Consortium for Enterprise Outreach (CEO)

1
Consortium for Enterprise Outreach (CEO)

• Removing barriers to entrepreneurship for
  disabled people and carers
• Dr Tracey Marr, Business Boffins Ltd, UK

2
Project Information

• UK/05/B/F/PP-162_360
• Dr Tracey Marr (tracey_at_businessboffins.com)
• Italian partner
• CONFORM - Consorzio Formazione Manageriale
• Latvian partner
• An organisation of people with disabilities and
  their friends Apeirons
• UK partners
• Association for Disabled Professionals (ADP)
• AbilityNet
• www.c-e-o.eu.com

3
Objectives of Project

• Objectives (workshop theme)
• Develop a vocational training programme that
  makes self-employment a genuine possibility for
  disabled people and carers
• Provide University accredited education (safety
  net of increased employability should the
  business fail to mature)
• Quality controlled support for disabled people
  carers starting a business
• Overcome discrimination in business support
  provision
• Innovative aspects
• Electronic delivery increases accessibility of
  business support
• Written word mentoring (ideal for people with
  hearing impairment)
• Educational materials digitised (iPod or MP3
  players)
• Internet delivery and e-mentoring (support
  networks)

4
Beneficiaries

• Target group(s)
• Entrepreneurial disabled people and carers
• End users
• Disabled people and carers who
• Have a business idea or business model
• Wish to become self-employed
• Ability to participate for one year (but the
  course is flexible)
• Other stakeholders
• Disability and carers support organisations
• Regional Development Agencies (e.g SEEDA, UK)
• Banks (Hipoteku banka, State Bank, Latvia)
• Universities and Further Education colleges

5
Project Products

• 48 CEO modules (EN, LV, IT) enterprise
  education
• Assumes no prior business knowledge
• Explains business concepts in an understandable
  way (no jargon!)
• Delivered to beneficiaries by email each week
  (people at home)
• Templates to prepare business plans financial
  information
• Plans form the assignments to the University
  qualification
• Programme linked with website, e-mail mentoring
  telephone mentoring
• University qualification
• CEO programme is now accredited/validated in UK,
  Latvia and Italy
• Compatible with European Credit Transfer System
  (ECTS)
• Certificate in Small Business Management
• Certificates of participation and completion

6
Contribution to enhancing entrepreneurship in VET

• Use of products to enhance entrepreneurship in
  VET (impact of product)
• Project stimulated industry/Higher Education (HE)
  co-operation
• Delivery of HE into homes of the hard to reach
• University as Quality Control for external
  material
• Real business documents (business plan, cash flow
  forecast) used as assignments
• Lower barriers to entrepreneurship for disabled
  people and carers
• Possibilities of sustaining the product
• Incorporation of CEO programme in partner
  organisation training programmes
• Development of not-for-profit model
• RDAs, Universities, banks and commercial
  partners?

7
Transferability of Products

• Potential use of products/outputs by other target
  groups
• Female entrepreneurs
• Socially excluded groups
• Ethnic minority groups
• Across all sectors
• Potential use of products/outputs in other
  countries
• Transferability across Europe and beyond
• Great scope to use academic/commercial/support
  group model to all regions within countries