Innovation: BIP-ZIP

Portugal

AAI Domain: Participation in society (voluntary activity, social connectedness, political participation)

The BIP-ZIP programme is a public policy of the municipality of Lisbon’s local housing programme that is intended to improve the quality of life in neighbourhoods by supporting small scale community interventions by parish councils, local voluntary associations and other organisations. The primary aim of BIP-ZIP is to strengthen social cohesion across Lisbon through small scale local actions that can have a large impact on areas and groups of people who are, or are at risk of being socially excluded. Whilst projects to improve the housing stock are a major part of the local housing programme, it is recognised that building stronger communities is also required, particularly in recent years when the financial crisis and subsequent austerity have had deep social effects.

BIP-ZIP has been operating since 2011 with an annual budget in the region of €1.5 million from a variety of local, national and European sources to fund the programme that is administered by the city of Lisbon municipality. The main themes of the programme are citizenship promotion, entrepreneurship and skills, neighbourhood life improvement, inclusion and prevention and the regeneration of public spaces.

Each year scores of projects proposed by a lead organisation – the promoter – with the support of at least one partner organisation are submitted by May. The development of proposals is supported by local project officers with an ethos of co-production and co-governance to developing proposals.

The proposals are judged against a set of criteria that includes

• participation of the local community in the project

• relevance and complementary compared to the problems identified in each BIP-ZIP zone

• how it contributes to local economic development and social cohesion

• how it can be sustained after the start up funding for the project is exhausted

• the level of innovation which is defined in terms of empowerment through an active role for participants in the project.

As Lisbon has an ageing population, a proportion of the BIP-ZIP funding goes to projects aimed at empowering older people. For example, the Lisbon on Wheels project promoted by Paramedics International in partnership with the Sun and Dusk Association received €49,000 of funding for a mobile health unit that would address the issues of social isolation and loneliness that older people can experience as well as providing health and social support to another vulnerable population – homeless people.

Another example is the Grandmother Came to Work project which aims to promote the active participation of older people through cultural and craft activities ranging from needlework to photography, music and creative writing to culinary criticism.

In relation to active ageing, the BIP-ZIP programme aims to encourage participation in the political process by older people in developing projects that cover a wide range of domains including voluntary activity, inter-generational activity, lifelong learning, physical safety, improving access to health and care services and improving mental well-being through enhancing social connectedness. The BIP-ZIP programme has considerable potential for building social cohesion and contributing to active ageing across the life course.