A framework to promote the digital jobs and skills in social economy

The scoping and research phase of the Social Tech Academy project has now been completed. The project consortium was able to focus on the elaboration of a synthesis including a literature review, the results of a quantitative and qualitative survey, and the teaching strategy. Here is a look back at this key phase for the continuation of the project and its objectives.

The cover of the synthesis made in the frame of the Social Tech Academy project

A detailed literacy review

An in-depth analysis of different research studies has identified what the digital transition implies in terms of obstacles and needs for social economy organisations. In sum, some organisations have been able to seize the opportunities offered by technological innovation, and have thus been able to create genuine alternative digital ecosystems based on “commons” or “digital cooperative platform” models. However, a larger number of organisations have come up against almost impenetrable walls. Some organisations, often the smallest ones, have only slightly adopted the new digital tools and uses, compared to others, such as the Tech for Good start-ups, which build their social project around an intensive use of digital technologies.

This literature review highlighted the needs and obstacles to the digital transition of European Social Economy organisations, and in particular the lack of skills. The objective identified here is to change practices by supporting the Social Economy sector in the appropriation of the skills necessary to achieve the digital transition of its actors.

Understanding the needs of the target audiences

Before starting the production of the project content, a survey was completed by 116 people in the 4 target countries. This quantitative study allows us to understand the appetite of young people for the social economy and digital professions, and will be used to feed the network of national correspondents in the framework of the youth wiki.

This approach aims at framing and assessing, on a European scale, the needs for skills development in the digital sector in the European social economy ecosystem. Indeed, the digital divide is a reality for a large part of the population, including for the Social Economy sector in general. Moreover, Social Tech can be a solution to this problem. The action took place between November 2021 and May 2022 and helped the consortium to better frame the rest of the project.

The pedagogical strategy, or the exploration of different ways of learning

Through the development of the pedagogical strategy, the project team is exploring a way of using digital tools to improve the skills of the project’s target groups, both in practice and in theory.

This strategy has been developed at a time when the European public authorities have made it possible to develop extensive benchmarks for basic digital skills. As such, DigComp is a valuable tool for guiding the project and establishing the content to be linked to it.

Social Good Accelerator 

The Social Tech Academy team