RISE – Regional Innovation Hubs Strengthening Social Entrepreneurship through Cross-Border Community Projects
Problem: The development of entrepreneurial competences is not a regular feature of vocational education in Germany and other European countries. Accordingly, vocational schools and actors do not have the enabling environment, the necessary internal structures and competences required.
Objective: Aim of the joint project was to develop vocational schools in Germany, Spain and Slovenia in the direction of „Regional Innovation Hubs “.
Research question: How can the social change of institutions be initiated across borders?
Research approach: In this project, we were following the approach of action research in the tradition of Kurt Lewin. In the project RISE, three vocational schools were cooperating from three urban regions in Europe (Bremen, Valencia, Kranj) in order to solve social-cultural problems in the nearby areas of the respective schools using entrepreneurial work and problem-solving techniques, among others “Design Thinking”, in three bilateral „Cross-Border Community Projects (CBCP) “. Explicitly involved were institutions in the nearby area (e.g. start-ups).
Results: The result were „intellectual outputs“:
- Manual “Social Entrepreneurship Training”
- Training for validation of ideas
- Guideline for creation and operation of regional “Innovation Hubs” as well as
- Individual “Badges of Social Entrepreneurship”. Materials have been developed, tested and validated participatory at the CBCPs.