Youth unemployment is a long-term issue in Europe. Whilst significant progress has been made in the last years with policies such as the Youth Guarantee, there were still over 12% of YP aged 15-29 not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2019. This does not only result in losses to EU economies in terms of social benefit payments or taxable income but has also longer-term consequences for YP people’s life chances. ComNetNEET partners analysed the quantitative situation regarding NEETs and 2 main lines of intervention were distinguished: intervention in education, training and (re-)insertion in education, training or work and intervention in social inclusion. Both are dependent on each other as education and training can be a means of social inclusion. The project’s main aims were to develop an innovative methodology, drawing on existing best practices in partners’ countries, to pilot it in PT, IT and ES, and to analyse the outputs, outcomes and impacts of these pilots. There were several objectives underlying these overall aims. These included: (1) To IDENTIFY THE STATE OF THE ART AND GOOD PRACTICES OF SOCIAL INCLUSION (using work based learning strategies) targeted at YP in partners’ countries; (3) To DESIGN, CONCEIVE AND DEVELOP A MODEL OF INTERVENTION relevant to the partners countries; (4) To conduct a PILOT APPLICATION of the methodology at local level in PT, ES and IT; (5) To promote AWARENESS MEETINGS in the context of the project to EXCHANGE EXPERIENCES and identify best practices already in place; (6) To validate the model through a LOCAL MULTI-STAKEHOLDER approach and to EVALUATE THE IMPACT of the model; (7) To reinforce and match the role of different local/regional stakeholders to find the best means of optimization, and increase the NETWORKING CAPACITY, with a view to enhance NEETs social inclusion and employability; (8) To DISSEMINATE and EXPLORE, the project results among relevant beneficiaries and ensure their SUSTAINABILITY, at a practice level, through the training of professionals and, at the institutional level, influencing policies and changing the culture of services provided. To achieve these aims and objectives, the project produced 4 IOs, organised 3 focus groups (30 part), several ME (networking activities (193 part) + 3 national seminars (127 part) in PT, ES and IT + 1 European final Conference (72 part)), 6 TMP (90 part), 2 LA (C1, with 13 and C2 with 37 part.), a dissemination strategy and a solid evaluation plan, and impacting directly 615 target groups representatives, more 171 than foreseen in the project application. The partnership worked cooperatively to develop a model of intervention, test it in 3 partner countries (PT, ES and IT) and evaluate its impact. The intervention combined innovative elements designed to address key local needs in target countries, with an evidence review of EU and national literature and existing good practices identified in partner countries (https://neetsinaction.eu/outputs/). The project achieved an impact in the 3 main target groups: at micro level (YP in a NEET situation); at meso level (professionals working for and with YP in a NEET situation); and at macro level (the ecosystem of organisations that are part of the NEET issue, at local/regional and national level). The project sought to an alternative solution to strategies and policies previously implemented, by strengthening and using community networks. Following a preparation phase which included a territory diagnostic, the selection of YP in a NEET situation as well as the identification of possible members for the local community of stakeholders’ networks, the main part of the piloting, conduced within IO2, involved supporting NEETs and building the networks. Across ES, IT and PT more than 50 YP in a NEET situation were engaged and took part in individual coaching-based sessions, group sessions and job-experiences, based on an individual action plan (IAP). The community networks were developed and will be maintained to create a shared ambition and understanding of ways to integrate NEETs as well as to give them a better opportunity to gain access to the world of work. Impact in YP in a NEET situation: significant improvement of their awareness of possible pathways, of their employability skills as well as of their social capital; mitigation of the danger of starting a vicious cycle of a perceived feeling of failure in life, increased potential of contributing to society and to combat a general feeling of “worthlessness”.Impact in professionals: availability of a methodology of intervention, practical tools and a better preparation to guide and support YP in a NEET situation.Impact at system/policy level: an increased awareness of the need for better coordination of local approaches for the integration of NEETs; an increased awareness that closer employer-community-VET provider-Youth networking is a valuable tool to foster the social integration of YP in a NEET situation.

TCBL uses Europe’s Textiles & Clothing (T&C) industry as test beds for evolutionary-driven co-design, dynamic optimisation and deployment of business models. It aims to increase the performance of a sector that, over the past two decades, upheld three main strategies to handle global competitive pressure: cost-oriented, product/service-oriented and productivity-oriented. TCBL provides a business experimentation framework for exploring variations on such strategies. The framework will be supported by Knowledge Spaces as a generative force and Business Services as an enabling force. A network of Business Labs will be set up, based on three key variations: Design Labs (e.g. creating emotionally-oriented immaterial value), Making Labs (e.g. converting skilled labour into material value), and Place Labs (e.g. generating spatial community- and socially- oriented value). Each of these Labs will explore the issues of cost, product/service and productivity enhancement in a transversal manner and from cross-disciplinary perspectives - including economic, anthropological, and engineering approaches as well as new business values such as environmental and social responsibility, sharing economy, social enterprising, customer-driven small series production (the focus of this call) and emergent or disruptive technologies. With these tools, and supported by an open Associates Programme, TCBL will carry out real-life experimentation and market deployment of a number of Supply Chain, Localisation, Business, Skill Management and Policy innovations involving no fewer than 160 workshops, laboratories and manufacturing plants at EU level with at least 15,000 T&C workers involved. In addition, 10 new innovative companies will be generated within the supply chain of T&C, enabling the diffusion and scaling up of results. By so doing, a knowledge based, transformational ecosystem will be developed, integrated into an open, yet structured platform environment.

Our project combines the development of an effective methodology to identify young people at risk of being NEET, an innovative intervention drawing on existing good practice piloted in PT, IT and ES to prevent young people with such characteristics from becoming NEET, and an impact analysis to measure the outcomes of these pilots at regional/national level. In combining these three elements, this project aims to develop an effective front-end strategy to address the NEET issue within the EU, by focusing on prevention rather than remedial action and supporting a “smoother” transition of potential NEETs from the VET system to the world of work. We will focus on students/trainees (15 -24) who are in the VET system, ending their compulsory education but is risk of becoming NEETs; persons (15-24) who are not in the VET (as well as unemployed persons). Other target groups: see Point F. The multi-stakeholder consortium, public bodies and private entities, with dimension/capacity to implement the project over 3 years is led by CECOA (PB VET provider). TIHR (Research Institute, PR) has a long experience of applying social science methods to research and evaluate the experiences of NEET in UK and at EU level. CECOA (PT), FMA (ES) and CPV (IT) are PR Foundations, and FJA (one of the Lisbon Parishes, PB) will be involved in the methodology testing and organisation of a set of events to spread the project at national/regional/local level. UCP is a non-state PT University (PB) - impact evaluation. ISOB is a DE PR Research Institution - quality evaluation. The partners are part of the already existing and regular network of organisations the promoter cooperates with, whenever the issues VET, labor market and skills development/matching are at stake. Main activities: project management activities, communication, cooperation; O1 - identification of the risk factors of becoming NEETs at local/regional/national level and reflection about the most effective supportive measure to prevent the risks of becoming NEETs; O2 – testing/adapting a model of INDIVIDUALIZED targeting and TAILORED intervention for young people at risk of NEET; O3 – conception of a guide aiming to present the model, containing the methodological approach, reporting the results of the pilot test and the impact analysis; O4 – impact evaluation, recommendations and potential for sustainability of methodology; O5 – to present a quality user feedback and usability evaluation report. Dissemination activities (Part G2).Methodology: at the core of this proposal is the insight that fighting the NEET issue is often an ex-post strategy: intervention occurs only after disengagement. In addition standard „one-size-fits-all” solutions have proven to be ineffective. The project focusses on developing and building on existing interventions which identify potential NEETs EARLY ON, by identifying typical risk patterns, addressing the INDIVIDUAL needs of such learners and exposing them to suitable work-based environments, and to elaborate with them TAILORED and FLEXIBLE pathways to further education, training or work. Results: 5 intellectual outputs (O1, O2, O3, O4, O5), multiplier events (focus groups, networking activities, national seminars, EU conference), transnational meetings. The length of the project will allow the research team to measure the results of the screening and intervention pilots. It’s innovative and sustainable as it will provide unique policy solutions to address systemic problems. Impacts: it’s expected to benefit young people (15-24) through pilots and mentoring and coaching sessions; others not involved directly in the testing will also be reached through dissemination; the intellectual outputs will be available and able to be used/applied. To be a success, enterprises and social partners must also be involved; with a stronger approximation between VET system and the world of work, helping/supporting the curriculum design, providing opportunities for students to get in contact with the job requirements. Local or regional authorities with VET and employment responsibilities are also expected to experience impact. They are as much interested to act preventively as youth unemployment is scaling, calling for urgent measures at political level to promote youth employment and preventing the disengagement of young people from society. They are expected to be involved in multipliers events, pilot testing (coaching/mentoring), and access to the IO and results through group reflections, holistic approaches and local solutions, large scale dissemination (Part G2).A strong Strategic Partnership, the IO, the Network of Stakeholders and learning activities are expected to bring high level of potential longer benefit. Despite the recent changes and the economic interventions, there are still challenges to solve at EU and national level, and authorities continue to need to engage in measures to solve unemployment, in particular among the young population.

Resilience is defined by the United Nations as “the ability to resist, absorb and accommodate to the effects of a hazard, in a timely and efficient manner”. Thus, resilient communities are those in which their citizens, environment, businesses, and infrastructures have the capacity to withstand, adapt, and recover in a timely manner from any kind of hazards they face, either planned or unplanned. In recent years efforts have been spent to tackle resilience and there is, still, a long path forward in defining an EU valid and sound approach to the problem. RESILOC aims at studying and implementing a holistic framework of studies, methods and software instruments that combines the physical with the less tangible aspects associated with human behaviour. The study-oriented section of the framework will move from a thorough collection and analysis of literature and stories from the many approaches to resilience adopted all over the World. The results of the studies will lead to the definition of a set of new methods and strategies where the assessment of the resilience indicators of a community will be performed together with simulations on the “what-if” certain measures are taken. These studies and methods will serve for designing and implementing two software instruments: 1. the RESILOC inventory, a comprehensive, live, structure for collecting, classifying and using information on cities and local communities, implemented as a Software as a Service (SaaS). 2. The RESILOC Cloud-based platform for assessing and calculating the resilience indicators of a city or a community, for developing localised strategies and verifying their impacts on the resilience of the community. The Cloud platform, a combination of SaaS and PaaS, includes the inventory as its repository. The project will make use of built solutions in four field trials and includes a high-profile communication plan, heavily based on Social Media platforms.