<< Background >>Due to the ever-increasing importance of rapidly evolving digital technologies, the European community has a strong need to take a closer look at the digital transformation of work and how it affects opportunities and challenges for the inclusion of persons with disabilities.The inclusion of people with disabilities is reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, committing all UN Member States to leave no one behind. The 2030 Agenda recognises people with disabilities as a vulnerable group, and various sustainable development goals refer to them, such as Quality education, Decent work and economic growth, Reduced inequalities, Sustainable cities and communities, Partnerships for the goals. The COVID-19 pandemic is having severe and long-lasting consequences around the globe, which are further aggravated for marginalized groups, people with disabilities, especially parents and families of those representatives of the vulnerable group. As the result, during and after lockdowns in different countries, family members of people with disabilities have to stay at home. This leads to great job loss and problems within the economic sector. Moreover, it leads to depression and mental problems of family members and parents, who are struggling to find governmental support and are facing a lack of communication.Likewise, the pandemic has already significantly accelerated the digitalisation trend, including in the world of work.Taking into account mentioned above facts, the 'Need for Lead' projects was designed. It aims to address and present the solution to the two needs:1. To develop a Guide (Methodology) of mental adaptation of family members of those disadvantaged groups. (We will create a space for new knowledge and abilities for the social and community workers, volunteers, educators. This knowledge and skills will assist to transform the set of minds of family members of people with disabilities).2. Solution on online employment. This will be training on online professions that will give space, time, flexibility to every parent individual. An inclusive digital future of work is key to the achievement of this Sustainable Development, which is the main basis for the development of the 'Need for Lead' project. All stakeholders, including governments, companies, trade unions, employers’ organisations, centers of persons with disabilities, NGOs, have an important role to play in creating a digitally inclusive future of work that benefits all people. This project is considered as a bridge between people with disabilities and their families with the whole national, local, and even international community through digital technologies.Within this project, we aim to address the following needs of family members of people with disabilities: - obtain knowledge on online employability/entrepreneurship;- receive training and help to perform better;- mental adaptation of parents, family members, guardians;- improve inclusion in Europe; recognise the mentioned vulnerable groups and include them as an equal part of society;-decrease a gap between the whole society and people with disabilities, as well as their relatives;- learn how to be able to receive education digitally;- improve digital qualification for all spheres of lives by all our target groups;- raising awareness about the European funds and opportunities for life-long learning, as well as all types of mobilities.As one of the priorities for the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 is digitalisation, this project directly meets the goal and needs of the whole European community.We do believe that via improving the well-being of the family members of people with disabilities, we contribute to the general economical growth of the communities, to the mental health of a wide circle of people. If we will improve the level of life of the parents of family members of people with disabilities - they will have an opportunity to make the lives of their children happier.<< Objectives >>The initial priority of the 'Need for Lead' project is to enable front-line adult and partner education providers to take on the task of building a bridging platform, which can ensure the implementation of all the set goals of the learning process.We are experiencing a huge digital transformation of our societies in real-time. These changes lead to an ever-growing 'digital economy' as well as 'digital life' in general. Thus, they deeply impact the world of work as a whole. With opportunities also come challenges like the imperative to leave no one behind in the digitalisation process, including the more than one billion persons with disabilities across the globe.We plan to achieve a set of objectives within this project:- to improve the mental adaptation of family members of people with disabilities;- to convey the knowledge on working online and digital skills to the target group of this project;- to improve inclusion in Europe and decrease a gap between the whole society and people with disabilities, as well as their relatives; - to contribute to adult education, to make it more flexible, to improve digital education;- to improve digital qualification for all spheres of lives by all our target groups;- to raise awareness about the European funds (including the Erasmus+ programme) and opportunities for life-long learning, as well as all types of mobilities.All the mentioned above will be achieved through the implementation of the Project Results, which are the following: 1. Developed an Online Guide on mental adaptation and transformation of family members of people with disabilities. It will be created based on the researches in participated countries about the needs of the organisations, social workers, and public bodies, who collaborate with people with disabilities. A Guide will include the methodology of working with parents and family members of those people; innovative approaches of work; types of online instruments, sources of communication, and creative methods. It is expected that social and community workers will use this Guide as an instrument to communicate and collaborate with family members of people with disabilities.2. Training on online employment. It will be created with an e-learning approach, for family members and parents of people with disabilities. It is expected that his training will provide adult individuals with up-to-date knowledge and entrepreneurial skills of working online. 3. Created online accessible free-to-use platform where training is allocated.In addition, this project will help educators and social workers to boost their knowledge on inclusion and digital transformation through the LTTA activity. Last but not the least, this project will unite different European countries through qualitative dissemination. This way, they will joint their efforts on making our society more inclusive and open to all the representatives and diversity. As the final result, people with disabilities will participate in life equally, will receive a chance to develop professionally, which is also beneficial for the economy of every partner country and community.We do believe, the 'Need for Lead' project will contribute to the solution of many problems and will be beneficial for social inclusion, economic well-being, cultural and healthy states of every participating country.<< Implementation >>The 'Need for Lead' project will consist of a set of activities, which are formed in a logical sequence: - Research on digitalisation phenomena in the social sector of every partner country. This activity aimed to help the consortium to identify the exact needs of the target groups.- Creation of the Online Guide on mental adaptation and transformation of family members of people with disabilities. It will include the methodology of working with parents and family members; innovative approaches of work; types of online instruments, sources of communication, and creative methods.- Learning, Training, and Teaching Activity. Through this activity, a set of formal and non-formal instruments will be integrated into the learning process. It will provide up-skilling opportunities for educators, social and community workers.- Transnational meetings. These activities will provide opportunities for face-to-face exchange of information, as well as defining the next logical steps of actions. These will also allow to set a team-building flow, to implement and evaluate the various project outcomes, to give each partner an opportunity to illustrate their approaches, traditions, and cultural history related to the project objectives. Face-to-face partner meetings can be replaced by online meetings via Skype, Zoom and other platforms in the worst-case scenario. However, during the whole project life-cycle, partners will communicate online on a regular basis. - Collaboration and meetings with associated partners. All the partners will approach local organisations to be further involved in the project development, stakeholder groups, and training. The engagement of local, regional and national actors will be essential to the success of the project to reach the target group's end-users and to maintain a sustained suite of project materials. The role of associated partners in providing transversally these competencies in their training will enhance not only the training process but a sustainable impact on the adults, who directly linked to people with disabilities. As well they will be promoting cooperation between regional authorities. - Multiplier events. In every partner country, a multiplier event ‘Future Learn’ will be organised and dedicated to local actors in the fields of adult education, social and community work. Participants of these events will be introduced to the aims and outcomes of the project. - Involvement of the adult individuals in the online education. This will include the involvement of people with disabilities, their parents and family members in the e-learning format (via a created app). It will be beneficial from a couple of perspectives: will reach better inclusion of people who are not keen to the online education; will be accessible for a larger audience; will decrease the communication gap; will bring a method of innovation to the project; will engage direct beneficiaries to the learning process; will test digital tools in the working process.- Dissemination of the project's results. There are a number of dissemination activities that will be carried out by partners at local, national, and transnational levels to ensure proper dissemination of the 'Need for Lead' project and its outcomes. Partners will focus on directing innovative and appropriate dissemination approaches due to the new challenges and online behaviors of people in this digital era.<< Results >>The potential longer-term benefits are linked to the objective of improving inclusion in Europe and digitalising citizens. All the partners of this project are committed to contributing significantly to every objective the project has set. It has created a permanent network that will keep collaborating within this project but also in some other ones in the same line.Our project aims to reach the highest level of sustainability. Thus, the results and deliverables will be used even after the end of the funding. Mainly, an Online Guide and other Project Results will be available after the end of the duration of the project’s development and implementation.Developing this project in an international context, partners joined their efforts and desire to change the attitude of how societies in partner countries perceive problems linked to the equality and lack of knowledge within the digital tools; as well as partners, are willing to call for action among their beneficiaries to contribute to the inclusion.Expected results of the project are considered from various perspectives:- Management: settled effective and smooth cooperation among partners; establishment of new partner ties. - Resources: up-to-date Guide developed; a created online platform as the way to unite all the target groups; developed for use by adult learners an application training.- Communication: established effective methods of communication on the international level. - Language: improved level of English by all beneficiaries of the project.- Intercultural exchange: understanding other cultures, working approaches and diversity.- Action: researching on behalf of each partner will participate in concept development about the methodology and curriculum.- Inclusion: the main component of this project, which aims to raise equality of people with all abilities in their communities & Europe wide.We plan to achieve all the mentioned above through the implementation of the Project Results, which are the following: 1. To develop an Online Guide on mental adaptation and transformation of family members of people with disabilities.2. To create training on online employment (with an e-learning approach). 3. To create and operate an online accessible free-to-use platform where training is allocated.In addition, this project will help educators and social workers to boost their knowledge on inclusion and digital transformation through the LTTA activity. The last but not least, this project will unite different European countries through qualitative dissemination. This way, they will joint their efforts on making our society more inclusive and open to all the representatives and diversity. As the final result, people with disabilities will participate in life equally, will receive a chance to develop professionally, which is also beneficial for the economy of every partner country and co