Connecting inclusive social planning, community development and service provision for persons with disabilities

"<< Background >>The aim of the CISCOS project was to develop a multinational and cross-sectoral training course for staff in disability service organizations, in local governments and for students in academic qualification. The final CISCOS curriculum consists of three curriculum elements adapted to both academic and non-academic settings. These cover a) social planning (1), b) community development (2), and c) integrated service provision (3). The ""CISCOS Training Package"" is available in eight languages.<< Objectives >>The aim of CISCOS was to develop an innovative and multidisciplinary approach to teaching and training to support service providing organizations and local policy practitioners to adapt to changed environments and perform in more integrated and effective ways. A set of transversal skills based on a joint learning model with a system-thinking orientation is the guiding line of the project activities and contributes to the innovation on teaching and training in social work and rehabilitation.<< Implementation >>The three aforementioned curriculum elements were developed by the partners and then tested in 24 national testing seminars (on-site and online). Those were presented to mixed learning group of students, practioneers from service providers and local administration as well as from self-advocacy groups. Experiences from the testing seminars were discussed among project partners to improve the teaching material and the curriculum elements. This resulted in the final CISCOS Training Package.<< Results >>Formally CISCOS resulted in a ""Training Package"" that consists of five parts. These are a) an introduction, b) a guide for trainers, c) a course manual and d) workbook, e) a toolkit for collaborative planning processes. The training package is available in a universal English version. In addition, partners developed national versions in German, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish, Slovenian and Swedish language. Furthermore, the project helped to establish contacts between seminar participants."