The Polish pilot of SIMPLE – Social Innovation Models to Promote Learning and Employability has been successfully completed. It provided tailored support to 50 refugee and migrant women from Ukraine living in Poland. The programme was implemented by project coordinator CTS Customized Training Solutions between December 2025 and May 2026. It tested how an established European social innovation model could be adapted to the Polish context.
SIMPLE aims to identify, further develop and transfer social innovation practices that can improve the employability, skills and integration of people who have fled Ukraine. HÉTFA participates in the project as a partner and leads the work package responsible for assessing existing evidence and good practices and building the professional foundations of the new approach.
The Polish pilot was inspired mainly by BSI_4Women, an Interreg Baltic Sea Region initiative supporting entrepreneurship and the economic independence of refugee and migrant women. Instead of simply copying the original model, CTS kept its main elements and adapted the activities to Polish legal, fiscal, institutional and social conditions. Community-building and mutual-learning elements inspired by the SIREE Interreg project were also included.
Participants had different professional backgrounds and different levels of Polish language skills. They were also at different stages in developing a business idea. For this reason, the programme offered two complementary pathways. One focused on developing business ideas and preparing them for implementation. The other focused on assessing participants’ professional and entrepreneurial potential.
The programme combined group and individual support. It included workshops on running a business in Poland, business and career counselling, expert consultations, business idea development, e-government and digital training, practical work experience, networking and information about available support and funding opportunities. Entrepreneurship was not treated only as a way to start a company. It was also seen as a way to improve employability, independence and economic autonomy.
The evaluation showed positive changes in all areas assessed. Participants’ average overall self-assessment increased from 3.0 before the programme to 3.6 after its completion. Strong improvements were reported in knowledge about entrepreneurship and available support, the use of Polish in professional and business situations, confidence and the ability to act independently, and interaction with public institutions. By the end of the programme, participants also had a clearer understanding of the next steps needed to develop their professional or business plans.
All participants reported that they were satisfied with the pilot and would recommend it to others in a similar situation. The introductory business workshops, counselling activities and digital modules also received very high ratings.
The Polish experience confirms that effective support for refugee and migrant women needs to be comprehensive, personalised and available over time. Training alone is not enough to address the linguistic, institutional, financial, organisational and social barriers that participants may face. Future applications of the model should therefore include needs assessment, individual support pathways, specialist advice, language and digital support, networking, guidance in dealing with institutions and follow-up assistance.
The Polish pilot provides practical evidence for the SIMPLE project. It shows how European social innovations can be adapted to different local contexts and used to strengthen the skills, independence and labour-market participation of Ukrainian women.
SIMPLE is co-funded by the European Union under the ESF+ Social Innovation+ Initiative and brings together partners from Italy, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Croatia and Hungary to transfer and scale social innovation models that promote the employability and social inclusion of refugees from Ukraine, with a particular focus on women. More information is available on the SIMPLE project website: simpleinnovation.eu
Funding statement
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 European Social Fund Agency. Neither the European Union nor the Granting Authority can be held responsible for them.
