Development and delivery of a National Contact Point service in Ireland to enable higher engagement with the EaSI strand.

ended

The Wheel is Ireland’s national association for community and voluntary organisations, charities, and social enterprises. We have been civil society leaders for over 20 years, providing a series of support programmes including public policy and advocacy, networking, training and development, and information. With almost 2,000 members we are connected through our membership to civil society throughout Ireland and play a vital role in connecting community and voluntary organisations to wider civil society. As an organisation, our simple but ambitious mission is to strengthen the capacity and capability of community and voluntary organisations, charities, and social enterprises to play their part in changing Ireland for the better. The Wheel recognises the potential of European programmes in realising this ambition. The EaSI strand under ESF+ – a European-level financing instrument managed directly by the European Commission – provides financial support to achieve: high employment levels, fair social protection, a skilled and resilient workforce ready for the future world of work, as well as inclusive and cohesive societies aiming to eradicate poverty. One of the key learnings from the first EaSI programme (2014-2020) was the need for greater dissemination to allow for the upscaling and mainstreaming of innovative actions and successful experiences to allow for the upscaling and mainstreaming of further innovative actions and successful applications. The establishment of National Contact Points has been identified as a means of addressing this. To this end, the new ESF regulation includes provisions for establishing national contact points for the EaSI strand. The proposal (included in Part B of this application) outlines The Wheel’s strategy for the development and delivery of a National Contact Point with due cognisance to the priorities identified by the ESF+