Innovating Communities - Designing Our Future Training Project

Tender description

The Innovating Communities (IC) project is a training programme that will energise and mobilise a rural population such that they become more open to new ideas and ways of working. The project will deliver innovative and creative training modules that will meet current challenges whilst building capabilities to cope with future opportunities, by adopting new techniques, increasing problem solving capability and increasing confidence. IC is an inter-territorial co-operation training programme led by Monaghan Integrated Development CLG and includes Louth LEADER Partnership CLG, Leitrim Integrated Development Company CLG, County Sligo LEADER Partnership Company CLG, Donegal Local Development CLG and Breffni Integrated Development CLG. The Implementing Partners are also supported by South West College as the Project’s Academic Partner. The economy of scale of the project will facilitate a level of innovation and best practice which might not have been possible in smaller scale training projects. The co-operation approach will therefore have an increased impact when compared to a singular approach. Current challenges of globalisation, demographics and economy of scale suggests that while small local initiatives are important, there is also value in exploring regional skills development approaches to stimulating innovation through the LEADER method. IC will include new localised training modules in each participating location and one cluster project covering all 6 participating partners. The legacy of IC will be to enhance innovation capability in the respective local communities and instil greater confidence, understanding and experience of analysing problems and creating solutions with a longer-term impact for innovation in the region. This ‘living lab’ approach will help rural communities to tap into local insights and come up with practicable and sustainable innovative solutions.