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d.thinking
Design Thinking for Social Inclusion

Programme
Erasmus+
Project number
2021-1-AT01-KA220-ADU-000028452
Key Action
Partnerships for cooperation and exchanges of practices
Action Type
Cooperation partnerships in adult education
Topics
Community development | Social responsibility of educational institutions | Creating new, innovative or joint curricula or courses
Duration
Start date 28-02-2022
End date 27-08-2024
EU Grant
EUR 311.084,90

About the project

The d.thinking – Design Thinking for Social Inclusion project treats socially excluded individuals, groups and communities as experts of their own reality, not just beneficiaries. It responds to the need for innovative, interactive and iterative methods to address complex social issues, using Design Thinking as a human-centred, empathy-driven approach. By working in multidisciplinary teams and actively involving target groups at all levels, the project supports partners and communities in jointly developing practical solutions for social inclusion.

Objectives

The project aims to raise awareness about social inclusion and marginalised communities and to recognise them as active stakeholders in social processes, allowing them to co-design learning processes and content via Design Thinking. It seeks to reach out to people and communities that have been marginalised, applying Design Thinking principles of empathy, perception, understanding and creative thinking. A further objective is to enable relevant social actors (NGOs, community organisations, educators, local authorities, etc.) to work together through an inclusive, reflective methodology, learning from each other and strengthening social bonds and community ties.

Activities

In the preparation phase, partner organisations shared experience and defined required competences, drafted the structure of the training modules, designed a project logo, and launched project social media channels to inform and involve stakeholders. During the development phase, the consortium structured and designed the training modules, involved external stakeholders in their development, and created storyboards for explainer videos. The modules were piloted, evaluated and finalised, translated from English into partner languages, and integrated into a multilingual online training platform.

In the dissemination phase, the dissemination and exploitation plan was refined, and short-term teacher training and multiplier events were organised to promote the results and ensure use beyond project lifetime.

The central outcome is the multilingual d.thinking training platform (www.d-thinking.eu), which can be used by teachers, trainers and facilitators to design and run Design Thinking-based workshops. It offers three training modules focused on social entrepreneurship, sustainability management and community work, explaining the full Design Thinking process, proposing methods for each iterative step, and showcasing practice examples. The platform includes short video tutorials illustrating the process and tools. In addition, the project fostered local stakeholder networks that apply the Design Thinking approach at local level, further embedding social innovation and inclusion in community work.

Project partners

  • Verein Niedersächsischer Bildungsinitiativen e.V. - 🇩🇪 Germany
  • Compass - Beratung, Begleitung und Training gemeinnützige GmbH - 🇦🇹 Austria
  • Cesie Ente Del Terzo Settore - 🇮🇹 Italy 
  • Eco Logic - 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 
  • Fo-Aarhus - 🇩🇰 Denmark 
  • Grunnet&Petersen I/S - 🇩🇰 Denmark

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or German National Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.