the University of Juraj Dobrila in Pula, so in cooperation with the Faculty of Economics and Tourism "Dr Mijo Mirković" the first "Community case study program" was successfully developed and implemented. The Community case study program method was developed by the Foundation through the + Resilient project, to introduce students to the nonprofit sector, encouraging students to get involved in associations, and sensitizing students about the difficulties and problems that vulnerable groups have. But also in parallel with this process, associations have been given creative new ideas to solve the problems they face. Also, in cooperation with the Technical Faculty in Pula, students developed 3 prototypes of social innovations. Through several hours of the course, students were given a brief insight into what social innovation is, and the given task - a problem for which they needed to find a solution. The first developed prototype of social innovation was the Puzzle Arena for the Blind and Visually Impaired.