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Revitalizing Democracy: Growth and jobs.

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Join “The Cities of the Future 2017” Brokerage Event!

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Following the successful event on EU Funding for Turkey (which took place in Ankara on May 4th), the AER is now pleased to announce the launch of the “Cities of the Future 2017” Brokerage Event which will be held in Brussels on the 26th and 27th of October 2017. The so-called event is organised by the “Turkey in Horizon 2020”, a consortium formed by International Development Ireland LDT (IDI), the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) of Austria, the European Business Innovation Centers Network (EBN) of Belgium, Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovaçao (SPI), and G&G Consulting (Turkey).

What is it about?

The event will bring together up to 400 researchers, industry professionals, government officials and policy makers from Europe and Turkey, targeting the following H2020 topics:

  • “Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities” and “Energy Efficient Buildings”
  • “Circular Economy (SPIRE, Raw Materials and Water)
  • “Mobility for Growth,” “Automated Road Transport” and “The European Green Vehicles Initiative”
  • “Smart Energy Systems and Consumers”

Purpose of the event

The Cities of the Future 2017, according to the program description, is meant as a “wider concept that encompasses cities’ overall energy and resource efficiency with profound economic, social and environmental impacts, resulting in a better quality of life. In this context ‘Green Vehicles’ play an essential role, as well as further advances in ‘Factories of the Future’ or ‘Sustainable Process Industries’, for increased resource efficiency, new markets, and new jobs.”

What’s in for regions?

As stated by the EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, “Turkey is a much-valued partner. Its dynamic business environment is a perfect test bed for the development of innovative products and services – making cooperation a win-win for researchers and enterprises on both sides.”

This event then provides an excellent opportunity for AER members to build up linkages not only with Turkish and European researchers but also with highly qualified research-performing SMEs, expand networks and create new partnerships for the upcoming calls in Horizon 2020.

Registration

Click now on this link to register for the Cities of the 2017 International Brokerage event in Brussels

All participants are strongly encouraged to present their organisations and project ideas at the workshops. You can download the presentation template here and send it back to [email protected].

For more information, just visit the event website: http://turkeyinh2020.eu/news/be3/

Photo credits: @turkeyinh2020 http://turkeyinh2020.eu/news/be3/

Related Article

https://aer.eu/successful-event-eu-funding-turkey/

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Project on Youth Career Centre for EEA and Norway Grants

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Searching for projects targeting youth employment?

If so, you are at the right place for finding your Consortium. The Inter-municipal Development Centre of the Municipalities Grosuplje, Ivančna Gorica and Trebnje (Slovenia) are currently looking for partners to develop an innovative project which will be submitted within the framework of the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment. You can find all the information about the Call for Proposal in our previous article regarding this funding opportunity.

Why getting involved?

The aim of this initiative is to establish youth career centres in order for youngsters to benefit from life-long career orientation mechanisms and thus enable them to enter the labour market and remain there in the long term. In other words, this international non-profit youth employment agency seeks to assist their target group, including young women and NEETs, in getting their first job for a minimum period of 6 months. Its core purpose is to contribute to building a strong network of beneficiary employers willing to mentor and participate in intergenerational co-operation within this agency.

They are looking for you if…

  • You are from a Northern-European country, ideally from Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.
  • You can form local partnerships in your own town by bringing together national or local public institutions as well as NGOs.

These local partnerships will perform the following activities:

  • Organizing activities for youth to help them developing crucial competencies as well as facilitating their access to the labour market – via obtaining certificates and licences;
  • Performing career centre activities: individual guidance, lectures, workshops for competence-building and networking with employers;
  • Cooperating to establish an international youth employment agency – one for the whole partnership;
  • Employing local youth in the employment agency and find them work;
  • Hosting international youth from the employment agency and find them work.

In addition to this, the expertise partner will perform the following activities:

  • Share knowledge and experiences about the topic of youth employment in his own country;
  • Presentation of his model-program and consulting how to transfer good practice examples to project partners countries.

How to apply?

In the first phase, a concept note must be submitted electronically for this Call for Proposal open until August 1st (12:00 noon CET). Then, the shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full project application (deadline: November 1st)

Did you get interested and inspired? If so, please do not hesitate to contact the AER Secretariat by July 14th in order to take advantage of this funding opportunity.

Photo credits: @pexels https://static.pexels.com/photos/40815/youth-active-jump-happy-40815.jpeg

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Erasmus+ project on peer review in adult learning

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AER is happy to share a successful project from Umbria region, aimed to provide a good practice adaptable for future projects in the field of formal and non-formal adult learning.

PRALINE  project – ‘Peer Review in Adult Learning to Improve Formal and Non-Formal Education’, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, aims at developing innovative and sustainable initiatives to support Adult Learning (AL) providers through a piloting of the European Peer Review methodology adapted to the adult education sector and tested in five countries: France, Italy, Lithuania, Malta and Portugal.

The final conference of this project, part of the EAEA’s campaign – the Year of Adult Education in Europe 2017, was organised in Brussels on 10th May at the Umbria region office and got an high number of participants as well as relevant speakers and experts. AER Secretariat was in attendance, getting the chance to learn about the project’s experience and findings.

Why PRALINE?

Quality Culture is a priority in the EU Agenda for Adult Learning aimed at ensuring the “possibilities for adults to access high-quality learning opportunities…” Quality of human capital ensures competitiveness. Most of the countries are currently developing or transforming their legislation for this sector, focusing more on quality assurance. Implementation of strategies on adult learning is challenging (Panteia, Developing the adult learning sector, p.XII – 2013).

What is the aim of PRALINE?

  • Developing innovative and sustainable initiatives to support Adult Learning providers, specifically targeting those in non-formal education sector, in approaching Quality Assurance in their organisation and training provision.
  • Raising awareness on the positive impact of education in terms of personal and professional development, as well as social integration.

What are the main findings?

  • ‘Warming-up Strategy for developing a Quality Culture’ to achieve the overall objective of initiating Formal and Non-Formal Adult Learning providers to Quality Culture
  • Turning quality assurance into practice by implementing activities including piloting of the Adapted Peer Review methodology in AL providers, production of Recommendations for developing a quality culture and implementing peer review in formal and non-formal adult learning sector and dissemination/exploitation of the results.

The results on the project can be found in the Qualitative Analysis of the Piloting of the Peer Review Methodology for the Adult Learning Sector and in the Recommendations for Developing a Quality Culture and Implementing Peer Review in Formal and Non-Formal Adult Learning Sector.

Qualitative Analysis of the Piloting of the Peer Review Methodology for the Adult Learning Sector

It helps to understand what are the strengths and areas of improvements by piloting the European Peer Review methodology.

The methodology previously validated for other educational domains was confirmed to be:

  • Flexible enough for providers with non-mature Quality Management systems in place
  • Effective for the non-formal learning sector and thus able to support the dialogue with formal learning providers and their more structured and regulated approach
  • Functional for the reinforcement of soft skills
  • A support to the organisations going through period of change
  • A way to improve the use of self-assessment practices in the organisations QM systems coherently with the objectives of EU policies.

However, some aspects could be improved. In particular, some tools in the European Peer Review Tool-Box needs to be simplified. More flexible ways for application of the methodology needs to be formed in order to adopt it to specific contexts. The role of Peers as catalyst needs to be investigated for a smooth approach to quality assurance. Better impact assessment of participation to Peer Reviews is needed in terms of soft skills development. The educational value of the Quality Areas has key role in quality culture development, therefore, its promotion is inevitable.

Recommendations for Developing a Quality Culture and Implementing Peer Review in Formal and Non-Formal Adult Learning Sector 

Recommendations are made starting from the results of the ‘Warming-up Strategy’, as well as from the conclusions of ‘the Qualitative Analysis of the Piloting of the Peer Review Methodology for the Adult Learning Sector’ and of the Stakeholders’ Committees.

Some potential implementation areas at both provider and policymaker levels were identified.

For policy makers:

  1. Systemising the framework of the European Peer Review Methodology in a transversal way to encompass all educational sectors
  2. Clear position of European Peer Review in wider quality assurance system of adult learning sector to ensure its use and recognition at national and European level
  3. Encouraging synergies between policies and instruments, greater transparency and consistency between sectors also operating separately

For adult learning providers:

  1. Promoting the professional qualification and continuing training of staff responsible for education and training, in particular on issues of quality assurance and the consequent recognition of these skills as relevant to their professional profile.
  2. Considering the possibility of adaptation to the specificities of the organisations and of the educational offer, in order to include everyone in the process of improvement, starting from the sharing of a common framework.

For both policy makers and adult learning providers:

  1. Integrating Peer Review methodology with other Quality Assurance methods moving towards a system of “performance-based awarding schemes”.
  2. Supporting an approach based on voluntary basis through institutional and shared forms of recognition and visibility, as Registers of Peers, a Peer Review European Label, etc
  3. Identifying links between European and national levels for a sustainable introduction and mainstreaming of the European Peer Review methodology
  4. Supporting opportunities for interaction and exchange between VET providers and AL providers for the sake of quality of learning offer.
  5. Developing quality network among providers, valuing and rewarding initiatives of mutual evaluation among organizations also from different sectors
  6. Promoting information and training meetings on the issues of quality of learning offer addressed not necessarily, or not only, to quality specialists.
  7. Supporting the use of the conceptual framework of the European Peer Review methodology (Quality Areas, criteria and related indicators) for self-evaluation and in order to raise awareness about the importance of a culture of quality among different AL providers.

For AL providers:

  1. Promoting the professional qualification and continuing training of staff responsible for education and training, in particular on issues of quality assurance and the consequent recognition of these skills as relevant to their professional profile.
  2. Considering the possibility of adaptation to the specificities of the organisations and of the educational offer, in order to include everyone in the process of improvement, starting from the sharing of a common framework.

If you wish to learn more about this project and ways to cooperate with Umbria region, please get in touch with the AER Secretariat.

 

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Join the EU pilot-initiative “Interreg Volunteer Youth”

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The Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) initiative is part of the broader European Solidarity Corps Initiative launched by the European Commission in December 2016.

IVY officially started on 1st March 2017 and is a 1-year pilot action to offer the possibility to young Europeans aged 18-30 to serve as volunteers in the cross-border, transnational or interregional programmes and related projects. Each experience is between 2 and 6 month long.

The initiative aims at involving young volunteers to support, promote and report the concrete achievements of Interreg programmes and projects, as well as generally promote cooperation across European borders and related values such as solidarity. IVY will give volunteers the opportunity to familiarise with the Interreg programmes and projects, make them aware of the many benefits of collaboration among EU internal borders as well as enhance their sense of European solidarity, citizenship and civic engagement. Moreover, thanks to the IVY, volunteers will acquire a unique experience of personal growth as well as enhancing and gaining skills that they can employ in their future experiences.

Support and visibility through volunteering are the leitmotiv of this initiative.

The Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), a longstanding AER partner, has the pleasure and honour to manage this pilot initiative on behalf of the European Commission.

AER supports this initiative which complements, on the volunteering side, its Eurodyssey programme.

Interreg Programmes & Projects interested in joining IVY and are welcome to contact AERB at: [email protected]

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Investing for green projects

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While different solutions exist to reduce CO2 emissions, limit the scope and mitigate the impacts of climate change, most large-scale initiatives require substantial investments. The London plenary meetings of the AER Committees will shed some light on impact investing and in specific green investing, which is a topic on which AER has been working for several years new via the Regions4GreenGrowth INTERREG IVC project and the collaboration with the R20 in particular.

Where is the money?

Green impact investing refers to projects which aim to have a beneficial impact on the environment. This includes the development of renewable energy systems, building green infrastructure, reduction of climate change. Many initiatives address the need to improve the conditions of our society, for the present and future generations.

For instance, green bonds have been launched by banks or international institutions. These are used to invest in projects for clean air, clear water, green infrastructures, having thus an impact in terms of quality of life.

Meanwhile, alternative solutions as crowdfunding models have started to develop as well. There are platforms in which every citizen can contribute to finance sustainable projects, as in renewable energy projects, innovative energy conservation etc. In this way, citizens have the chance to get directly involved in more sustainable solutions, even with small contributions.

At regional and local level, these tools are often considered complicated to be used, both for the implementation process and for the large investment required. These problems have been addressed also at European level, as stated in the Position Paper of  The Citizenergy Project, a European project funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Program that aims at creating an EU-wide platform for citizen participation in renewable energy projects. Because regional and local levels are the closest to citizens they are the best level to implement energy transition projects. Strengthening the processes for implementing crowdfunding and cooperative models will, for instance channel new funds for such projects at community level. Crowdfunding & cooperative models typically help reduce the procurement barriers and offer citizens an opportunity to invest in local renewable energy projects across Europe.

Supporting regions on the road to green investing

AER regions were invited last Summer to submit projects for the “100 Solutions Projects Campaign” launched by R20 and the Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation. R20 is implementing a technical and financial ecosystem able to cover the whole value chain of project development, financing and implementation. This campaign aimed at giving value to regional green projects by giving them visibility on the international stage and by helping regions finance their green projects, either directly or indirectly. The themes are waste management, renewable energy, and LED lighting. Projects submitted to this campaign demonstrate that the green transition to 100% clean and renewable energy can be addressed, starting from regional level. Worldwide the campaign attracted over 550 projects highlighting that the green market economy is maturing and regional authorities are in the front line.

Mutual learning on impact investing

The spring plenary meetings of the AER Committees on 21-23 march in London will be an opportunity to look more specifically at the diversification of funding and financing sources. While innovation in the public sector, cooperation & skills acquisition are some of the well-known elements which support sustainable financing (see AER conference on innovation in the public sector, November 2015), it is also vital for regions to channel new funds for mid-to-long term planning.

Experts and policy makers will discuss long-term investing, the Juncker Plan, impact investing in general and green investments in particular. Participants will gain new knowledge about funding & financing mechanisms, share challenges and evaluate opportunities for their regions.

Links

AER Spring 2017 plenary meetings

Related articles

Success of the “100 solutions project campaign”: more than 550 projects received!

No money for renewables?

 

Photo credit Juwi @Flickr https://tinyurl.com/j45c3yb

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Long term Investments, the EU and you

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Are you the regional expert we need?

AER has been invited to name one or two experts for the work currently being carried out at European level on long term investments. Does your region want to be involved?

A High-Level Task Force on financing social infrastructure and maximising public value is being set up by the European Association of Long Term Investors and the Think Tank Integrate. This High-Level Task Force is supported by EC Vice President Jirki Katainen and the European Investment Bank. The Chair of the High-Level Task Force will be Romano Prodi and Deputy Chair Christian Sautter.

Direct impact on future funding for regions

The Task Force will look at long-term investments for health, education and housing in particular in order to complete current instruments. The conclusions of the Task Force will be the basis for a Juncker Plan 2 in these areas. Your involvement in this Task force will, therefore, have a substantial impact.

AER has been invited to contribute to this initiative to provide the regional perspective. An AER regional expert (civil servant) can be nominated to one of the below mentioned technical working groups. Political engagement will also be needed for the formal meetings and the lobbying actions.

Two working groups of 10 people will work on long-term investments in social infrastructure:

-The first group will meet 6 times in the 6 first months to look at investment patterns in the public sector by sector and by geography.

-The second group will meet 5 times in the following 6 months and should estimate what the future patterns will be, as a function of how public authorities and sector/geography-specific public services seek to adapt to macro trends e.g. changing demography, epidemiology, technology etc. – again, by sector and by geography.

 

If you are interested in participating in this initiative, please contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge transfer Johanna Pacevicius

 

Photo credit: “Spectacle” Thomas Abbs @Flickr https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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Impact investments: sustainable returns to society

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With the economic and financial crisis of the recent years, governments had to commit themselves to balance their budget and reduce public debt and deficit. These constraints have put limits to national expenditures, meaning that many social issues have been left aside because of a lack of funds.

However, youth education, social inclusion, healthcare, climate change all have a significant impact on economic development. In order to be addressed these issues need to attract investment.

What is social impact investing?

Finding innovative mechanisms to finance social improvements is not something new. Some countries have already been searching for new financial sources and for ways to better and more efficiently use tight public budgets. Many public-private partnerships have been developed in order to gather resources and improve some social conditions. Many banks helped the financing of social projects too.

Also at european level, in 2013 the EIB Group launched the first pan-European public-private partnership, the Social Impact Accelerator (SIA). It addressed the growing need for availability of equity finance to support social enterprises, promoting social inclusion, alternative sources of employment and contributing to growth. SIA reached its final closing in July 2015. More lately, the Juncker Plan and the EFSI are facilitating public-private partnerships, providing technical assistance and resources in favour of projects in specific sectors.

However, we have started to talk about impact investment. The need of greater availability of resources and better investing structures lead to think to new approaches. Companies, organisations or development funds have been attracted by impact investment, addressing social and environmental issues. According to the strategy  and the budget adopted, to the investor expectations, the project can also set a financial return below the market rate. From this idea of impact investment many initiatives and good practices have come out.

Alternative approaches and initiatives

A recent example is the Social Impact Bonds case. They are “payment by results” investments. In particular they are agreements involving public authority, investors, a service provider and an intermediary organisation. They allow to have a return to the investment only if the project developed delivers positive and measurable social outcomes.

United Kingdom has been one of the first country to use the tool of social impact bonds. Its pilot project at Peterborough Prison it’s the world’s first social impact bond used since 2010 to finance rehabilitation at work. In 2012, with the government assistance UK launched also the world’s first social investment bank, realizing projects in healthcare, education and many other social issues.

Ireland, in its Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016, proposed Social Impact Investing (SII). This involved using private capital to fund initiatives addressing social problems, and funding is linked to results. The State agreed to repay the private investor only if the established outcomes were achieved. The project aim was searching for private sector investment partners in the housing sector in order to provide long-term, sustainable and stable homes for homeless families in the Dublin region.

Consortium for Development of Polesine (CONSVIPO), Italy. A Territorial Pact was developed to support and reinforce the local economy through information about the financial opportunities offered by regional, national and European actors, aimed at public and private initiatives. The main goals: development of the territory, establishment of a permanent local cooperation and partnership network, support sustainable development programmes and initiatives regarding the promotion of equal opportunities.

In support of the social impact investment sector, the Global Social Impact investment Steering Group (GSG) was established in 2015, as a successor of the SII Taskforce established by G8. It’s composed by members from 13 countries plus the EU and other government and network organisations. Its aim is to promote a unified view of impact investment, facilitating knowledge exchange and encouraging policy change in national markets.

AER activities in the field

Regions are exactly the places where the citizens’ needs are and also where often the gap between financial and social players needs to be fixed. This is why AER is addressing investment issues in particular via its Spring plenary meetings on 21-23 in London. Moreover, AER has been invited to participate in the Commission’s A High-Level Task Force on financing social infrastructure and maximising public in order to ensure the regional perspective is taken into account in what could become the drafting of the Juncker Plan II.

Links

AER Spring 2017 Plenary meetings

Related articles

Long term Investments, the EU and you

Investing for green projects

 

Photo credit @Flickr – askal bosch http://tinyurl.com/gtpdzhy  

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E-health: how to find a common language?

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Regional governments and their stakeholders, in particular, companies shared experiences on 1 December 2016 at the “E-health: let’s find a common language” event hosted by Brussels Capital at the Committee of the Regions. The event aimed at providing participants with information on funding opportunities in the field of healthcare,  new connections, tested ideas to improve communication between stakeholders, inspiration and mutual understanding.

Genuine exchanges

cor-1E-health brings together stakeholders which are not always used to work together. While improving cooperation is on all lips, the consequences of miscommunication are often under-estimated. The so-called geek gap is costing millions to the economy. The cultural clash between different stakeholders prevents them from building trust and deepen cooperation.

The event, therefore, was designed with a strong focus on enabling participants to take an active role. Because purpose-driven networking is often more of a wishful thought than a reality, every single element of the event was aimed at facilitating the exchange of experience between participants from different stakeholder groups.

Engagement & openness

hob

AER President Dr. Hande Özsan Bozatli, welcomed guests and underlined the longstanding engagement of AER in the field of e-health, with in particular the creation of the AER [email protected] network in 2006. Expertise has grown over the years and shifted from rather technical discussions to the transformative power of e-health in the public service. Several projects have been developed within the network and carried out, in particular, the Smartcare ICT-PSP project, which was the largest EU deployment project on integrated care systems. Other projects such United4health and Engaged supported regions in the deployment of telemedicine and created mutual learning across Europe around smart health.

eric-v-merrienboerNorth Brabant Minister for Spatial Planning and Finances Eric van Merrienboer delivered an inspiring speech on the need for open cooperation as a sine qua non condition to achieve the desired results or realise innovations. This open cooperation is based on 4 main elements:  taking your own responsibility, knowledge, skills, respect for each other. “An organisation such as the AER is ideally suited to act as a role model and leader”, he said, because regions in and outside the European Union make it possible to identify and approach other stakeholders “to find a common language in the exchange of knowledge and skills, but also to actually do business with each other”.

Sharing the small things

Each delegate had the opportunity to explain how they work on a set of topics in small and rather informal discussion groups. Participants put across challenges they are confronted with, in particular, which stakeholders they find difficult to engage or even to communicate with and why they would like to see the communication with these stakeholders improve. Hearing from others what they find difficult helps to get new perspectives.

Participants enriched the discussion with examples which they have seen improve common understanding between stakeholders. Often examples can seem insignificant as such but as a group and through the discussion they can actually be illuminating.

It is often by sharing the small things that common understanding starts to emerge because it refers to the practical aspects and the “how do we start”

Discussion groups were organised around the following topics:

  • Public-private partnerships

Moderated by Marco D’Angelantonio from HIM SA, with contributions from Pieter van den Haak from ParkinsonNet, Kees Kools from the Care Innovation Center West-Brabant, Wil Philipsen from Fresh Idea Factory and several regional representatives.

  • Pre-commercial procurement / procurement for innovation

Moderated by Freja Hagsund from EUREGHA, with contributions from Lynda Jones and Jane Brady from the Welsh government as well as Dr. Ramon Maspons from the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS, as per the acronym in Catalan) and many other stakeholders

  • Translating Research and Innovation into practice through collaborative engagement

Moderated by Marc Lange from EHTEL, with contributions from Prof. Dr. Bart Neyns from UZ Brussels, Bas Goossen from MiBida and other participants.

  • Patient-centered innovation

Moderated by Lonneke Rompen from ParkinsonNet, with contributions from Nilofar Niazi, from TRAINM, as well as other organisations and regional stakeholders.

  • Capacity building in care system

Moderated by Olivier Naeyaert from UZ Brussels, with contributions from Paul De Raeve and Kostas Aligiannis from the European Federation of Nurses (EFN) and many other delegates.

Inputs were captured and synthesised by rapporteurs, who disclosed them in the plenary session.

Hands-on inspiration

A study visit to the Microsoft Executive Briefing Center in Brussels was an opportunity to discuss public-private partnerships. The visit provided insights on the latest technological  innovations and trends and was an opportunity to speak about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care. This video on the Seeing AI project showcases for instance how artificial intelligence is enabling blind people to “see” what happens around them, recognising people’s age and emotions or reading from a menu in a restaurant. Microsoft has also recently announced a quartet of initiatives aimed at “solving” cancer via artificial intelligence.

Cross-sectoral cooperation

Cooperation was probably the word most heard during the whole event. It all started with the cooperation between Jean-Luc Vanraes, President of the AER Committee on Regional development and Economy and Agneta Granström, President of the AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health, who decided to initiate a cooperation on e-health early 2016. Indeed while demographic change should be an opportunity to develop IT innovation and e-health technologies, SMEs are the backbone of the European economy and more than ever before regions need to support their companies in being able to take advantage of the growth potential of e-health & the silver economy. This is why the AER [email protected] network and the Working group on Business, SMEs and Investments held a joint meeting at the Timişoara Start up HUB on the occasion of the Spring plenaries this year and recently organised a workshop on health innovation ecosystems in Izmir.

Networks as facilitators and bridges

The event was designed and organised together with networks AER collaborates with regularly in the field of health. CORAL, EUREGHA and EHTEL played a significant role in the success of this event by providing their expertise, but maybe more specifically by acting as facilitators and as bridges between different stakeholders.

Related upcoming event

alec2017-comALEC, Accelerating Digital Health is organised for the fifth time in Norrbotten (SE) and will be an opportunity to discuss how to bridge health gaps in the age of digital everything. The conference is a place for meaningful connection with peers and experts from all over the world in an incredible environment where time and space seem to obey to different rules. These two days of inspiration, networking and skill development will enable participants to futher engage for the digital transformation of health and society as a whole and develop tools to design better health for all.

Once again ALEC will present a great line-up of top-level digital health thought leaders, policy makers and business innovators who will deliver inspiring and informative keynotes on The Digital Transformation of Healthcare and Health Equity in the Digital Age.

Regions, which would like to share their experience in change management for digital transformation should contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius.

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Eurodyssey regions make “fair” mobility a reality

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The 2016 Eurodyssey annual forum took place in Larnaka, Cyprus, from 22-24 November. The topic at the centre of the discussions was “fair mobility”. Eurodyssey is AER’s international youth mobility programme, providing young people with opportunities to engage in internships in in other European countries thus easing the access to the job market. Eurodyssey is an excellent tool for regions to tackle youth unemployment.

The programme benefits from many unique traits that were presented during the Forum. AER Committee 3 Vice-President and Chairman of Hedmark County Council (NO) Mr Dag Rønning stated “the Eurodyssey programme is a flagship initiative in AER, a perfect illustration of true interregional cooperation and an exemplary service that provides true added value for the regions involved”. Ms Christine Garnier, Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR) highlighted the results of an analytical study made on the programme to identify improvements and new potential.

Four active Eurodyssey regions presented strands of their youth mobility policies illustrating why Eurodyssey can be referred to as a “fair” programme.

screen-shot-2016-11-24-at-14-44-01A fair partner – Bruxelles-Capitale (BE)

Ms Arlette Brone from Actiris International presented the programme as it is set up in Brussels-Capital. She explained the structure of Actiris and the department responsible for international mobility. Ms Brone gave the figures of the outgoing young people taking part in the programme which show the diversity in the nationalities, types of studies and sectors. She also explained the conditions for young people to come to Brussels for an international internship. Download the presentation.

Promoting the diversification of Businesses – Catalunya (ES)screen-shot-2016-11-24-at-14-45-48

Ms Esther Estany (Catalunya-ES) explained the strategic approach in Catalunya to diversify the types of companies and businesses involved in the Eurodyssey programme. The diversity is expressed in terms of the size of the companies, from SMEs, to larger businesses, to NGOs and social institutions. But the diversity in Catalunya is also a matter of the sector of activity as well as the geographic location, to promote cities and places outside of Barcelona. Download the presentation.

Targeting different beneficiaries for employability and to fight social exclusion – Umbria (IT)

Umbria (IT) has been active in the Eurodyssey programme for 3 years and integrated the programme with the aim to use it as a tool for employability and to tackle social exclusion. Mr Riccardo Fano Illic took the opportunity of the Forum to share the evaluation of this first period and more specifically the impact of the programme on two target groups, one with a high European Qualifications Framework (EQF) level and the second with a low EQF level. The experience in Umbria shows that for this second, more fragile group, it is still difficult to access the programme. Download the presentation.

Auvergne Rhône-AlpesPolicies for geographic diversity – Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (FR)

Ms Bérangère Furbacco (Auvergne Rhône-Alpes-FR) presented the strategy set up in the region to cope with the specificities of a large region with numerous important economic poles. This strategy will be all the more important since the regional reform in France and the partnering with Auvergne. The demand was high in Rhône-Alpes with 800 candidates for only 40 mobility opportunities. The region is also picking up trends to digitalise its processes and keep up with the habits of young connected citizens. Download the presentation.

The representatives from Cyprus concluded the day’s work with presentations about the Cyprus programme.

All presentations and additional documentation from the conference are available on our event page.

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EFSI: a concrete opportunity for regions

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The Investment Plan for Europe, also known as “Juncker Plan“, adapted in 2014, is built around three pillars:

  • the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI)
  • the European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) and the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH)
  • Improving Investment Environment.

The focus of the AER briefing seminar on 30 November with EC Vice president Jirki Katainen will be on EFSI, the main instrument for boosting investment, employment and economic growth in general. The total investment target is EUR 315 billion in additional to public and private investment over the next three years. EFSI has been launched together with the EIB Group – European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund – and the European Commission.

The activities on which EFSI focuses are strategic infrastructures; education, research, development and innovation; expansion of renewable energy and resource efficiency; support for smaller businesses and midcap companies.

The objective to support the recovering of the real economy after the economic and financial crisis. This is done by providing financial support to valuable projects, which can deliver investment opportunities in the local community, in a long-term perspective. Almost half of the target has already been mobilised (EUR 154 bn), covering a geographical area of 27 out of 28 EU countries. The main sectors involved are smaller companies, energy, RDI, digital and transport. A smaller percentage involves transport, environment and social infrastructures.

Challenges

As the EFSI has been integrated into the EIB Group, it is subject to its Project cycle and governance. Projects to be eligible must be economically and technically sound, in at least one of the EFSI eligible sectors, contributing to EU objectives, mature enough to be bankable and priced in a manner commensurate with the risk taken. These requirements can be difficult and demanding for regions or SMEs which may already experience difficulties in meeting their balance budget or in developing well-structured and long-term projects.

Therefore the challenges for the EFSI to become more attractive are the following:

  • improve accessibility, by information and promotion
  • provide instruments to overcome the financial gap: for instance adapting the requirements
  • provide instruments to overcome the capacity gap: facilitating the project structure, providing help to build good projects in the right sector
  • gain visibility at the very local level
  • gain credibility by the impact of the other projects implementation
  • overcome minimum requirements for the size of the projects: for instance for midcap companies the loan volume must be between 7.5 and 25mln. For projects under 25mln EIB provides intermediate loans to local, regional and national banks.
  • overcome the slow disbursement of the loan: in fact the project is signed subject to the fulfilment of pre-disbursement conditions and after signature the project remains under consideration for six months.

Pioneering regions

Here there are some good examples of projects, well developed and approved in the framework of Juncker Plan, coming from the following regions:

–Grand Est: QUAERO EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (2016) France

EUR 40mln in equity participation will enable the Quaero European Infrastructure Fund to attract other investors. This Fund provides equity financing for projects in the fields of social infrastructure, transport, telecoms, energy and public or private amenities.

-Rhône-Alpes: LYCEES – REGION RHONE-ALPES (2014) France

EUR 500mln to renovate and upgrade upper secondary schools. Part of the project’s investment is targeted towards the Region’s contribution to health and medicine-related higher education. The aim of the project is to improve education infrastructure and to increase energy efficiency of educational buildings in the region.

-North Braband: EVIDES WATER SUPPLY (2014) Netherlands

EUR 175 mln to support Evides’ capital investment programme 2014-2018 aimed at maintaining the quality and functionality of its water and distribution pipelines, basins and production installations among others. The aim is to  secure a sustainable management of water supply and distribution, bringing about positive social and environmental impacts.

-Gelderland: DYKE STRENGTHENING GELDERLAND Netherlands

EUR 182 mln to raise and widen river dykes along various sections of Rhine, Waal, Ijssel and Meuse (Gelderland). The aim is to strengthen the dikes along these rivers to protect and improve citizen’s physical safety and their quality of life. 

 

On 30 November, in the framework of the AER series of events “Investing in the future: new perspectives for the regions“, the Vice President of the European Commission in charge of investments Jyrki Katainen will give clarifications about the implementation of the EFSI. Regions can share their questions in advance by contacting AER coordinator for Institutional Relations Alexandre Brecx ([email protected]).

 

Photo credits of featured picture: Benjamin Turquier @Flickr http://tinyurl.com/j9aw78z

Other related articles

EFSI & the Circular Economy

Closing the loop: funding opportunities for circular economy projects

AER meeting with Jirki Kattainen on EFSI

Getting the most out of the European Fund for Strategic Investments

 

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Health innovation ecosystems: who’s in?

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(If you feel you understand all of the words of the title but not the title itself, please read through, you will be seeing clearly soon)

 

E-health, economic growth & social change

Delegates at the AER Committees joint Fall Plenaries in Izmir (TR) had the opportunity to participate in a workshop on health innovation ecosystems, which is a continuation of the work initiated by Committee 1 President Jean-Luc Vanraes and Committee 2 President Agneta Granström in the field of e-health last Spring in Timis (RO). Indeed while demographic change should be an opportunity to develop IT innovation and e-health technologies, SMEs are the backbone of the European economy and more than ever before regions need to support their companies in being able to take advantage of the growth potential of e-health & the silver economy.

 

Health innovation: from discovery to commercialisation

As Dr. Deborah Jackson writes in her white paper on innovation ecosystems, and Gustav Söderlund (E-health Strategist, Norrboten, SE) explained in the workshop, the term innovation ecosystem derives from the analogy with biological ecosystems. These are a complex set of relationships among the living resources, habitats, and residents of an area. Their functional goal is to reach sustained equilibrium.

An innovation ecosystem brings together very diverse actors and entities which work for technology development and innovation. This includes the material resources and human capital of universities, colleges of engineering, business schools, business firms, venture capitalists, industry-university research institutes, state or regional economic development agencies and chambers of commerce, funding agencies, policy makers, etc.

Health innovation ecosystems bring even more stakeholders together: patients, carers, informal carers (family, friends…), doctors, nurses, hospitals plus the stakeholders of a “classic” innovation ecosystem with the aim of bringing innovation to users and improve their health and wellbeing, while improving resource efficiency in healthcare systems. Because healthcare systems are expensive.

And this is one of the reason which make health innovation ecosystems difficult to create or to sustain: engaging stakeholders and creating a shared vision is a challenge.

 

Stakeholder engagement

The workshop aimed at identifying methods to engage stakehoders as well as methods to create shared objectives among diverse stakeholders. Prof Mitch Blair from the Imperial College of London, and Principal Investigator of the MOCHA project in which AER is a partner, shared his experience in engaging stakeholders in Northwest London and facilitated the workshop

On the basis of the e-learning quality improvement tools developped by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) Northwest London (NWL), participants to the workshop were invited to identify stakeholders who should be engaged in their respective regions to create health innovation ecosystems.

 

stakeholder matrix
source: http://clahrcnwl.qi4u.org/

The Stakeholder Engagement mapping tool used by AER delegates allows to analyse the list of stakeholders. Mapping stakeholders evidences their influence and interest in the success of a given project. This is a good basis to prioritise activities in the stakeholders management plan. The tool helps clarifying why certain groups of stakeholders need to be engaged, what they can retrieve from their engagement and what they will provide.

 

source: http://clahrcnwl.qi4u.org
source: http://clahrcnwl.qi4u.org

Another tool from the QI4U e-learning platform AER members used during this workshop was the Action-Effect Diagramm, which allows stakeholders to first of all agree on a shared overall aim and then agree on the different factors leading to this goal. Only once all the factors have been identified, will stakeholders decide on specific interventions. As was also evidenced during the workshop, we are very prone to proposing solutions which will lead to hidden details not being taken into account. Starting a complex initiative with a fixed idea on an intervention leads to hidden details becoming a barrier in the implementation of the initiative. The Action-Effect Diagramm avoids this hurdle by starting with the aim. It also allows to

  • design smarter interventions
  • have a clearer of the impact you aim to achieve and how
  • explain unexpected results
  • provide intermediate evidence if the overall project aim isn’t met

Such tools are therefore very valuable for policy makers in the setting up of large projects and in this case in the creation of regional health innovation ecosystems.

E-health: let’s find a common language

invest-cover

The workshop at the Committees autumn plenaries fits in a wider framework of actions the Assembly of European Regions is implementing to revitalise democracy and engage stakeholders. One of the major challenges with such diverse stakeholders and diverging interests in the field of e-health is to increase mutual understanding and trust. While improving cooperation is on all lips, the consequences of miscommunication are often under-estimated. The so-called geek-gap is costing millions to the economy.

This is why the AER’s Committee (1) on Economy and regional development and Committee (2) on Social policy and public health are organising an event “E-health: let’s find a common language” on December 1st together with AER partner networks CORAL, EUREGHA and EHTEL at the Committee of the Regions.

The event aims at providing participants with:
– information on funding opportunities in the field of healthcare, especially for companies
– new connections: opportunities for matchmaking and peer-to-peer meetings
– tested ideas to improve communication between stakeholders
– inspiration to engage stakeholders from the demand, the suppliers and the users sides in e-health innovation
– mutual understanding between different stakeholders

It is still possible to register!

(now you can see clearly!)

Other upcoming events

alec2017-comALEC, Accelerating Digital Health is organised for the fifth time in Norrbotten (SE) and will be an opportunity to discuss how to bridge health gaps in the age of digital everything. The conference is a place for meaningful connection with peers and experts from all over the world in an incredible environment where time and space seem to obey to different rules. These two days of inspiration, networking and skill development will enable participants to futher engage for the digital transformation of health and society as a whole and develop tools to design better health for all.

Once again ALEC will present a great line-up of top-level digital health thought leaders, policy makers and business innovators who will deliver inspiring and informative keynotes on The Digital Transformation of Healthcare and Health Equity in the Digital Age.

Regions, which would like to share their experience in change management for digital transformation should contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius ([email protected])

 

Photo credit featured image: Shawn Alladio @Flickr http://tinyurl.com/hnbycta

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Hands-on business practices in Østfold: the YRN Business Game

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YRN organised a very interactive workshop at the Summer Academy. The Youth Entrepreneurship Business Game was the result of the discussions of YRN Committee on Professional Life and Youth Entrepreneurship last year at the summer academy in Portugal, and at the spring plenary meeting this year in Lillehammer.

Screen Shot 2016-09-07 at 14.25.23 (2)

The introduction to the workshop was done by Ms. Stine M. Bjørnstad from Fru Blom Design. She shared her experience of starting her own business, responding with creativity to a concrete need. The coffee shop where she was working needed heavy tables for outdoor conditions that would not be easy to steal. Since they couldn’t find them anywhere, Ms. Bjørnstad decided to create them using local resources, and when clients started to ask where they could buy those tables, the idea of Fru Blom Design took form. You can find the presentation here.

This successful story was very inspiring and motivating, proving that you don’t need much to start with your own company. A good idea and the will to make it happen are the best resources to start. This premise set up the floor for the second part of the workshop: the interactive game.

Based on the Dragons’ Den game concept, the workshop challenged three teams to present a business idea to a panel of judges composed by Ms. Stine M. Bjørnstad; Ms. Siv Henriette Jacobsen (Vice County Mayor of Østfold); and Ms. Anne Wold (head of business section at Østfold County Council). The final product had to be socially responsible. Teams could opt for designing an eco-friendly product, or developing a business idea that contributed to solve the challenges of the refugee crisis (or both).

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In the first part of the game, participant teams were given half an hour to make a poster about the main concept, through text or images. The second part of the game included a surprise. The participating teams were asked to swap the posters. The idea they will be pitching to the board of judges would be one of the ideas that was drafted by another team. Teams were allowed to make changes in the project, adding their own ideas and making it better.

What was the aim of the game? First, we wanted to make the participants use their imagination to come up with a totally new product that was at the same time a good business idea and a project that strongly addresses an existing problem in real life. The second goal of the game was to help people to step out from their comfort zone, by pitching an idea that is not their own project. It was interesting to see how the groups reacted to the pitch about their original ideas that were made by the second groups.

The participants came up with great business ideas & got valuable feedback and were encouraged by the board of judges to make them happen in real life. (If they don’t do it then someone else will do). In addition, all the business ideas were strongly associated with the refugee crisis, even though it was an option. This denotes a strong sensitivity to the issue, even when the refugee crisis is not on the focus of the media anymore.

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How to make it into the business jungle without a degree?

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Florence, Max and Jeremy are three young entrepreneurs from Brussels. They came to Sarpsborg to present their experience in Eyecone. Through their very different personal paths, they explained the difference between entrepreneur, intrapreneur and expert, as well as the pros and cons of each model.

trio

The premise of the workshop was to discuss what are the options for young talented people starting in the business world. Those are moments of uncertainty, and young entrepreneurs often find themselves struggling to identify what is right for them and their future career.

At the workshop, the Summer Academy participants were introduced to a concept that most of them had never heard of before: Intrapreneurship. It is the practice of entrepreneurship in an established firm. Intrapreneurship applies the ‘start up’ style of management (characterized by flexibility, innovation, and risk taking) to a secure and stable firm. The objective is to fast track product development (by circumventing the bureaucracy) to take advantage of a new opportunity or to assess feasibility of a new process or design.

This concept sparkled a lively debate and many of the participants thought it was a very interesting option to combine the best of two worlds.

The conversation then moved into the World of Work and how culture conditions the attitude of a society towards entrepreneurship. Scandinavian participants mentioned the famous Law of Jante to explain why their societies disregard personal attitudes that aim towards individual success. This can explain why, when talking about daring to fail when starting a business, some Norwegian and Swedish participants answered that most of them wouldn’t even dare to try in the first place.

The outcome of the workshop can be summed up in one word: Inspiration! Participants were encouraged to overcome their fear of failing, and valorize people who try (even if they fail). That is the way to foster an entrepreneurial attitude in our societies, where those who DREAM are supported to take the next step and start DOING. We assist to a shift in the World of Work; in the future, work will be divided in short-term projects, with talented people working together as a dream team on well defined deliverables. Once a project is accomplished, they evaluate their work together, and then move on to the next one. As a result, a flexible, challenging, cost-effective, millennial-adapted economy would emerge, supported by regions and local economic players.

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Entrepreneurship as a tool for regional growth

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Entrepreneurship is a vital component of economic growth and development. The creation of new business entities not only generates added value, fiscal revenues, employment and innovation, but is an essential ingredient for the development of a vibrant small- and medium-sized business sector—the core of most competitive economies.

220px-Nordland_våpen.svg

Hild Marit Olsen, an Executive of Education from the region of Nordland, talked to the Summer Academy participants about how they integrate entrepreneurship in regional development strategies. Entrepreneurship in a regional perspective has the potential to contribute to specific sustainable development objectives, such as the employment of women, young people or disadvantaged groups, Ms Olsen underlined. Taken into account the increased need of integrating refugees and asylum seekers, a possibility to start up their own businesses might be an important key to success. Social entrepreneurship is a tool for creating arenas for social interactions such as music festivals etc.

Growth-oriented entrepreneurs can also contribute to structural transformation and building new industries, including the development of eco-friendly economic activities, or the green change. We need to focus on how we as a region can increase entrepreneurship, not only about the single entrepreneur.

We have concentrated our work on some policy areas that have a direct impact on entrepreneurial activity. These are:

  • formulating regional entrepreneurship strategy;
  • enhancing entrepreneurship education and skills;
  • facilitating technology exchange and innovation;
  • improving access to finance;
  • promoting awareness and networking

As an executive for education, Ms Olsen highlighted the role of education and skills for advancing entrepreneurship in regional development, creating a reciprocity. Regional development can benefit from our work on using education for advancing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills in more than one way, and education can benefit and learn from entrepreneurship:

“Our mission is to prepare the students for life and work, and in my view integrating entrepreneurship into education and training we strengthen our mission with regard to aligning education with the needs of the outside world”.

Integrating entrepreneurship into our curriculum addresses the relevance of education and the development of the skills set of future workers and professionals. Future professionals need a broad set of skills, and the development of entrepreneurial skills are well aligned with recent reports on the future of education.

Entrepreneurship in education also has a pedagogical mission. The quality of teaching and learning can benefit from integrating the world of industry, public service and health into the classroom, thereby creating relevant and motivating learning processes for our students.
Based on our experience we want to continue to strengthen the cooperation between elementary schools and the rest of the educational system and private businesses. In collaboration we may provide new ways of learning science, preparing the next generation for studies at university level and the working life. Experience and positive feedback gives motivated and creative students; In our view the best way of decreasing drop-outs.

We have to create more workplaces and businesses. Even more important, the future generation has to create more workplaces and businesses. The wealth of Norway and Nordland lies in the oil, energy and fish, but the most important of them all is knowledge. And we cannot keep on exporting too many of our brilliant youths to other parts of the country or to the rest of the world. We need them here.

Article contributed by Inga-Lill Sundset from Nordland (NO)

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Keynote speech #AERSA2016: Youth entrepreneurship and self leadership

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Looking forward to inspiring and productive discussions on Youth Entrepreneurship in this Summer Academy 2016, after the keynote speech delivered by Staffan Taylor, one of the most talented young speakers in Sweden who is a member of YES for Europe, the European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs.

Staffan Taylor inspired the crowd with a focus on the choices we have, fears that prevent us from reaching our full potential, and how a strong self leadership can improve our way of being entrepreneurs. He shared his own story, what are the keys within entrepreneurship and his best tools within the area of self leadership.

About his experience as an active member of YES for Europe, Staffan said: “I am thankful for being part of YES Europe. The networking between young entrepreneurs from various different countries in Europe is unique and important to bring people together from different cultures to share knowledge and experience. The entrepreneurs in Sweden have a lot to give, and we have a lot to learn. Together we are strong”. This is something every AER member can easily relate to: cooperation and sharing best practices help our regions to grow stronger.

You can find more about Staffan Taylor in his website www.staffantaylor.com.

Staffan Taylor

All the pictures of the #AERSA2016 are available on Facebook.

For the programme of the #AERSA2016 and all other information, go to our event page.

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