(Currently available in English, Spanish and French. Italian and Greek to follow soon)
It can be played individually but is ideally suited to playing in groups.
An analysis and decision making simualtion game. Its focus is the 4 core values which characterise a Social and Solidarity Economy (Social Enterprise in the UK) buisness or organisation; and the development of the core competencies needed for successfull management and day to day operation.
Mid term meeting Athens December 2015
This took place just before Christmas and was hosted by the the Greek partner ‘Citizens in Action’. Our thanks go to them for an excellent job.
Sadly the UK member of the coordination team lost their passport and was unable to physically attend the meeting, they did however attend via Skype.
A busy and intensive few days of reviewing current progress and planning the next steps.
One of the changes for partnerships within the Erasmus+ programme is less funding for face to face meetings between partners. The drawback for this is the meetings are more intense with less time to socialize and more importantly, less opportunity, in our case, to look at SSE experiences in the partner countries.
Despite the intensity of the meeting, overall satisfaction among partners regarding progress made so far, is good. Although we are a little behind, the timeline has been revised and all are confident of achieving the outputs specified within the schedule.
The meeting could best be summed up by the comment:
Research – this has taken a little longer than expected but the compilation of research from the partners has been completed in both English and Spanish. It was agreed to complete a summary version for translation into all 5 partnership languages. This is currently underway.
The research documents, both full and summary versions, will be available in March 2016 at the same time as the Portfolio of competencies is published.
Avatar Example
Portfolio – Work is ongoing, following both focus groups and individual interviews – Generic job/role profiles have been completed with specific competencies; knowledge, skills and attitudes, and; transversal SSE competencies identified for each profile.
Planned as an E-portfolio each profile will be identified with an Avatar (which at present are being designed). (A sneak preview of my favorite to date – I stress this is only my personal favorite and may not make it into the final document).
This is planned for completion and publishing alongside the Research document in March 2016.
Training Modules – Work has begun on these and they will link to the competencies focusing on Attitudes, skills and knowledge. Due for completion in October. Trials of some of the activities are initially planned for April, June and July, to be followed by validating and translation.
Virtual Game – This is very much at the beginning stage and current thinking is to link to the Portfolio profiles and avatars. A mixture of SSE awareness raising and challenging attitudes through completing challenges within a virtual environment. Trials of the game are due to take place in July, August, September with completion in October.
Final Event – November is the month of SSE in France and the town of St Etienne hosts an SSE fair attracting around 5000 people during the last week of November.
We have agreed to host our final event as part of this larger fair. Our intention is to have a stand and workshops showcasing the project outputs; research, portfolio, Training modules and Virtual game during the event.
We are looking to raise additional funds to support attendance of individuals from SSE business’s who have participated in the focus groups / interviews and supported the project. And, who would benefit from attending our workshops / seminars and networking within a wider SSE audience.
Research – the collection of data for the research, which comprised of both desktop research into the social and solidarity economy of each country and information gathered from focus groups, is now complete. Our partner XES based in Barcelona has been tasked with compiling the results into a document.
We knew at the beginning when the original proposal was submitted to the Erasmus+ programme there would be a difference between the partner countries but it was the similarities that brought us together and the research has demonstrated the similarities and some differences.
Without pre-empting the results I noted a difference within my discussions with members of the research team in how the different countries perceived there place within their economies;
Within the UK (which is my perspective) Social Enterprise, which is how it’s referred to in the UK, is integrated and well supported alongside mainstream capitalism. Social Enterprise in the UK does not seek to oppose capitalism but works happily alongside. The government has embraced the social element and actively supports business at a local and national level.
In Italy SSE appears to be outside of the normal economy. Business’s often have the feeling of being a small fragmented sector that is isolated from the main economy. They also work in isolation to other SSE businesses.
Spain was different again and cooperation between businesses was a consistent theme with business strong in the area of social action. The promotion of SSE over a capitalist economy is high on the agenda of SSE businesses.
France was in the middle between the UK and Spain. SSE is supported within legislation and sits alongside Capitalism but SSE businesses are more active in promoting SSE as an alternative to capitalism.
Greece has a different experience born out of austerity over the last 5 years or so. It is very much a bottom up experience and is viewed by many as a sustainable way of doing business in contrast to capitalism. It is people and needs driven rather than from the ideological standpoint of other countries.
The focus group in Spain noted that some terminology often associated with SSE, such as, entrepreneurial, had lost its meaning – this is perhaps true of countries with a longer history of SSE. The bottom up approach is perhaps lost in the past of some countries and reflects in how they perceive the place of SSE within their economy.
These are my initial impressions and not necessarily the views of the partnership. It is not the differences that unite us but the similarities and a shared mutual respect.
Common themes identified were ethical practice, sustainability, cooperation and a people centred approach, which all partners agreed were common to SSE practice in all of the countries.
Charlie Lockyer (Consilium Education and Training).
Under Construction – This game will combine education with entertainment “EDUTAINMENT” + learning. The principle is learning by doing.
EXPLAIN ME AND I WILL FORGET,
SHOW ME AND I WILL REMEMBER,
INVOLVE ME AND I WILL LEARN.
This game is not just for entertainment it is a serious game. It will combine content and theory, informed from the research, with game design. It will facilitate understanding, encourage active exploration and allow experimentation without risk.
Although it will be self-contained Its primary purpose will be as a tool to be used with facilitation and feedback within the training modules.
Follow the link for an overview of the games proposed design. https://db.tt/LMK3Mnwu
The mechanics of the game will be produced with the help of Idealudica a specialist Game company. Nexus, from Barcelona will oversee the content and the games development.
Getting to know each other
Although some of the partners had previously worked together not all had. This meeting provided an opportunity for us all to get to know each other and to find out about the different organisations represented.
The key factor within all but one of the organisations is training. Eight of the nine organisations are actively developing and providing training opportunities as part of their work. XES are different. They are a Social Solidarity Economy network consisting of organisations and businesses operating in and around Barcelona. Continue reading
ISSE Community Works 