News
June 12/13, 2007
CD-ROM Documentation "Minimum Standard for Business Advisors and Informers" published
As major accomplishment of the transnational Work Group 3, the final documentation of the joint minimum standard for business advisors was published in the framework of a regional labour-market expert meeting in Berlin. The standard comprises the four sections "knowledge, skills, experience and approach" and was developed to create more transparency and quality on the start-up advisor market. The discussion in Berlin revolved around applicability of the standard in the regional and national context and showed potential solutions from the German National Association of Start-Up Initiatives (VDG) and the two regions of Asturias and Castilla y Leon.
April 20/21, 2006
2nd work group meetings on "Outreach & Diagnosis" and "Sectorial Analysis" / Steering Group Meeting, 3rd work group meeting on "Standards for Business Advisors & Informers" Valladolid, Spain
Again a big gathering of all work groups took place, this time in Valladolid. About 40 members of the DP met to continue working on the given topics. However, before the members split up into their respective work groups on Thursday afternoon, the day started with several presentations. First of all the representatives of the four partners provided information about the state of their national projects, followed by a short review of the current state, progress and aim of the work groups I-III. The first day was rounded by a visit to the Mudejar Thematic Park and a trip to the Palace Caballero de Olmedo. At dinner there was plenty time for discussions and reflections of the day.
During the second day the work group meetings continued and concluded with presentations by each coordinator concerning the results achieved, the homework given and the aims set. Once again, the meeting was very productive and each member is looking forward to the next meeting.
February 16-17, 2006
Second Work Group III Meeting in Berlin
The agenda for the work group "Standards for Business Advisors /Informers" mainly provided the topic of the qualification profile for advisors of business starters. In this regard a short introduction and presentation of the subject was given, based on the common ground reached in the last meeting in November 2005. That followed presentations by every participating organisation showing the basic competencies a business advisors should have. Common ground and differences were then discussed in smaller work groups and presented afterwards to all members. Referring to this the work group members successfully started to develop a costructive and results-oriented advisor concept, orienting on the four keywords Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Approach. Eventually the meeting concluded with the decision to design and formulate a mutual transnational flyer, which will be printed and distributed in June.
February 15, 2006
Study visit by our Scottish partners in Berlin and Brandenburg
On Wednesday we split up the delegation from Scottland into two groups. Mark Taylor, Chanel Bikorimana and Jim O´Connor were members of the group remaining in Berlin. They got an insight in the work of the DP on the subject of supporting business starters with a migration background. The other group, composed of Bill Drew and Katarzyna Przybycien, went on a trip to learn about a practical example of co-oparation between culture and economy in the hinterland of Berlin.
While Bill and Katarzyna were still in the car to reach their destination, the other group already got information about the general conditions of migrants in Berlin. In form of a presentation aspects like unemployment rate, male/female ration, problems like language, degree, education etc. and how to address the respective target group were dicussed. After the lunch break the business start-up process was demonstrated in detail (e.g. comprehension of time, process of decision making, manner of risk evaluation etc.) and differences were talked over. Afterwards the group visited one of the business start-ups, a nutstore also offering dried fruits and other delicacies.
The first stop for the second group was in Barnim, a region north-eastern of Berlin. During the roundtable discussion with a representative of the regional political administration, the project leader, an artist and other persons engaged in the cultural sector the Scottish delegation had the chance to gather information about the project example "Kulturschiene Barnim", a mutual idea developed by eleven partners to strengthen the entrepreneurial potentials of the artists in that region. After the visit in Barnim the group drove to Potsdam, to get information about "Kulturland Brandenburg" and their marketing strategies to strengthen cultural institutions and their offerings in the federal state Brandenburg. In the evening the two groups joined and the experiences of the day were lively discussed.
January 25, 2006
Second expert meeting: Entrepreneurship in schools and education systems
According to the issue raised, questions concerning the variety of ideas, practical approaches as well as chances of reorientation of schools, professional orientation and professional training were discussed. To integrate experiences from other European countries, José Manuel Pérez from the Technological Complex in Valnalón, Spain had been invited to join the roundtable discussion. He gave the audience a review on the "Training Programme for Entrepreneurship". This education program is divided into three levels, starting with the "nurturing" of young players, meaning pupils from first to secondary school (the under 16s). In the next level young people from age 16 onwards are addressed. The "Entrepreneur workshop ®" encompasses everything from the introduction of basic ideas, theory and practice up to the project incubator, where the business idea is developed and put into practice. In the third level the two final steps of entrepreneurship are incorporated: business creation and consolidation. However, the main objective it is to motivate, train, give advice and support future entrepreneurs.
Additionally, we visited with José Perez the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin on January 26th. The university runs a small, but very effective start-up competence center for students. The Vice President of the University joined us for a presentation and discussion of approaches to promote entrepreneurship and we had the chance to get a short insight into their work and their future plans. Afterwards we returned to the iq offices and had a more detailed look at our methodology and standards of providing start-up support.
October 10, 2005
1st Sectorial Analysis Work Group meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland
After having met in Berlin for the first time in July, the partners of ON TARGET now regathered in Edinburgh on October 3-4, 2005 to start their content-related activities. Hosted by work group coordinator, Napier University, the two-day meeting was meant to exchange methodologies on the type of research which will be carried out in the three countries in the course of the EQUAL project. Presentations were given on
- the Scottish Iconic Branding project,
- the Valladolid Observatory for Entrepreneurs,
- Asturian approaches to Sectorial Analysis for the industrial/mining sector,
- the Cultural Tourism Guide of the Federal State of Brandenburg, and
- the Creative Industries Study from Berlin.
The programme also included an afternoon visit to DP ICONs' national partner business gateway in Glasgow who - in the course of EQUAL - will put a special emphasis on developing and providing tailor-made start-up support for refugees.
September 8, 2005
Opening event of German DP Enterprise plus.. for more quality in start-up support in Berlin
With more than 70 participants from politics, institutions, start-up support initiatives, employment offices and job centers, Enterprise has successfully resumed discussions on entrepreneurship promotion in Berlin. At the same time, the new EQUAL Development Partnership Enterprise plus...for more quality in start-up support. officially entered into the second round of EQUAL.
The first kick-off debate in a regular series of events was held under the title "1st Enterprise Expert Meeting - the Berlin start-up support policy put to test". Among the discussants were representatives from the regional government of Berlin, the Federal Employment Office, the Berlin Volksbank and the Chamber of Commerce. For more information on this event and on further dates please visit www.enterprise-netz.de.
August 1, 2005
Transnational Partnership ON TARGET officially launched
Hosted by the German DP Enterprise plus..for more quality in business support, the first transnational steering group meeting took place in Berlin on July 28-29, 2005. In the course of the three day meeting, partners agreed a general work plan for the transnational project, defined priorities for the work group activities and shared ideas on a common transnational evaluation strategy.
In addition, Spanish and Scottish partners got to know key national partners of DP Enterprise plus.., and they were given a short insight into the work of the DP through site visits and specific presentations.
