Don’t copy the model. Understand the principles
One of the clearest lessons from the network and one that underlines the above observations is that transferring the Plan Einstein social innovation is not about reproducing a defined set of activities. The visible elements demonstrated by Utrecht are only part of the story.
The neighbourhood-based approach means that all activities need to be developed according to the local context, rather than being pre-defined from above or from Utrecht. Whether that activity is a book club, a surf school, a marching band or a computer course does not matter so much as the fact that is has been designed in response to local needs, preferences and opportunities and in ways that make it open, welcoming and inclusive.
Some of the activities developed under Plan Einstein approaches are primarily social in nature. For example, creating spaces for people to meet or facilitating activities for people to come together over food or music, sport or culture. Such social activities have an important role to play in bringing people together, creating social connections, overcoming mistrust and improving social cohesion.
But the approach is about more than just meeting up and having a nice time. Offering specific training and other opportunities for the personal development of all is also key. This can include skills training, guidance and coaching, as well as psychosocial support services.
In Utrecht, this has meant offering business and entrepreneurship courses - such as ‘Build Your Own Future’ and ‘Women in Business’ – as well as CV building courses, IT/computer classes, language courses and job coaching. A key idea here is that while newcomers may have specific additional needs, most of these activities can be provided in ways that bring everyone together as equals, whether they have lived in the neighbourhood all their lives or they arrived yesterday.
Implementation requires an ecosystem approach
Not only do urban authorities have limited resources, but they are often not perfectly placed to know exactly what each local community needs. Finding, supporting and enabling community actors with a shared vision for local social cohesion is key.
More than one partner started working with national or international organisations specialised in key topics around inclusion before realising the critical importance also of local community actors for delivering local responses. Thessaloniki, Zagreb and Warsaw all identified key local ‘anchors’ for developing Plan Einstein-aligned activities: ranging from a local school to a community café and from a library to a cultural centre. Local anchors can provide a starting point for engaging a broader group of interested bodies and groups.
Finding and engaging such actors who are already active in their local community can quickly generate positive dynamics for testing new types of local activity and approach for fostering local social cohesion based on local needs. Sometimes this can mean thinking beyond organisations with explicit social cohesion objectives. For example, Suceava is working to engage local sports clubs and cultural organisations to make their activities more open and inclusive.
The City of Utrecht works with an ever-increasing array of local partners to implement Plan Einstein, both connected with migrant reception facilities and in other ‘hubs’ across the city. This includes NGO partners, local associations, training bodies, housing companies, cultural bodies and sports clubs.
