2nd workshop series on “Practical Project Work” at the Alice-Salomon-Hochschule Berlin

Between November 13 and December 11, 2017, CamP Group designed the 2nd workshop series with the main topic “Practical Project Work” at the Alice-Salomon-Hochschule, Berlin. Students of social work, health education and other courses developed concepts for their non-profit-making projects.

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Based on the identification of what social impact should be achieved with a project (impact orientation), the participants learned the most important further steps within a project cycle: planning & management, writing grant applications, getting to know various types of fundraising, communication and finally measuring the success of the project through quantitative and qualitative analytical tools.

Another workshop was carried out by CamP Group for the members of the ASH Refugee Office. A strategy was developed to increase public awareness and campaign development. The ASH Refugee Office supports newly arrived people in Germany and aims to achieve a positive perception of migration in societal debates.

More information about the workshop series: https://www.ash-berlin.eu/studium/beratung-unterstuetzung/foerderung-von-schreib-und-studienkompetenzen/

Elementary School Neues Tor – a project week

Outside the summer holidays, the pupils of the elementary school Neues Tor took the time to playfully perceive their environment. After some theory lessons in the classroom, the children went out in the neighborhood. Together with the CamP Group team, the children discovered problems and challenges concerning the Nordbahnhof park and suggested concrete solutions on how to shape it.

Class 6a discovering Nordbahnhof park

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After a successful visit, the day was not over yet. The children built their confidence in playful exercises, so that a healthy coexistence is still present and the neighborhood’s challenges can be tackled together.

We would like to thank all diligent participants of the elementary school Neues Tor and especially for the nice time with you! The enthusiasm of students and teachers has turned the class into a fundraiser, supported by the whole school. In their campaign “Donate warmth” for homeless people parents, teachers, educators, friends and acquaintances of the 6th grade helped to collect a donation of 250 € as well as bags, coats and sleeping bags.

Many Thanks!

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Class 6a and their campaign “donate warmth”!

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Networking & Communication for Nonprofits in Kreuzberg

On November 8, the closing event of our project “Sustainability and Impact Enhancement in the Nonprofit Sector” took place in the Kreuzberg Aquarium in Skalitzer Straße. The focus of the event was the question of how networking can contribute to the improvement of project work and to better funding opportunities.

Once again, our guest speakers have enriched the program with dedication and high professional competence. Anne Stalfort from ArbeiterKind e.V. brought the participants closer to basic and in-depth networking. Andreas Weiland from Sozialhelden e.V. then shared his experiences in campaign and communication management.

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In the following small group work, solutions for the nonprofits’ individual challenges were worked out. Questions such as “What needs to be taken into account when setting up a campaign?”, “Which target groups are we addressing?” or “How can different communication channels/tools work together effectively?” were the focus of the event.

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In the project “Sustainability and Impact Enhancement in the Nonprofit Sector”, CamP Group works with participants to develop skills and strategies to put their work on a long-term financial and structural footing. The facilities for the residents and a livable Kreuzberg can thus be maintained and expanded. In the second part of the project in 2018, we will implement a series of 5 AGs together with the non-profit institutions to deepen the main topics. The project is financed by the QM Zentrum Kreuzberg and Soziale Stadt.

International Parliament Scholarship – Workshop

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Within the framework of the International Parliamentary Scholarships (IPS) “Special Program for Arab States of the German Bundestag”, we held practical workshops on 6th and 25th September. The 25 participants from different countries of North Africa and the Middle East dealt with the topics: from the project idea, to fundraising, to the pitch, the achieved effect until you achieve the systemic change. We’re sharing our experiences about social impact orientation and measurement in our projects RespAct and Boxgirls with other people.

We would like to thank the IPS scholarship fellows for the dedicated participation in the workshop.

Lisa Opel & Caroline Assad
CamP Group gGmbH

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Project Evaluation Tage des Handwerks, Caiju e.V. Berlin

Working directly with a social enterprise in Berlin, Camp Group designed and carried out a project formative evaluation, focusing on network effects and using both qualitative and quantitative methods. After a series of participative workshops around network mapping we carried out interviews and questionnaires on stakeholder needs and expectations, as well as potential for better working practices. Camp Group were able to provide directly usable strategic information that enabled the organisation to better achieve their goals and to make strategic decisions at the highest level. Camp Group went on to support the organisation in the implementation of our recommendations over a period of two and a half years.

Impact, Fundraising and Cooperation for Civil Society in Berlin-Kreuzberg

Camp Group was delighted to invite the 13 participating NGOs from Kreuzberg, speakers from the Hertie Foundation and the Neukölln Town Hall and attendees from our partner organisations Quartiersmanagement Kreuzberg Zentrum / Oranienstrasse and die Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband to the second meeting of the project “Grassroots Impact” at the Headquarters of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt in the Governmental Quarter of Berlin yesterday.

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We heard from Gzregorz Nocko from the Hertie Stiftung about the approach the Foundation takes to partnerships and funding, and the priorities of the Foundation both currently and in the future. Cordula Simon, Commissioner of European Affairs for the district authority of Neukölln, outlined the ways in which her department search for and find civil society partners to carry out projects and services for the district, including her extensive knowledge of funding opportunities both local and European. Both speakers were kind enough to participate in the reflection exercise with participating organisations, in which they discussed current challenges, potential common solutions and new ways of communicating impact to partners in the future.

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Camp Group is committed to the development of civil society actors and their potential in the communities in which we work, and will continue to support common cause and collective impact in Kreuzberg over the next two years. We are already looking forward to the next meeting in October!

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Camp Group supports digital inclusion at the EU Social Innovation Competition (EUSIC) in Madrid

 

Camp Group has been contributing to the EUSIC academy again this year, which took place from the 3rd to the 5th of August in Madrid at the Medialab-Prado, with workshops and coaching for the candidates of the competition.

This year’s competition focused on ideas which aim to make technological change and digital transformation more inclusive. We have been inspired by the initiatives which took part in the competition and are glad that we could contribute to their sustainable development with our workshops.

Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron, CEO at Camp Group gGmbH, presented a workshop on fundraising, and Daniel Meehan, consultancy lead, held a workshop on flexible & responsive project management.

“Empowering, eloquent and no nonsense: Cameron’s Fundraising workshop gives clear and personalized advice on how to approach fundraising. Cameron used examples which showed that she really identified the needs of the participants.” (L. Kolbe, CollAction)

“Thank you so much for the fundraising workshop at the European Social Innovation Academy yesterday, and for the very valuable additional advice afterwards.
Your session was by far the most insightful, concise and empowering. It left me feeling inspired to re-think our project’s fundraising strategy in a more entrepreneurial way and instilled me with the confidence needed to pursue more innovative fundraising avenues.” (Ioana, New Economics Foundation)

 

Furthermore, we had the chance to coach four of the participating teams:

Aj Ty v IT, Change Dylexia, Digital Skills to Age Well, and The Art of Sharing.

We worked through questions on impact measurement and orientation, project management, communication and fundraising, as well as organisational development.

The competition was a great experience to get to know a group of very promising social innovators, and to work again with Kennisland, Matter&Co and the European Commission, organisations intent on furthering social innovation in Europe.

Workshop “communication” for Solidayan

Solidayan strives to achieve a publicly effective solidarity with the imprisoned students in Turkey.

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Recently, they participated in a workshop on communication offered by Camp Group gGmbH. To provide greater public attention to the problem, we supported them in communicating their goals more strongly to the outside world. We find the work of Solidayan very important and wish them success in their work!

Conference on migration and the public space

The Camp Group conference “Migration and public space: best practices from civil society organization” took place on the 1st of June, bringing students of the Washington University St. Louis, civil society representatives, representatives of the local administration and national politics together to exchange best practices to increase the participation of migrants in the public sphere.

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Prof Dr. Heather Cameron, founder and CEO of Camp Group gGmbH, invited all participants of the conference to actively engage in the discussion and exchange experiences. The aim was to find interdisciplinary and joined-up approaches to increasing participation of migrants in the public sphere. To achieve this goal best practices must be shared and transferred and synergies identified between an increasingly diverse spectrum of civil society organisations, administrative organs and political institutions.

Sharehouse Refugio and Transform e.V. hosted the conference and enriched discussion with their experiences in creating a lively, migration and integration-focused multi-use development in the heart of North Neukölln.

Participants took part in one of four working groups: exercise and sport; community building; environmental justice and sustainable neighborhoods; and transatlantic perspectives. Participants discussed social challenges and new forms of inclusive cohabitation in the public sphere, and developed next steps to facing these challenges together and sharing strategies and techniques that have worked well for specific organisations in the past. Transatlantic exchange about best practices was made possible by the representatives of the Washington University. The results of the workshops will be published by us in the coming weeks.

 

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Dr. Gabriele Schlimper, CEO of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband Berlin gave a stirring speech on the diversity of intercultural work and social work with migrants. She drew a clear connecting thread between the work of contemporary civil society organisations in Berlin and the settlement movement of Quakers and others in the same city destroyed by the second world war after 1945.

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The conference enabled actors of diverse institutions and disciplines to exchange thoughts and ideas. We believe that only through this exchange is an integral approach possible, enabling increased participation of migrants. Furthermore, it is essential that the results of the exchange are publicly accessible. In this manner, Aaron Defort from Netzwerk Chancen rounded the conference off with a plea for civil society organisations and initiatives to work together to influence and stimulate public discourse.

We would like to thank all participants for their contributions and are looking forward to further exchange with each other to strengthen social impact and improve social participation for migrants and non-migrants in Berlin.

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Summer Institute

Currently Camp Group gGmbH is hosting a summer institute in cooperation with the renowned Washington University, St. Louis, in Berlin. Initiator and key organiser of the project is Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron.

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In the two-week program 18 Students from the Washington University are participating. The summer institute is focusing on the  topic of asylum, the health care sector in Germany and developing interdisciplinary approaches to solve current problems. Thus, the aim is to gain knowledge on the health care sector with regard to refugees. The students, who study social work, can deepen their knowledge about practical approaches in this field.

Further, the program is making it possible to exchange with diverse decision-makers and enables discussions and new impulses.

The summer institute will end with a conference on “migration and the public space: Best practices of civil society organisations” this Thursday.

 

In the last week, the students met together with Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron representatives of different institutions and initiatives, e.g.:

Seitenwechsel e.V.

Bantabaa Food Dealer

State office for refugee affairs

Weitblick e.V.

Quartiersmanagement Zentrum Kreuzberg

Health authority Kreuzberg Friedrichshain

 

Further, you can find exemplary impressions the students gathered last week:

 

Quartiersmanagement Zentrum Kreuzberg

“We work to help neighborhood residents take responsibility for their community” explained Tabea, an urban planner working for Quartiersmanagment in Berlin Kreuzberg.  “We are a communications and networking platform for community initiatives and link to government”. Brown school students discussed how this approach reminded them of the work of Jason Purnell and For the Sake of All.  We also discussed how important “Teilhabe” or participation is to German urban development.

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Kreuzberg Friedrichshain Health Autority

“Our job is to create equal life chances for all people who live in our district” says Sabine Schweele the head of the planning and coordination office of the Kreuzberg Friedrichshain Health Authority.  Together with Brown MPH and MSW grads and students she discussed how volunteers and professionals work together for health outcomes and quality of life in one of Berlin’s poorest districts.

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Lunch at Bantabaa Fooddealer

Bantabaa accociation works for holistic support and integration of refugees and helps them to manage their own future. Bantabaa Fooddealer supports the Bantabaa association financially and employs participants of the project.

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