SIMPLE – Social Innovation Models to Promote Learning and Employability
Project number: ESF-SI-2024-UA-01-0028
Project duration: 1 May 2025 – 1 November 2026
Programme: ESF+ Social Innovation+ Initiative
Call: ESF-SI-2024-UA-01 (Innovative Approaches to Mitigate the Societal Consequences of Russia’s War of Aggression against Ukraine within EU Countries)
About the project
The SIMPLE – Social Innovation Models to Promote Learning and Employability project aims to support the employment and social integration of Ukrainian refugees through social innovation.
Ukrainian refugees face many difficulties when entering the labour market. Women and older adults are often in a particularly difficult situation. Many refugees cannot find stable jobs that match their qualifications and previous work experience.
SIMPLE looks at social innovation practices that support refugees through education, training or employment services. The project aims to identify solutions that already work well and develop them further. The partners will also test selected approaches and explore how they can be used in other countries and different contexts.
Stakeholder involvement is an important part of the project. Civil society organisations, education and research institutions, businesses, public bodies and policymakers are involved in the joint work. SIMPLE follows the Quadruple Helix approach. This means that actors from different sectors work together to find practical solutions.
Main project activities
Within the SIMPLE project, the partners:
- map and analyse social innovation practices supporting the employment and integration of Ukrainian refugees;
- examine the labour market situation of refugees, especially women and older adults;
- identify gaps in existing support systems;
- select good practices that can be further developed and used more widely;
- involve professional and institutional stakeholders working in the field;
- test selected approaches in real-life settings;
- develop practical guidelines and digital tools.
HETFA’s role
HETFA Research Institute has an important research and methodological role in the project. HETFA leads the work package responsible for building the professional foundation of the project.
We coordinated the development of the common research methodology. We also contributed to the analysis of challenges related to the social and labour market integration of Ukrainian refugees.
HETFA is also involved in identifying and assessing social innovation good practices. We contribute to the development of the project’s Theory of Change.
In the next stages of the project, we will support stakeholder engagement and experience exchange. We will also explore how the selected approaches can be adapted to different contexts.
Project results
- Common methodology
- Contextual challenges and solutions analysis
- Selected innovations compendium
- Theory of Change (ToC) for innovative approaches and methods
- Capacity Building strategy
- Piloting framework for implementing the approach/model in new contexts
- Scaling guidelines
- Digital toolkit for scaling best practices
- Project website
- Stakeholder engagement and outreach plan
- Piloting impact report
- Sustainability Plan
- Strategy for knowledge exchange and continuous learning
- Mutual learning events report
Project results and public resources are available on the SIMPLE project website:
https://simpleinnovation.eu/index.php?lang=EN
Project partners
The SIMPLE project is implemented by eight European organisations:
- CTS Customized Training Solutions – Poland, Project Coordinator
- Civitas University – Poland
- Adriatic Ionian Euroregion – Croatia
- IHF, Institut de Haute Formation aux Politiques Communautaires – Belgium
- IDP European Consultants – Italy
- HÉTFA Research Institute – Hungary
- IT Solutions for All – Spain
- Hope Ukraine Foundation – Italy
Project Coordinator
CTS Customized Training Solutions sp. z o.o.
Grzybowska 56, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland
Contact person: Renata Jankowska-Zielińska
Email: renata.jankowska-zielinska@adn.pl
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.
