BBK Kuna brings the first edition of Kuna-co Proiektuak to a close providing answers to three challenges of the future

BBK Kuna, the Home of the SDGs, puts a close to the first edition of KUNA-CO PROIEKTUAK with the project evaluation of the 2022 – 2023 call.  

KUNA – CO PROIEKTUAK is an initiative which promotes innovation projects that aim to seek solutions to the challenges associated to Agenda 2030 in the Basque Country in general and Bizkaia in particular, and which, in turn, lead to a change in the territory of Bizkaia.

In the 2022-2023 call, the challenges to address have been as follows:

  1. MIGRATION AND PROSPERITY: INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, promoted by Grupo Servicios Sociales Integrados S.Coop.Grupo SSI, the Fundación Social Ignacio Ellacuría Social, with Ikuspegi – Basque Immigration Observatory, and the University of Duesto.
  2. HUMANIST DIGITAL TRANSITION, promoted by the HUME group (Humanism and Management and Economics) of the University of Deusto with the collaboration of Wikitoki and actors from four different fields: cybersecurity, protection of personal data, open government and civil society.
  3. SUSTAINABLE GASTRONOMY, promoted byFundación AZTI-AZTI Fundazioa with Basque Know How Fundazioa (BKHF), and the Gorka Izagirre Winery.

These projects, selected last July, respond to challenges identified by BBK Kuna Institutuoa, a Think Tank presided by Daniel Innerarity and comprised of reference voices in the territory, who, from BBK Kuna, prioritise which are going to be the challenges of the future to address in the years to come.

KUNA-CO PROIEKTUAK promotes partnership working therefore the purpose of the projects for this call are led by entities who articulate their collaboration by means of a multi-agent Consortium. All the projects have included a non-profit entity which coordinated the project.

KUNA-CO PROIEKTUAK 2022 – 2023

  1. MIGRATION AND PROSPERITY: INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.

The ERTZEAN Project aims to improve the employability and quality of life of persons of foreign origin who work in the care sector, by designing and providing a service for guidance, accompaniment, and training for persons who are dependant and with disability, at home and/or in social institutions.

The project has been carried out, on one side by Grupo Servicios Sociales Integrados S.Coop.Grupo SSI, the Fundación Social Ignacio Ellacuría, Ikuspegi – Basque Immigration Observatory and the University of Deusto.

After carrying out an exhaustive analysis of the social and labour reality of people of foreign origin and/or descent employed in the care sector, and domestic service in the Greater Bilbao, Ertzean detects specific needs which go from the people themselves, to the entire care system and the labour market.

RESULTS

The Basque Country faces an accelerated ageing process which also has an impact on the labour force. In professions connected with care for the elderly, this figure could even be higher, due to the elder age of many workers in the sector, mainly women. In addition to the huge demand which exists, another major challenge needs to be answered: dignifying and professionalising the economy of caretaking and longevity.

In view of this reality, training shortages emerge, which are closely linked to the need of guidance and accompaniment when searching for employment. With this reality in mind, the ERTZEAN initiative brings to light the delicate situation in which many people who work as caretakers and in domestic employment find themselves in, particularly those of foreign origin.

Following a collaborative and co-creation methodology, throughout the 2022-2023 course, an approximate number of 40 people of foreign origin have taken part in the project, which seeks the participative design of a new sector service, non-existent until now, for the guidance, accompaniment and training in the field of care for the elderly for people of foreign origin, regardless of their administrative situation. Ultimately, a social and labour insertion circuit oriented to care, which may also be used to support the transition to other sectors.

Ertzean has materialised it as follows:

  • A training process of a total of 16 hours, divided into 4 sessions focussed on: introducing the participants into the professional caretaking activity; providing participants with the basic technical skills for providing care to dependant people; and providing participants with skills to prevent and face the most common difficult situations which occur when providing care.
  • Job guidance in three 2-hour sessions each;
  • Individual social and labour guidance services
  • 2-hour group psychological and emotional support session, in groups of 10-15 people
  • 2-hour evaluation and co-creation sessions
  • HUMANIST DIGITAL TRANSITION.

This project has been carried out by the HUME group (Humanism and Management and Economics) of the University of Deusto with the collaboration of Wikitoki and actors from four different fields: cybersecurity, protection of personal data, open government, and civil society.

They have conducted research which has identified and assessed the accountability mechanisms in the governance of the Technological-Digital Transition (TDT) in Bizkaia, aimed towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), integrating digital technologies in businesses and their impact on society.

RESULTS

The following actors have participated:

  • Cybersecurity:  Basque Cybersecurity Center (BCSC)
  • Protection of personal data:  Basque Data Protection Agency (AVPD) Open government: – Open Government – Open Data Euskadi (ODE) – Open Data Bizkaia (ODB) – Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship – Information Access Commission – Lantik
  • Civil society:  Esle (Association of free technologies and open knowledge businesses of Euskadi) – Integrated Social Services (SSI) – University (consultancy) – FabLab Bilbao – Wikitoki

For this research – action project the following indicators have been evaluated: Official documents and strategic plans; Self-evaluations; Portals created; Agreements signed; Participative/dissemination activities; Products and/or patents; Apps developed and downloads; Proposals or actions to promote gender equality; Proposals or actions for environmental sustainability in the technologies developed. All within the objective of identifying and evaluating the accountability mechanisms in governance and digital transition (DT) in Euskadi, as well as identifying and analysing the values and principles that guide the actors in the network, their main strategic action tools and roles of the actors, while the main ideas and best practices are analysed to improve the quality of citizen participation.

In the fields of Cybersecurity and Protection of personal data, the Digital Transition is aimed mainly at technical and legal aspects. The fields follow the guidelines of higher bodies, since they depend on the autonomous administration and have frameworks delimited in DT. However, it also mentions the possibility of granting more power to departments and establishing partnerships with businesses and citizens, above all in the field of cybersecurity. There are still many actions that need to integrate citizens in these fields, beyond a vision of services.

In the open Government field, there are different initiatives related to DT. From a management perspective, programmes and portals have been created to improve transparency, accessibility and movement of data, as well as consulting channels. Decentralisation is recommended as well as promoting these initiatives in all administrations and levels, linking the digital agenda with gender equality and protecting the environment.

A strong desire to change things has been perceived in the civil Society arena. The dimensions submitted offer a qualitative and global analytical approach, with the emphasis placed on society and the citizens.

  • SUSTAINABLE GASTRONOMY:

The main goal of the project has been to create, and validate, an operating model for the gastronomy sector and its value chain in Bizkaia, which incorporates sustainable development principles and may be used as a valuation and improvement element for the activity, and the survival of the sector on the long term.

Its social impact is very relevant because of the importance of the sector in the economic and business fabric of Bizkaia, and therefore in the number of jobs it employs.

There is also, the need to position the sector with regard to competitor regions and improve the positioning of Basque gastronomy in terms of sustainable development, in order to promote responsible tourism in the Basque Country.

RESULTS

Gastronomy is one of the internationally recognised hallmarks of the Basque Country’s identity and a key sector for tourism and the economic fabric of Bizkaia. Currently, this sector faces a series of global challenges, environmental as well as high impact socio-economic ones, such as climate change or the new consumer trends or business models, that require implementating sustainable development strategies in this key sector.

The “Sustainable Gastronomy” initiative has developed and agreed between the actors in the value chain the most relevant environmental and social aspects and criteria to bear in mind in order to evaluate the degree of sustainability of a gastronomic service.

Nine aspects have been identified:

  • Sustainable Procurement
  • Waste Management
  • Food Waste
  • Efficiency in the use of Natural Resources
  • Sustainable Building and Construction
  • Sustainable Materials and other Consumables
  • People Management
  • Transparency for Consumers
  •  Social Responsibility and Communication

The capacity for the model to improve was also found throughout the project, not only the sustainability of the sector, but all of its value chain.

The project partners highlight here the capacity of the sector to influence the entire value chain, upstream, since the rule also includes issues such as primary production or the production of other catering materials; as well as downstream, directly including consumer behaviour.

If the hotel establishments attach importance to buying local raw materials, consumers will also attach importance to these at home when they leave the restaurant.

On one hand, it promotes the purchasing of sustainable raw materials which will drive the whole value chain towards a lower environmental impact. On the other, incorporating the sustainability certificate may contribute to sustainable development and spread and raise awareness on the importance of incorporating these principles in our consumption habits, beyond the sector. Namely the rule calls and incites consumers to be particularly pro-active not only in restaurants, but in their way of life.

The projects which form part of Kuna-co Proiektuak 2022-2023 have benefited from monetary assistance of up to 50,000 euros for their implementation. In addition, they have been able to use the BBK Kuna premises in order to offer training sessions or for holding meetings and to act as a meeting point.

KUNA- CO PROIEKTUAK 2023 – 2024

The challenges selected for the second call, which BBK Kuna will present in Autumn, are TECH FOR GOOD; MIGRATION AND TALENT; AND NEW LONGEVITY.

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