Aproximar is a non-profit NGO aiming to enhance people, communities and organisations’ human and social capital as a strategy to strengthen their capacity to take advantage of existing and emerging challenges and opportunities. The mission is accomplished daily by co-designing and developing tailor-made social innovation, good practices exchange and transference driven projects, besides delivering its own pack of empowering and capacity building services: training, consultancy and social intervention.
Aproximar develops, implements and provides services in 4 main sectors: 1) Education, Training and Social Capital (2007); 2) Social Economy, Entrepreneurship and Employability (2009); 3) Criminal Justice System (2012); and 4) Active Ageing and Dependent Care (2016). Our offer (programs) always combines social science (knowledge), active methods (people) and suitable tools (technology).
It counts with 8 trustees (non-paid members), 21 staff and more than 50 volunteers, on a daily basis, covering different expertise in human sciences, design, communication, accountancy, social innovation, mentoring and IT. Aproximar team provides services that benefit/impact persons (practitioners, trainees, volunteers, persons with disadvantaged backgrounds) & (trans)national partner organisations on a daily basis.
Last year (2021) Aproximar provided support and services to more than 2 559 persons and 466 organisations and social enterprises in their fields of expertise; e.g. developing their organisation’s capacity building (e.g. organizational change, total quality management, introducing technology), on social economy; social innovation processes (new product development, tailored made programs and transferring of good practices); social business plans; processes and information-orientation-integration schemes in the labour market (guidance and counselling, mentoring and coaching), tailored and bLeaning courses, competences development, inclusive school, volunteering, active aging, fundraising, service design, social support, design, amongst others.
Aproximar is certified by the General Direction of Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT) to provide training programs on management, social inclusion services and self- 19 development and an entity accredited by Authority of Administration of COMPETE 2020 in innovation, quality, entrepreneurship and internationalisation.
In the field of Criminal Justice, Aproximar started in 2009 with MOMIE and MEGAN focused on mentoring for disadvantaged persons. In 2014, APX was a partner inJIVE (Justice Involving Volunteers in Europe), developing a European volunteer profile and a self assessment tool to inform and support volunteers improving their daily performance. In 2017, APX started the EntreSistemas programme to support the DGRSP in the training of the prison staff. In 2018, it established a protocol of collaboration with the DGRSP to design and implement actions for rehabilitation, social reintegration, and recidivism prevention. Currently, it offers 3 services to (ex)offenders: 1) Passport for employability – focused on training inmates for employability and personal development; 2) CheckIn Employment – targeting young offenders serving measures in the community; and 3) MOBi – dedicated to the reintegration of (ex)offenders.
Nowadays, APX is implementing the EUforAll initiative to develop awareness raising activities and tools to increase vulnerable people’s knowledge (including detainees) on the EU values. It is also coordinating the VOICE Action, a cross sectional cooperation project targeting young people deprived of their liberty and from disadvantaged backgrounds, and is a partner in the following projects: VOLPRIS – Prisons Managing Volunteers in Europe; Self-Design – Encouraging prisoners to self-assess their personal strengths and weaknesses for re-entry by introducing principles of design thinking; EESPIP
If you’d like to learn more about Aproximar you can click here: aproximar.pt
