📘 Introduction
ICON – Capacity building for the IVS movement in impact assessment, communication, and community building (Project No. 101093504) is a 36-month Erasmus+ Capacity Building in the Field of Youth project (2023–2025) funded under the ERASMUS-YOUTH-2022-CB call and managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
The project responds to a strategic need within the International Voluntary Service (IVS) movement: to increase the quality, impact, inclusivity, environmental sustainability, and long-term resilience of volunteering activities by strengthening organisational capacity in three interconnected areas:
🔹 📊 Impact assessment
🔹 📢 External communication
🔹 👥 Community building
ICON operates as a structured capacity-building process combining staff trainings, pilot testing of new tools and strategies, practical implementation within partner organisations, and the production of transferable manuals for the wider IVS sector.
As an Erasmus+ lump sum action grant, the project is structured around clearly defined work packages and results, ensuring accountability, sustainability, and measurable impact
🎯 OBJECTIVES
ICON pursues the following core objectives:
🔹 Strengthen staff competences in impact monitoring, communication, and community building
🔹Increase the quality and societal impact of IVS activities, particularly in active citizenship, competence development, inclusivity, and environmental sustainability
🔹Improve outreach and engagement of young volunteers, especially those with fewer opportunities
🔹 Develop sustainable strategies for more effective use of financial and human resources
🔹 Inspire and support other IVS organisations to adopt improved practices
Through this process, ICON contributes at multiple levels:
🌟 For young volunteers
🔹 Stronger engagement in local communities
🔹 Deeper personal and professional competence development
🔹 Increased awareness of inclusivity and environmental responsibility
🏢 For organisations
🔹 More structured and strategic impact measurement
🔹 Evidence-based communication practices
🔹 Stronger volunteer retention and community ecosystems
🔹 Greater long-term financial and operational sustainability
🌍 For the IVS movement
🔹 Transferable tools and manuals
🔹 Reinforced international cooperation
🔹 A shared model for capacity-driven organisational development
