Obesity across the FCE (France Channel England) area is a significant concern; high levels of obesity coincide with high rates of unemployment across the zone. A Gallup poll shows that the longer a person is unemployed, the higher the rates of obesity, with rates reaching up to 32.7% after a year or more of unemployment.
ASPIRE will give obese/overweight and/or unemployed people the tools they need to make healthier lifestyle choices and improve their employability. Current health and employment services rarely work together to tackle the issues as one problem, despite the evidence that they are linked. A new FCE model, co-created using partner expertise in both fields, will holistically combine the necessary support to increase employability with access to local healthy food produce and consequent weight loss. The model will be implemented via 7 implementation sites and innovative technology in order to enable participants to improve their relationship with food and provide them with the skills and support they need to gain access to the labour market. Current services also have difficulties in reaching the target audience due to the remoteness of much of the non-urban target population. Public Health England data shows a correlation between the fact that most services are delivered in town centre locations (lower obesity rates) and rural populations are disadvantaged (higher obesity rates) as access to services is harder.
ASPIRE (Adding to Social capital and individual Potential In disadvantaged REgions) has received more than €7 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund.
ASPIRE is part of the Interreg VA Channel programme and will run from September 2019 to February 2023. The project has a total budget of over €10million and involves partners from the UK and France (see partner details below).
What is the ASPIRE Interreg project ?
The acronym ASPIRE stands for Adding to Social capital and individual Potential In disavantaged REgions. It is a European project between the territories of the North of France and the South of England financed by the ERDF.
Through social innovation, ASPIRE targets overweight, obese and/or unemployed people (we will call them a cohort).
ASPIRE enables people in danger of economic exclusion to (re)participate actively in the economy, by giving the beneficiaries skills, know-how and interpersonal skills on various topics:
The ASPIRE project aims to supports and increase motivation for people who want to implement a behavioural change “step by step”. This will help towards a return to employment through a general improvement of your well-being, self-esteem and self-confidence, the pillars of the ASPIRE model.
This inclusive project improves people who face social isolation. The objective of the ASPIRE programme is to offer small group workshops to the ASPIRE cohort as well as individual workshops in order to (re)empower the cohort to move towards employment through the development of their soft skills.
In order to deepen the topics discussed in the group, a digital coaching platform has been created, which allows the sharing of tips and tricks for a sustainable acquisition of health-promoting behavioural changes.
It is available at the following address: https://aspire.vivonsenforme.org/
The ASPIRE programme also addresses the corporate sphere. Indeed, the ASPIRE project also offers a “Practical Guide“: Facilitating the professional inclusion of people with obesity” for employers. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the prejudices and discrimination in hiring that overweight or obese people often face in the workplace.
This practical guides provides informations and strategies for communities and institutions to better support job seekers, and is also a valuable resource for companies to hire and retain overweight and obese people. It can be downloaded at the following address: https://vivonsenforme.org/interreg-aspire/
The ASPIRE programme therefore has a holistic approach that aims to provide a comprehensive and simultaneous response to two highly correlated issues: high unemployment and high rates of overweight and obesity.
The aim of this model is to make the Interreg ASPIRE project sustainable and to offer it to a maximum number of organisations and communities that wish to address issues related to employment, obesity and general wellbeing in their communities and organisations. The model allows you to understand the key stages in setting up a support programme that promotes the ASPIRE values.
This document is composed of 9 steps :
Each of the steps is explained in detail, with advice and support documents. This allows organisations or local communities wishing to implement the “ASPIRE” project to follow an easy step by step programme. The programme is totally adaptable and flexible according to your local needs.
Comprendre le contexte local
Avant l’implémentation du projet, il faut connaitre les principaux indicateurs au niveau de la santé et de l’emploi dans la zone en question.
Cela permettra de mieux dimensionner le projet.
Des données localisées permettent que le programme ASPIRE soit le plus adapté aux besoins de la population
permet de répondre aux problématiques locales
difficultés de collecter des données localisées
Sélection : lieu de déploiement et des partenaires
L’emplacement du lieu de déploiement des actions est déterminant dans le succès du projet.
Le choix du lieu du hub est multi-critériel, c’est la combinaison des statistiques et du vécu au local
utiliser une structure déjà existante dans la ville qui est bien connue de la cohorte
La complémentarité, la pluridisciplinarité est un facteur pour le développement d’un partenariat durable
Identification des besoins de la cible
Comprendre les attentes de la cible à travers des comités d’experts, des focus groups, faire un planning prévisionnel des actions.
Un programme “sur mesure” répondants aux attentes de la cohorte et des professionnels
a mobilisations des acteurs
Recrutement de la cohorte ASPIRE
Cibler les personnes en situation de surpoids ou d’obésité et/ou au chômage, les personnes isolées socialement
Apporter un soutien aux personnes le désirant
La mobilisations des acteurs
La construction des actions
Répondre aux attentes de la cible pour qu’elle se sente impliquée et augmenter son engagement dans le projet.
Des actions communes sur les thématiques de l’alimentation, de l’activité physique et du bien-être mental.
Un programme “sur mesure” répondants aux attentes de la cohorte et des professionnels
a mobilisations des acteurs
La mise en place des actions
Proposer les thématiques en fonction de son domaine d’expertise
Se rapprocher des experts locaux (réseau d’associations, le corps médical, professionnel du bien-être, de l’activité physique…) pour compléter l’approche au programme è pérennisation
L’estime de soi est le fil rouge du modèle, elle est essentielle, c’est la clé de réussite des participants. Le fait de bien se connaitre, d’être bien dans sa peau permet de faire de meilleurs choix.
Apporter un soutien aux personnes le désirant
La mobilisations des acteurs
Evaluation des actions
Mesurer l’impact des ateliers ASPIRE et les changements
constater l’efficacité des actions mises en place
les perdus de vue lors d’évaluation
Amélioration continue du programme
Prise de recul et adaptation des actions qui ont le moins bien fonctionnées durant les ateliers afin de pérenniser le programme ASPIRE
répondre aux besoins de la population locale
impossibilité de changer certains paramètres
Budget
Bien budgétiser les activités proposées en fonction de la taille du groupe et des ressources mises à disposition pour le projet
avoir le coût moyen en fonction de la taille du groupe
manque de financement pour les ateliers
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