PRESS RELEASE - Minister Joe O’Brien Announces Social Innovation Coaching and Mentoring Programme
- ‘Achieve Together’ offers bespoke mentoring and coaching services to existing Community Services Programme organisations
- Over €4 million in funding over the lifetime of the programme
- Up to 225 organisations to benefit
Minister of State for Community Development, Integration and Charities, Joe O’Brien, TD, has today, 4th October, launched the ‘Achieve Together’ Social Innovation Coaching and Mentoring Programme, aimed at enhancing the performance of organisations supported under the Community Services Programme (CSP).
The ‘Achieve Together’ Social Innovation Coaching and Mentoring Programme
provides over €4 million in co-funding between the Government of Ireland and the European Union under the Employment, Inclusion, Skills, and Training Programme (EIST) which is Ireland’s ESF+ programme for 2021-2027.
The overall objective of the Achieve Together programme is to provide bespoke mentors and coaches to existing CSP supported organisations for a 12-month period.
The aim is to facilitate, support, encourage and inspire organisations attain their social innovation goals and to assist them to provide an enhanced service to local communities.
The launch took place at Skerries Mills in County Dublin, a project funded under the Community Services Programme.
In launching this measure Minister Joe O’Brien said
“The ‘Achieve Together’ Coaching and Mentoring Program, made possible by ESF+ funding, will help our CSP-supported organisations to grow and provide more services, enhance their employment opportunities - particularly for under-represented groups - and encourage further active participation, in our communities. In doing so, this aligns with commitments under Trading for Impact, the National Social Enterprise Policy 2024-2027, to grow and sustain social enterprise.”
Minister O’Brien added:
“Many CSP supported organisations may also wish to invest further in products or services, expand their operations to address local challenges, deliver new services to address identified needs and reduce and minimise their environmental impact. This programme will help provide the organisations with the tools to achieve these important objectives for the continued benefit of communities across the country.”
“Social Enterprises are critical to the sustainable development of our communities and this bespoke initiative will enable local organisations to improve their financial sustainability and maximise their social value while also assisting CSP supported organisations to engage with communities in an inclusive and enabling way to address inequalities, all of which support social innovation and local partnership working and align with the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Following the tendering process for the ‘Achieve Together’ Coaching and Mentoring programme, which was launched in July, panels of both Mentors and Coaches have been established.
The programme’s goal is to include 25 small and medium-sized businesses in its initial year, followed by 50 organisations in the following years (2025–2028), reaching a total of 225 organisations over the course of five years.
As part of their role in supporting the Department of Rural and Community Development in the implementation of the ‘Achieve Together’ Social Innovation Coaching and Mentoring Programme, Pobal CEO, Anna Shakespeare said:
“Pobal is delighted to continue to work with the Department of Rural and Community Development on this ESF+ ‘Achieve Together Social Innovation Coaching and Mentoring Programme’. It builds upon the Department of Rural and Community Development supported Community Services Programme through the provision of tailored social innovation supports and developmental measures. It represents an innovative and exciting opportunity for Government and the ESF+, as well as ourselves in Pobal, to support the advancement of social innovation in our community settings.”
There are currently 430 CSP funded organisations throughout the country with circa. 50% of those expected to be selected to take part in the ESF+ ‘Achieve Together’ programme.
What is ESF+?
The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is the European Union (EU)’s main instrument for investing in people and supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. With a budget of €142.7 billion for the period 2021-2027, the ESF+ will continue to provide an important contribution to the EU’s employment, social, education and skills policies, including structural reforms in these areas.
The ESF+ brings together four funding instruments that were separate in the programming period 2014-20: the European Social Fund (ESF), the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD) the Youth Employment Initiative and the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).
ESF+ is a shared management programme between the European Commission and the Member States, with a co-funding rate of 95% from the EU and 5% from the Government.
ESF+ in Ireland
In Ireland, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DHERIS) is the ESF+ Managing Authority, responsible for implementation of Ireland’s ESF+ programme, entitled Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training (EIST).
EIST targets five key areas:
- Employment
- Skills and Lifelong Learning
- Social Inclusion
- Social Innovation
- Assistance to the Most Deprived
The Achieve Together Social Innovation Coaching and Mentoring programme falls under Priority 4: Social Innovation, of the ESF+ EIST programme 2021-2027.
This programme is complemented by:
- The New Solutions Social Innovation Fund where the aim is to enhance the social innovation ecosystem in Ireland. It is also co-funded through the European Social Fund + 2021-2027 (ESF+) which will provide up to €2.8 million to establish a Social Innovation Hub over the lifetime of the Programme. And by;
- The Sport Ireland ESF+ programme "Sport 4 Empowerment" (S4E) that implements socially innovative programmes, using sport and physical activity, to foster social inclusion and enhance the wellbeing, education, and economic prospects of people at risk of social exclusion.
All three programmes combined make up Priority 4 of the EIST programme.
This programme is complemented by:
Social Innovation Definition
To ensure all beneficiaries have a shared understanding of what social innovation is, the following broad definition has been agreed for the Achieve Together Social Innovation Coaching and Mentoring programme:
Social innovation ‘… means an activity, for the purposes of this programme:
- the development and implementation of new products, services, practices, and models to meet social needs.
- creates new social relationships or collaborations between public, civil society, or private organisations.
- Adaptation or modification of current business models or services to improve quality, better target and meet social needs.