Focus
- Anti-discrimination
- Employment and job creation
- Education and training
- Immigration, refugee and asylum seeker supports
- Gender and sexuality
- Policy and advocacy
- Services for Travellers and ethnic minorities
- Social inclusion
- Unemployment
Interest
- Development of education and training materials and programmes
- Community outreach and engagement
- Policy, advocacy and campaigns
- Research
- Cultural and artistic innovation
- European learning networks and exchanges
EU Project Experience
Some experience
Pathways to Progress, a programme of the Open Doors Initiative, co-funded by the European Social Fund, has been supporting migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Ireland since August 2022. The programme offers a holistic approach to employment support, integrating mentorship, skill-building, job readiness programmes, and direct engagement. Through Pathways to Progress, we have provided over 8,300 direct participant engagements from January 2023 to December 2024, this includes:
- 1. Job Ready Programme: six programmes delivered per year with an average of 80 participants per programme
- 2. Mentorship Programme: new groups of 10-15 new participants onboarded monthly
- 3. English Courses: we have offered the Business English course to nine groups with 230 participants in total (Business English, English for Hospitality, English for Healthcare, General English)
- 4. Entrepreneurship Course: the course was offered annually in 2023 and 2024 with 73 participants
- 5. Digital Sales Programme: the programme was offered annually in 2023 and 2024 with 40 participants in total
- 6. Work Placement Programmes: these opportunities are created on an ad-hoc basis (based on demand from partners)
- 7. Scholarships: These are offered 3-4 times per year, with over 150 participants having benefitted
- 8. Events & Workshops: Over 40 events, 5,400+ registered participants in 2023 and 2024
EU Funding Goals
In the next two years: Our primary focus will be on network building and learning from European partners with extensive experience in EU-funded projects. This includes actively participating in projects as a partner, gaining insights, funding mechanisms, and best practices. We are particularly interested in topics such as inclusion, diversity, education, and employability to align with our mission of fostering accessible and inclusive opportunities.
In five years: We aim to transition into leading larger projects with specific outputs, such as creating impactful programmes and tools that can benefit broader communities across Europe. By this time, we want to develop the capacity to coordinate our own projects while delivering measurable results. Additionally, we intend to expand our partnerships and establish a stronger presence in Europe, leveraging collaboration to scale our impact.
In ten years: Our long-term vision involves coordinating multiple projects simultaneously across jurisdictions, with a focus on producing high-level, innovative outputs that drive systemic change. By then, we envision our organization as a European leader in initiatives related to inclusion and development. We also plan to use these partnerships to further expand our presence in other regions, amplifying our reach and influence on a global scale.
Strengths
The Open Doors Initiative brings start-up experience with rapid scaling and funding success, having grown our network from 0 to 130+ partners in just five years.
We excel in network building, creating strong collaborations across various sectors and organisations.
Our team operates as a remote, multi-national unit, uniquely including individuals with disabilities as key members, including our CEO. This diversity creates an inclusive perspective and innovative approaches to project development and implementation.
We offer significant expertise in building inclusive ecosystems, engaging marginalised groups, and implementing sustainable solutions.
Additionally, our organisational capacity and proven ability to scale quickly make us a valuable partner in EU-funded projects.
