PROJECT PARTNERS DIVING INTO CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES

The ELEVATE Project continued its journey on shaping key issues for future actions towards identifying measures to be envisaged towards more inclusive communities for the older people and people with disabilities in the Danube region and beyond.

Second implementation period though the loop

The project meetings started to reinforce the importance of consulting target groups directly when shaping project ideas, ensuring that actions respond to real needs. This consultation process leads to the definition and implementation of pilot actions.

The ELEVATE Model was presented as a layered approach supporting project development, with key factors including awareness raising, good practices, policy engagement, financial management, and investment strategies. Partners were encouraged to identify the key aspects relevant to each pilot.

Expected deliverables were recalled, such as the Knowledge Catalogue of Good Practices on social inclusion under SO1 and the Pilot Action Plans under SO2. Finally, the role of URBASOFIA was outlined, including providing horizontal support to all partners, place-based support to pilot territories, and assistance in urban planning processes.

Stage 1: Workshop on efficient communication for social inclusion

The workshop under Specific Objective 1 (SO1) was led by URBASOFIA and focused on capacity building for inclusive territorial development. The session began with a recap of conclusions from the previous workshop, highlighting key success factors such as identifying sponsors, donors, and partners, securing political and institutional support, and engaging users and NGOs at an early stage. The importance of efficient communication and a clear logic of intervention was also emphasised.

An interactive brainstorming exercise followed, during which partners explored and discussed the characteristics of an ideal pilot action, drawing on local needs and inclusive development principles.

Stage 2: Meeting in-person in Banska-Bistrica, Slovakia

This second in-person meeting brought the project partners together for shaping the logic of the future interventions, reiterating the aim of the project and the challenges of enhancing inclusive communities for the older people and people with disabilities, such as:

Ø  Secure political and institutional support: Integrate the initiative into municipal planning frameworks.

Ø  Engage users and NGOs early: Involve persons with disabilities and advocacy groups during the design phase to build trust and ensure relevance.

Ø  Establish a monitoring system: Adopt clear, consistent metrics for evaluating accessibility across venues.

Ø  Get involved in local innovation hubs (experts): Partner with entities for professional expertise to reduce development costs and access high level of technical expertise.

Ø  Plan for communication and sustainability: Develop long-term communication strategies to promote the use of your model and keep the data up-to-date.

Stage 3: Building the structure of the Draft ELEVATE Model

The next three online meetings continued the focus on strengthening knowledge, capacities, and cooperation for inclusive territorial development under Specific Objective 1 (SO1).

The structure of the ELEVATE Model was further explained as a layered approach, supported through workshops, and targeted inputs from horizontal partners, particularly URBASOFIA. The main thematic areas addressed include:

Ø  Raising Awareness,

Ø  Good Practices,

Ø  Stakeholder Engagement,

Ø  Financial Management,

Ø  Investment Strategy Development.

Multiple capacity-building activities were dedicated to build the knowledge to enrich the Draft ELEVATE Model as a draft methodology for pilot testing, and they included workshops to assess communication channels, a dedicated workshop on financial mechanisms, and a planned workshop on investment strategies.

To ease the understanding of the steps that the project partners are about to make, URBASOFIA elaborated an ELEVATE Roadmap, outlining the project’s logical framework across the three Specific Objectives.

Under SO1, activities focus on capacity building and establishing a common knowledge base through workshops, the Knowledge Catalogue of Good Practices, and the Investment and Financial Mechanisms Report, leading to the draft ELEVATE Model. SO2 addresses the development of place-based governance models through pilot actions, pilot reports, and methodology refinement, resulting in the final ELEVATE Model for inclusive territorial development. SO3 focuses on mainstreaming and transferability, including a sustainability plan with a list of regional priority investments and a mainstreaming initiative plan and report.

Strategic Partners in ELEVATE

Within SO1 the strategic partners offered support to the 12 territories through multiple activities focused on:

Ø  Raising Awareness - ILEU has supporter project partners in understanding that “Aging has many faces", referring to the plurality of ageing processes, life situations and social contextual conditions.

Ø  Good Practice sharing - ISG Amabilis and ZICER helped shape the importance of a strong financial management when planning for any project development and pilot action. The two strategic partners have shared their own experience, and they have polished the Catalogue of Good Practices categorising the good examples in 3 categories and extracting some key conclusion

Ø  Stakeholder Engagement - URBASOFIA has guided the project partners in understanding the importance of looking into population ageing policies and engage with key stakeholders for planning for strategic intervention for older people & people with disabilities.

Ø  Financial Management – URBASOFIA, ISG Amabilis and PKUSK have teamed up in shaping key aspects to take into account when planning for financial management for future investments. Specifically, partners such as ISG Amabilis and PKUSK have shared strategies for how to engage and communicate with sponsors, donors, long-term partners, SMEs etc. for attracting them into the aim of the ELEVATE project to build inclusive communities for older people and people with disabilities.

Ø  Investment Strategy Development – URBASOFIA constructed the framework for a general approach to investment strategies for planning to access the necessary funding for implementing the project ideas for inclusive communities. Partners such as ISG Amabilis and ZICER brought complimentary knowledge for specificities regarding sustainable approaches for future investments dedicated to inclusive communities.

Stay tuned and follow the news on how the project partners are planning for pilot actions to test the ELEVATE Model and events they will organize to share their findings on how to transform their territories and talk about awareness, inclusion and sustainability for the elderly and people with disabilities!

Author: Irina Panait, URBASOFIA