<< Background >>Up to this day, staff of public sector organizations are neither perceived as innovative nor digital. The image of a cumbersome bureaucracy that hinders innovation remains prevalent. And yet, the public sector has a huge innovation potential. What is needed in order to unlock this potentiall is an entrepreneurial mindset which has so far been primarily associated with the private sector. Such a form of Public Entrepreneurship clearly breaks away from the classic idea of a pure administration of public goods and instead emphasizes active involvement by the public sector in the development of (regional) innovation through pro-active, innovative and sometimes risk-taking behaviour. The challenge here is to enable actors in the public sector to think and act entrepreneurially. It is important to break out of security and bureaucratic mentalities in order to anticipate and identify innovation potential that can contribute to solving complex socio-economic challenges (cf. Diefenbach 2011, 32ff.).While there are many digital learning materials on related subjects in the fields of (social) entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, project management etc., few to none were tailored for PS actors specifically. In other words, the European PS remains largely undisturbed by external educational influences touching these aspects: “While there is a growing body of evidence on innovative practices in the public sector, there is still limited knowledge of what [management] tools governments can use to over-come innovation barriers and strengthen organisations’ capacity to innovate” (OECD 2017, 16).This gap is exactly where the project comes in. The lack of (digital) educational offers for public sector actors on the basis of the previously depicted needs is a hindrance especially for small-scale municipalities and their workforce to foster innovation on a local level. The previous statements have shown that such an educational offer must combine a) entrepreneurialal skills with b) systemic assets based upon project management and problem solving tools.As a consequence, the learning materials offered by this project will be wider and more transformative than any current offer of digital training/education for Public Sector actors. This innovative and holistic approach is necessary because both economic and social paradigms which have been taken for granted in the last decades are currently undergoing significant changes. The model of an affluent welfare state ensuring economic growth and social cohesion has exceeded its zenith in late 20th century. Instead, regional disparities are increasing as a consequence of limited public budgets and bureaucratic restraints. In this climate, the need for new models of action-based learning on how to generate public innovation against the backlash of restrained public funds and socio-economic regression are much needed. That is why our learning materials will employ innovative techniques such as role modelling, storytelling and experience-based learning to prepare PS actors for complex future challenges.The Public:Start Digital Learning Programme on complex challenges and how to tackle these with entrepreneurial skills, provides PS sector staff and VET providers who train and teach leaders and managers of PS with microlearning, tailor-made digital learning materials that are applied to the public sector context, which is new and innovative in this sector. Additionally, a curriculum to build this into a blended learning course will be developed. Further, the Public:Start tool provides learners on the job how to approach complex projects and guides them through the entire process while embedding the developed microlearning materials. As many complex challenges are global, like climate change or the digital transformation (e.g. smart cities), it is beneficial to have a transnational consortium in order to bring different perspectives to the table.<< Objectives >>The desired impact of this project is to nurture new generation of Public Entrepreneurs all over Europe who actively implement the learning materials and Public:Start tool of this project in order to respond to complex socio-economic challenges by fostering public innovation. In long term and at EU level, we hope to achieve even more ambitious goals visible in such indicators as a increasing number of regions engaging in public innovation strategies or a growing body of Public Entrepreneurship projects sucessfully implemented.The structure of the project has been designed so that the activities carried out in the project & the public resutls that are produced are capable of generating a positive impact on the target groups in each partner' regional context (Lower Saxony - Germany, Sardinia and Venetia - Italy, Waterford - Ireland, Groningen - Netherlands, Albacete - Spain) and to make it a blueprint for a wider spread across Europe. This will lead to many hundreds of regional stakeholders acquiring the knowledge, skills and, importantly, confidence, to foster public innovation.In terms of benefits for VET providers, this innovative learning approach supports them to equip public sector learners with specific vocational skills and competences that they can use in their day-to-day work.<< Implementation >>The partners will bring different perspectives and expertise to the table and will work on the Project Results accordingly. They contribute to concepts, methodologies and development of contents and materials. Each partner hosts a multiplier event to present the project results to the target audience. All partners take an active role in the dissemination of the project and the engagement of participants. Project management activities pave the way to a proper time and budget control and with the help of a detailed monitoring and evaluation plan, project progress and results are assessed and feedback is collected. In order to make Public:Start a long-lasting success, the sustainability strategy will outline the steps to make within the project to guarantee the sustainable and impactful continuation of the project results. Different partners will take the lead on these transversal activities and involve the responsible staff of the other partners, while the project coordinator Domhan Vision will oversee all activities and align them with each other to achieve the project's objectives.Partners will start locally with their own learners to implement the results in the public sector and then take these best practices further to a regional and European level.<< Results >>The projects’ results will be fostering the proficiency of public sector staff in these areas of competence:The first project result is the Public Entrepreneurship Digital Programme which will cover competences for tackling complex tasks (OECD) as well as entrepreneurship skills (EntreComp). It will be based on micro-learning and challenge-based learning. The digital learning materials can be integrated in any system (LMS, website etc.) and are offered as separate OERs openly and available for free. The digital components of this course will also be embedded into a blended learning curriculum to provide valuable guidance and learning situations for learners and their trainers and teachers.The second project result is the Public:Start tool, which is a hands-on guide for on-the-job complex challenges. The previously developed microlearning elements will be embedded in an easy-to-use, gamified digital visualisation that leads the administration staff through the process of developing and implementing an innovative solution to a complex problem. It will visualize the road to the solution and will therefore act as a checklist, guide and progress report in order to increase transparency, security for staff, and to assign responsibilities. This will act as a template for project management, but also as a cohesive e-learning course with practical examples taken from the public sector that are based on European priorities for digital transformation and global warming. It will be broken down to what municipalities can do to act as a role model but also as a facilitator for societal challenges.