Project management
Coordination, finances, progress and internal collaboration. This work package gave the project a clear framework through partnership agreements, meeting structures, budget follow-up and project management.
Development in 2025
From idea to model: the development of STEP in 2025
STEP took shape through collaboration, testing and refinement in 2025. The development process brought together experience from MIKS and AE2O, input from youth teams in Norway and Portugal, and learning from sessions where the content was tried out in practice. This page shows how the development work was organised, what we learned along the way, and how those experiences helped shape the model.
Working approach
How we organised the development work
The development of STEP was organised as a shared, step-by-step process throughout 2025, with clear milestones, shared responsibility and ongoing adjustments along the way. This working approach provided overview and progress, while allowing the model to develop gradually and learn from testing in both countries.
Mapping and analysis
Gathering experience, knowledge and relevant practices that could provide a professional and methodological foundation for the model. This is where input from the field was collected and worked through.
Method development
Designing modules, tools, exercises, support materials and facilitation approaches. The work was carried out as a shared development process between MIKS and AE2O.
Testing and refinement
Testing the content with the target group and working through observations, feedback and learning points. This part gave important direction to the language, pace, ways of working and structure.
Dissemination and sustainability
Visibility, sharing and further use of the results. This work took shape through the website, materials, communication, and making the model and resources accessible.
To keep the work cohesive, we used the transnational meetings as milestones: the kick-off in Bergen, the method development meeting in Portugal, and the closing meeting with evaluation in Portugal. Between gatherings, we continued through digital follow-up meetings, shared folders, and ongoing documentation of learning points, module drafts and facilitator notes.
Partnership
Two countries, two fields of practice, one shared model
STEP was developed through collaboration between two organisations that work with many of the same challenges, but from different starting points. The partnership gave the development work a breadth that made the model more holistic, more usable and better anchored in different practice contexts.
MIKS's contribution
MIKS contributed especially with experience in inclusion, migration, entrepreneurial learning, capacity building and collaboration across sectors. In the development work, this gave STEP a clearer perspective on systems understanding, social participation and how learning environments can become more accessible for young people in vulnerable transitions.
AE2O's contribution
AE2O contributed especially with experience from second chance pedagogy and direct work with young people who have fallen out of school and formal pathways. Their practice of relationship-building, flexibility, creativity and close follow-up had a major influence on how STEP was shaped as a model grounded in safety, closeness and practical relevance.
Together, this gave STEP a model that sees both the young person's situation and the structures around them. The partnership strengthened the connection between safety, mastery, structure and the path ahead towards education, work and other communities.
Youth participation
The youth teams gave direction to the development work
Youth participation was a central part of the development work throughout 2025. Two youth teams, one in Norway and one in Portugal, tested content along the way and gave feedback that directly influenced how STEP developed. The young people who took part had their own experience of being outside education and working life, and for that very reason their perspectives offered important insight into what feels relevant, understandable and realistic in practice.
Through sessions, reflections and feedback, the young people helped adjust the language, ways of working, pace and content of the model. Their experiences became part of the development process as the work progressed, making STEP both more robust and better adapted to the target group. The voices of the young people who took part were important in shaping the model, and their contributions are a central part of why STEP has the form it has today.
The young people who took part in the youth teams also received Youthpass* in recognition of their effort and learning through the project.
* Youthpass is a European certificate and recognition tool for non-formal learning in projects supported by Erasmus+ Youth and the European Solidarity Corps.
Lessons from testing
What we learned when the model was tested in practice
Testing made it clearer what created participation, what became too complicated, and where the model needed adjustment. The experience from the sessions provided a concrete foundation for developing STEP further.
Relationship-based work must be part of the method
When the young people experienced safety, clarity and genuine interest from adults, it became easier to create participation, progress and perseverance in the process. The quality of the facilitator role mattered in every part of the model.
Creative ways of working need clear structure
Creative and non-formal activities opened up more entry points into learning. The experience also showed that such activities work best when they are held together by a clear working framework and a clear thread running through them.
Complex topics need to be broken down
Small, manageable parts made it easier to understand the content, stay on course and build progression over time. This had implications for the language used, the sequence of the work and how the modules were structured.
Visual tools support understanding and progress
Boards, templates, working surfaces and other visible tools made the learning work easier to follow, easier to use collectively, and easier to build on from one session to the next.
Youth participation made the model more relevant
Feedback from young people influenced the language, workflow and what feels realistic and motivating in everyday life. This strengthened both the relevance of the model and its grounding in the target group's own experience.
From learning to adjustment
How the lessons were translated into change
The lessons from testing were actively used in the further development of STEP. As the modules were tried out with young people in Norway and Portugal, it became clearer what created participation, what needed to be simplified, and where the model required adjustment. These experiences gave a stronger basis for continuing to work on language, exercises, pace and implementation format, and made the development work more precise along the way.
One central finding was that relationship-based work is embedded in the method itself. When the young people experienced safety, clarity and genuine interest from adults, it became easier to create participation, progress and perseverance in the process. At the same time, the testing showed that creative and non-formal ways of working opened up more entry points into learning, and that these activities work best when held together by a clear structure and a visible thread running through the sessions.
The experience also led to concrete adjustments in the model. Homework was given a smaller role, complex topics were broken into smaller parts, and visual working tools became more important in supporting understanding and progress. The young people's own feedback influenced the language, workflow and what feels realistic and motivating in everyday life. In this way, testing became a process that both strengthened the relevance of the model and made STEP more robust and better rooted in the target group's experiences.
Model development
From development work to a six-part model
Through collaboration, testing and adjustment, STEP gradually took shape as a modular learning model with six modules. The modules gained a clear progression, and experiences from Norway and Portugal influenced the language, pace, examples and support tools.
Getting started, motivation and idea
A safe starting point for participation, group anchoring and choosing a direction.
User understanding and target group
Working with needs, perspectives and the target group provides a more realistic basis for further development.
Value creation and relevance
The question of what actually creates value makes the idea clearer, more relevant and easier to explain.
Goals, sub-goals and progress
Direction is translated into a plan through clear goals, sub-goals and manageable steps.
From plan to implementation
Tasks, resources, roles, collaboration and external conditions make the path from idea to action easier to navigate.
Prototype, testing and learning
Simple prototypes, feedback and adjustments make the idea testable and the learning more concrete.
The module structure made it easier to maintain safety, progression and practical learning throughout the whole process.
Results
What the development year gave us
The development work gave STEP a clearer form and a stronger foundation for further use. At the same time, the process showed the value the model can have for young people, professionals and the wider field.
For young people
STEP offers a learning environment with more mastery, relationships and participation, and with a structure that is easier to enter. Through working with their own ideas, choices and processes, young people experience that development can happen in small, manageable steps. This can strengthen motivation, perseverance and the experience of progress.
For professionals and organisations
STEP offers a more holistic, flexible and usable framework for working with young people in vulnerable transitions. The model brings together entrepreneurial learning, non-formal pedagogy, relationship-based work and practical support tools in a form that can be used and adapted in different contexts.
For the wider field
STEP shows how entrepreneurial learning, inclusion and youth work can be brought together on one shared methodological platform. The development year has created a foundation for further sharing, piloting and continued development, and for making the model available to more organisations, schools and professionals.