European Map of
Intergenerational Learning (EMIL)

EMIL CASE STUDY COLLECTION

One of EMIL’s main aimsis to develop ways of exchanging, and distributing resources, ideas, knowledge and expertise in the field.Therefore, over the duration of the project, it is intended that EMIL will collect and disseminate a selected set of practice case studies, providing a systematic overview of the role and status of Intergenerational Learning (IL) across Europe.

This collection of case studies will provide a resource for practitioners, policy makers and researchers in the field to support the future development of IL and ensure that existing practices are well documented and disseminated.

Central aims of the EMIL Case study collection will be to:

  • Document and showcase intergenerational learning in policy and practice in Europe;
  • Provide examples of both good practice and less successful ones since learning to improve intergenerational practices may arise from either;
  • Disseminate results and findings from IL projects across Europe;
  • Encourage the mutual exchange of ideas and contribution of a wide range of stakeholders throughout Europe, and beyond.

Due to limited resources, EMIL cannot provide a complete map of the field, but intends to illustrate and highlight examples of IL practices, already and currently being implemented, across Europe. Members are encouraged to provide a number of case studies over the duration of the project. The EMIL case studies will be presented individually and in summary on the EMIL web site:

EMIL endeavours to highlight factors involved in both the successes and barriers each case encountered, as well as possible solutions. Case studies will provide relevant and useful lessons learned which others can use in their own learning and implementation processes.

A standardised template will be used to enable all members to submit case examples, ensuring that key questions are addressed and accurate information is collected. However, this template is meant to create an open and flexible process for capturing all relevant information so we would encourage members to fill in any other applicable details to their work. A shared understanding of what is meant by various terms used throughout these case studies and within our work is crucial. Therefore, our shared version of key terms, and explanation of how we came to this, can be found on our website.

Selected EMIL practice cases aim to represent typical examples of the variety and range of experiences throughout Europe and will reflect the following aspects:

  • Comprehensive coverage of cases across participating countries;
  • Learning activities based on the key intergenerational interests (e.g. communities, learning, health, mentoring, history and reminiscence, arts, social issues, grandparents and grandchildren, volunteering);
  • A broad range of intergenerational involvement from various age groups;
  • Coverage of different problems and needs of participants addressed by the selected case studies;
  • A combination of funding models;
  • Numerous levels of participant interaction(s);
  • A mix of national, regional, local and community based cases in a number of settings (e.g. community, home, work or institution based; voluntary sector; social sector);

• Various partnership arrangements.

EMIL Case Study Template

Project name

Lead organisation

Contact details

Name:
Role in organisation:
Telephone number(s):
Email address:
Mailing Address:

Brief Summary (max 150 words/section)

Please give a concise summary, highlighting its key distinguishing features, achievements and what others can learn from this case.
3/4 keywords:

Case Study information (* applicable for both completed and current practices)

Location/ venue (Who was the managing institution? What country/countries were involved? Where did the learning activities take place?)
Duration (Start & end dates, if applicable?)
Evidence of need (Why was it important to run? Why was it important for it to be intergenerational?)
Purpose (What did you hope to achieve or change? Were you trying to meet specific problems and/or needs within a community? What were the intended aims and objectives?)
Participants (Who were they?How many took part? What were the age ranges?
How were they recruited/ involved? How were participants encouraged/motivated to participate? Were there any barriers to involving volunteers/ participants? If so, how were these barriers overcome?)
Activities/ events
What activities/events were organised?
What learning materials/tools and support were used?
How often did participants meet?
Who supported/ facilitated sessions?

Evaluation

Was the ‘case/practice’ evaluated? Who was involved in the evaluation?
What did and did not work, and what was the evidence?
Outcome evaluation: What were the outcomes for all generations involved, and the community?
Process evaluation: What worked well? What could be done differently in the future?

Lessons learned

What worked well? What could be done differently in the future?

Outputs (e.g. leaflets, photographs, DVDs, toolkits, training resources, policies)

Other applicable information (e.g. any other relevant information you wish to share)

Funding(e.g. public, private, public-private partnership, no funding)

Sustainability/ Developments

As a result of this case, are any other intergenerational practice(s) being delivered or planned by the lead organisation or partner organisations?

Date of case study: