Information about the Partnership

The organisations below are all partners in the Restart Transfer of Innovation Project. To see a visual description of every organisation's role and how all the partners will work together to complete the project, click here.
 
Associazione NET (Italy)
 

N.E.T.- Networking Education and Training is a not-for-profit association concerned with European projects design, training and sustainable local development. Established in 2001, it was founded by professionals who have worked in the training and social field, at both national and European level, for a number of years. N.E.T. is active in all regions of Italy and provides private and public bodies with integrated services of consultancy and technical assistance about national and European opportunities. Through its rich network of transnational partners, in all 25 countries of the European Union, N.E.T. favours international connections and contributes to the innovation and competitiveness process of the local systems. Our role within the Restart Transfer of Innovation partnership is to translate the adapted training materials into Italian, Polish, Norwegian, and Greek.

CO.N.E.CT--Cooperation Network for European Citizenship (Brussels, Belgium)
 

CO.N.E.CT is a European network with members on the whole territory, working in the fields of inclusion, education, social and local development. CO.N.E.CT is aimed at implementing cooperation projects on these topics, addressed to the European society as a whole, or targeted members to answer specific needs. The role of CO.N.E.CT within the Restart Transfer of Innovation partnership will be to disseminate the project throughout the EU through numerous channels, and to host a final event in Brussels to present the project results to policy makers.

DEL (NI)--Department of Employment and Learning (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
 
Our aim is to promote learning and skills, to prepare people for work and to support the Northern Ireland economy. The Department' s objectives are to promote economic, social and personal development through high quality learning, research and skills training and to help people into employment and promote good employment practices.

DEL's two main customer groups are:

1.      Individuals who are seeking to improve their levels of skills and qualifications or who require support and guidance to progress towards employment, including self-employment; and

2.      Business in both the public and private sectors.

DEL has four key areas of activity:
1.      Enhancing the provision of learning and skills, including entrepreneurship, enterprise, management and leadership

2.      Increasing the level of research and development, creativity and innovation in the Northern Ireland economy

3.      Helping individuals to acquire jobs, including self-employment, and endeavouring to improve the linkages between employment programmes and skills development

4.       Developing and maintaining the framework of employment rights and responsibilities

DEL has already successfully mainstreamed Gingerbread NI's Restart training course as part of the Steps to Work programme, making it available throughout Northern Ireland. Our role within the Restart Project is to assist in similar mainstreaming in other countries by acting as a liason with the stakeholders in each partner country.

 Gingerbread NI (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

 

As the lead agency working with and for lone parents and their children in Northern Ireland, we work with lone parents and other organisations to promote the integrity and life choices of one-parent families, challenge injustices, advocate for rights and positively respond to social change. Gingerbread NI has commissioned research in conjunction with DEL, Gems NI and the University of Ulster on several topics affecting lone parents. The Restart training programme, which forms the basis of this Transfer of Innovation project, was developed to address the findings in our most recent publication, 'Lone Parents Speaking Out: the views of lone parents in Northern Ireland on employment' (June 2008). Our role within the Restart Transfer of Innovation partnership is to provide the Restart training course materials to the partners, and to act as the promoting partner, which entails handling project finances.

INDEX (Nicosia, Cyprus)
 

INDEX is a non-partisan, not-for-profit NGO which conducts quality research and promotes public dialogue. Cyprus faces enormous challenges, and we aim to develop some of the tools citizens need to tackle them by providing information and analysis as well as facilitating discussion and debate. We are conducting research on a wide range of issues, from development to democracy to equality and social exclusion. The Restart Transfer of Innovation will allow us to explore the situation of lone parents in Cyprus, especially in relation to employment and social attitudes. Our role within the Restart Project is to ensure that the training programme is adapted for use in Poland, Italy, Norway and Cyprus, taking into account country-specific research reports and the local VET systems in each country.

NOVA--Norwegian Social Research (Oslo, Norway)
 

NOVA is one of the largest social research institutes in Norway, conducting research on different aspects of society and the welfare state. We focus on the whole range of the life course: from the early years to later life. NOVA is the leading national research institute on child welfare, youth, ageing and the elderly, and social security. The research is centered around Norwegian society, but international projects form a growing and important addition. Within its fields NOVA performs research assignments commissioned by public and private sector clients, and the Institute also initiates research and development projects. NOVA's past research on lone parents includes 'Policies Toward Lone Parents in Norway and the UK' (2001), and a study on poverty and exclusion in lone-parent households (2006). Our role within the Restart Project is to coordinate and analyse research into the situation of lone parents with regards to employment and social policy in Poland, Norway, Italy, and Cyprus.

Possibilities NI (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
Possibilities NI is a not-for-profit social enterprise wholly owned by lone parent support organisation Gingerbread NI. We work with people who want to get jobs and qualifications and with those organisations that suppport them to do so. Many of the people we work with face major obstacles to getting jobs and progressing in their careers, and we are here to help by providing a range of training, mentoring and work experience opportunities. Most of our work is with lone parent learners through government programmes such as Steps to Work and New Deal. Additionally, for companies working with job-seeking and lone parent clients, we can provide staff development training such as our OCR-accredited Coaching and Mentoring training. Through ESF we provide a unique bursary support programme for lone parents returning to education, which includes help with course fees, travel and childcare costs as well as one-to-one mentoring, specialist careers guidance (to the Matrix Standard), and professional welfare advice.
 
Possibilities NI is engaged in a number of international projects under the auspices of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme, from which stems our involvement in the Restart project. We are serving as the managing partner for the Restart Transfer of Innovation, meaning that we oversee all aspects of partnership cooperation and handle both internal and external evaluation of the project and partnership.
 
WSINF--Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki w Łodzi (Łodz, Poland)
 

WSINF (the Academy of IT in Lodz) is one of the biggest independent Higher Education Institutions in central Poland, which educates and trains around 6000 students in Lodz and in three other divisions in the area. Apart from offering regular educational courses, WSINF is an active adult and vocational learning centre providing post-diploma studies, third-level university courses, IT courses and qualifications, and professional language courses at the Foreign Languages Department-CITY & GUILDS Approved English Language Certification Centre. WSINF also has under its supervision a private kindergarten, primary and secondary school, making it an active player at the pre-school, primary, and secondary education levels.

WSINF is particularly active in the field of European Union programmes, being involved mainly in international projects within the framework of LLP-Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013, along with domestic projects. Our role within the Restart Project is to oversee the piloting of the adapted and translated training programme in Cyprus, Poland, Italy, and Norway. We will also produce a report on the feasibility of possible methods for future delivery of the programme, including e-learning.