Boosting Social Inclusion in SEE: Policy Hackathon for Municipalities

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Boosting Social Inclusion in SEE: Policy Hackathon for Municipalities

Inclusion of vulnerable groups into social, economic and political life is an important cornerstone of human rights and democracy, and that the value this program is going to underpin”.

The Robert Schuman Institute in cooperation with the Central European Initiative is inviting you to take part in a hybrid project designed to help develop concrete impactful solutions to problems of social inclusion on the level of municipalities, bringing quality change and supporting democratization through capacity building in five South Eastern European countries, namely Albania, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

We will introduce you to hackathon as a new method for drafting innovative, effective, human-centered policy solutions, as well  as design thinking (DT) approach to policy making (assessing the needs of the policy end users and designing solutions that address these needs as effectively as possible) which will help you to boost informed engagement in all stages of policy shaping.

We will provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills related to user-oriented policy development to help identify the most prominent inclusiveness policy challenges in your respective domains, and design concrete effective solutions for identified problems in specific policy areas. Under the guidance of our experts you and your peers will work together to build policy proposals (prototypes) that feature viable solutions to improve ability, opportunity and dignity of vulnerable groups.

Target group: 20 local councilors and members of civil society organizations (CSOs) from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia

Dates:

… I.

1 online Zoom session as follows,

For participants: Thursday, 15 September, 2022

For trainers: Friday, 16 September, 2022

… II.

3 working days as follows,

6-8 October, 2022 (Novi Sad, Serbia) Arrival: Wednesday, 5 October (evening) for those staying at the hotel, or before 9am on Thursday, 6 October. Departure: Saturday, 8 October afternoon. 

Structure of the project:

Step 1: We will open with an introductory team building session online providing an overview of the DT in policy shaping, Hackathon concept and structure, and the cycle agenda. We will look into attributes of current inclusivity policies, problems and reforms possibilities. As homework, you will be tasked with exploring the biggest sectoral challenges with inclusivity in your respective countries (assessing local stakeholders, NGOs, current legislature, available resources, country specifics, etc.) – we will of course instruct you on how to do this research!

Step 2: We will go deeper into practical application of DT in policy design, you will be divided into 2 groups according to specific sectors  where, based on your research findings,  the social exclusion is most visible and needs an efficient policy solution, and engaged into two simultaneous policy hackathon runs. Each group will have a mentor and experts who will provide theoretical and practical assistance throughout the cycle.  At the end of the cycle your group will pitch the two policy prototypes to the jury and receive feedback and evaluation.

Working language: English (high oral and written proficiency is required).

Should you want to be part of it, please fill out the application form 

(*Those who already filled the form, there is no need to do it again. All you have to do is to re-confirm your participation for the new dates via email to our Project Coordinator Vladan Pavic, at vladan.pavic@schuman-institute.eu).

Application deadline: Friday, September 9, 2022, EoB

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the responsible project manager, Evgenia Jarabik at evgenia.jarabik@schuman-institute.eu