The Social Seducement project started with the ambitious idea of empowering the game creator community and social innovators to drive real-world impact – in terms of inclusiveness and employability - through online games. Social Seducement began in 2014 with the development of the proposal, putting together a complementary network of partners that over three years were to provide the space for testing this approach and also in a fast evolving scenario for the chosen topic. The partners’ network was represented different areas in in 5 EU countries (UK; IT; ES; SE; BE) to approach a comparison in different approaches to inclusive entrepreneurship and use of ICT and gaming for getting social impact:•pedagogical and didactic competences: TIHR and UNIR•ICT and gamification development competences: Ecobyte and UNIR•modelling game as an empowerment process to pursue social impact: LE MAT, COOMPANION and REVES•inclusive entrepreneurship, cooperative finance and cooperative development: COMPANIOON and REVES•competences on active labour and welfare policies and strategies: REVES.The early main focus was “what evidence is there as for social impact for digital games?” The objective was to define a prototype tool helping users improve their employability chances while improving the coherence and collaboration in how stakeholders work together, trying to align creative design with evidence across the various involved disciplines. By bringing together representatives from different domains partners aimed to stay deeply open to many kinds of impact that the game could have. The activities undertaken by Social Seducement can be summarised as:•Researching and collecting activity to develop the game environment•Identifying and analysing the target groups and their needs•Developing the game features and the game storytelling – imagining all the possible scenarios and thus identifying the game rules. This has been the most difficult activity in terms of depth of analysis of all the possible options and in terms of identification of the most suitable way to translate them into a digital game given this was an Erasmus + project, under the education and training area and not directly a project under the ICT research area.•Implementing the game into a real virtual environment. This activity required an important and constant adaptation of the gap between what was set up conceptually and what was possible when translating it into practice.•Developing and identifying the most suitable training materials for the users•Developing the training paths and training materials for the game facilitators and holding the trainings•Testing the game in the various countries.•Drafting the guidelines for an assessment of the results and achieving some valid conclusions and recommendations.All those activities happened within a shared and constantly renewed network environment inspired by the following core values, which have been transposed to the game as well: •Inclusiveness: this project included and engaged individuals from across the range of stakeholder groups, sectors, content areas, and expertise to accommodate a broad set of goals, methods, and outcomes. •The project built on the theoretical models developed by researchers in gaming, incorporating primary source material. The purpose was to expand social impact game design and evaluation beyond a particular content area, and give the full social impact game community the resources to utilize new approaches and supplement their existing methods.•Transparency to increase communication with interested community members, to promote accountability in achieving the project goals and foster greater openness in discussing process and methods. Some key findings from across project activities are:•Social impact digital games benefit from increased communication and collaboration between key stakeholders•Stakeholders from different sectors benefit from sharing practices in design, impact measurement and dissemination.The partnership worked on the basis of the following principles: • Facilitative, by illuminating the working dynamics between different stakeholders, sectors and disciplines to capitalize on shared goals and increase collaboration. • Evidence-based: being informed by researchers and studies to support the methods identified in Social Seducement.•Accessibility: the project’s content aimed at becoming an approachable, unified entry point into the social impact games, through which stakeholders and potential collaborators can continue building partnerships and sharing ideas even now that the project is formally completed. •Visibility: dissemination is a key element for the success of such projects, allowing the initial community to include comments and ideas of other communities, ensuring the content has a real-world forum to be discussed in and expanded upon.

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.

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.

Innovation is relevant not only to economic sustainability but also to social and cultural life. Therefore, the creation of an organizational climate enabling and catalyzing innovation deserves special attention and needs to be explored from a sound operational perspective. Cities embed this organizational climate (Jacobs, 1969) and are by nature innovation generative systems. It is within this perspective that the DESIGNSCAPES project aims to realize a better uptake, and further enhancement and upscaling, of Design enabled Innovation in Europe, through direct financial support to flagship and innovation generating initiatives as well as a huge capacity building effort targeting multiple stakeholder groups (citizens, researchers, practitioners, innovators and policy makers). In so doing, we will foster the linkages between research, policy and practice and contribute to making Europe a global leader in the domain. The main features of the DESIGNSCAPES project are the following: - It builds upon the generative potential of innovation in cities - It leverages Design Thinking and Design Driven Innovation concepts as blueprints. - It has a direct and purposeful focus on the scalability potential of Design enabled Innovation - It proposes an original, holistic, evaluation, replication and impacts assessment framework. - It makes use of a “supportive governance approach”. Expected results include: a City Snap Shot tested in 10 countries and 12 cities, a EU Catalogue of Design enabled innovations, Training Modules for local facilitators and innovators, Policy Briefs, e-Publications and a final Conference. Approximately €1.5 million will distributed among 50+ new Design enabled initiatives as required by the H2020 call through 3 consecutive yearly rounds of a 3-staged Technical and Financial instrument akin to the US and NL SBIR program and the SME instrument of the EC.