The Social Innovation Chair of the UdL evaluates the Vincles project in Erill la Vall

Last Thursday, March 27, the team from the Social Innovation Chair of the University of Lleida (UdL) began the evaluation of the Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran project in Eril la Vall, taking advantage of one of the activities promoted within the framework of the project: the monthly traditional cooking workshop. The Vincles project, coordinated by the iSocial Foundation, aims to detect and intervene early against unwanted loneliness in people over 65 years old, and is active in several municipalities in the Alt Pirineu and Aran territory, including the municipality of Eril de Vall.

Vincles combines the use of technology with community activation, which, through activities such as this cooking workshop, seeks to create community and socialization spaces to improve the quality of life of older people. From a technological standpoint, the project uses Big Data technology to identify and classify the risk of loneliness in individuals, allowing for more precise and effective community intervention.

The University of Lleida is one of the project’s partners, and the involvement of its Social Innovation Chair is key to ensuring the measurability and reproducibility of the results achieved in the implementation of Vincles. During the evaluation carried out in Eril de Vall, the research team, which is currently in the first phase of qualitative analysis, organized several focus groups with the workshop participants to gather information on how the project has impacted their perception and experience of loneliness. This methodology has allowed them to collect data on the participants’ satisfaction with the actions and initiatives developed within the project framework.

The evaluation process will continue in the current weeks with new visits to other areas of the project, such as Cerdanya, Val d’Aran and Alt Urgell, to continue expanding the collection of data and analyzing the effectiveness of the interventions. The Vincles project, in which the Regional Councils and Municipalities of the Alt Pirineu-Aran also participate, in addition to the entities ABD, Alba Jussà and Integra Pirineus, is supported by the Diputació de Lleida, the Fundació La Caixa and the Generalitat de Catalunya through the Next Generation funds.

We are launching a digital support service for Nidus users

Nidus has expanded its support capacity with the addition of three technical digital support specialists. The main role of the new additions is to assist entities and individuals in implementing this application, which aims to provide a set of digital tools to facilitate autonomy and inclusion for people in situations of social exclusion.

The digital support specialists are responsible for providing assistance to Nidus users, both professionals and beneficiaries, to ensure they can effectively use the application and make the most of all its features. Through two monthly visits to the entities using the Nidus tool, they offer continuous follow-up that allows them to build relationships with users and adapt to their needs.

On the other hand, the support provided by the technical specialists is not limited to using Nidus; they also complement their work by offering information and support on other technological matters that may be of interest to users. In this way, their role also facilitates the comprehensive digital inclusion of people in situations of social exclusion.

Currently, the specialists are supporting entities located in Barcelona and Girona, with plans for the team to continue expanding to reach other entities.