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The glossary is the result of a voluntary baSE Working Group that joined forces to define more than 200 words to comprehend better baSE outcomes. All definitions have a related term and a WP where it was mentioned. Please find them here below in alphabetical order
Accreditation
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Accreditation is the formal recognition by an authorised body that an organisation, programme, certification body, or training provider meets specified and recognised standards and is competent to perform defined activities. It supports quality assurance and strengthens the credibility, consistency, and wider recognition of education, training, assessment, and certification processes.
Action Plan
See definition
A document that includes a description of all stages of work, guidelines on the methods and tools needed to conduct the evaluation of both pilot waves of the training courses, an indication of the required documents (templates to be adapted by the Country Clusters), and reporting procedures.
Activities of daily living (ADLs)
See definition
Basic self-care tasks, including eating, bathing, dressing, transferring, and continence, which are used to assess an individual’s functional abilities.
Aged care
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A collective term for services and facilities that cater to the needs of elderly individuals, including nursing homes, assisted living, and in-home care.
Application
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A formal request submitted to a funding body to obtain financial support for a project or activity. It typically includes a project description, budget, timeline, and expected results.
Assessment
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Assessment in education is the systematic process of gathering and evaluating information about learners’ knowledge, skills, progress, and achievement using different methods and tools. It may be used before, during, or after learning to identify needs, provide feedback, monitor progress, and determine whether intended learning outcomes have been achieved.
Association
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A group of people organized for a joint purpose.
Badge (see learning badge; open badge; digital badge)
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A learning badge is a digital or visual symbol that represents knowledge, skills, competences, or an achievement acquired by a learner. It makes learning achievements visible and can be shared through digital portfolios, learning platforms, or professional and social networks. A learning badge may also include information about the issuer, assessment criteria, and evidence supporting the achievement.
baSE Watch
See definition
Live dashboard that shows the skills needs for the social economy ecosystem
Basic skills
See definition
Basic skills are the essential abilities needed for daily life and lifelong learning. They include core skills such as reading, writing, numeracy, and digital literacy, which support further learning and work.
Beneficiary
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The organisation(s) receiving funding and responsible for implementing the project. In many programmes, there are multiple beneficiaries forming a partnership.
Biodiversity
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Biodiversity refers to all the components and variations of the living world with three levels of organisation: ecological diversity (ecosystems); specific diversity (species); genetic diversity (genes).
Blended learning
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An approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with physical place-based face-to-face methods.
Call for Proposals
See definition
An official announcement inviting organisations to submit project applications for funding. Calls specify objectives, eligibility criteria, deadlines, and available budget.
Carbon footprint
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The total amount of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), emitted directly or indirectly by an individual, organisation, event, or product, measured in units of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Carbon neutral
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Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks and thus resulting in net zero emissions in absolute terms (meaning whether or not there is economic/production growth during the assessment period).
Care economy
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The totality of paid and unpaid work which meets the physical, psychological and emotional needs of adults and children, old and young, frail and able-bodied.
Caregiver
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An individual, often a family member or professional, who provides physical and emotional support to people who are unable to care for themselves due to illness, disability, or age.
Certificate
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A certificate is an official document awarded by an institution to confirm that a person has successfully completed a course, program, or certification process and has achieved specified knowledge, skills, competences or learning outcomes.
Certification
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Certification is the formal process, often managed by a professional body, that evaluates and verifies a person’s skills or knowledge against established standards. The document awarded after this process is referred to as a certificate.
Charity
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An organisation set up to provide aid and raise money for those in need.
Circular economy
See definition
An economic system that replaces the ‘end-of-life’ concept with reducing, and alternatively reusing, recycling, and recovering materials in production, distribution, and consumption processes. It operates at the micro level, meso level and macro level, with the aim of achieving sustainable development.
Citizens energy communities
See definition
A voluntary, not-for-profit entity that enables local communities to participate in energy generation, distribution, supply, consumption, aggregation, and storage.
Climate resilience
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The ability of individuals, communities, and systems to withstand, adapt to, and recover from the adverse impacts of climate change while maintaining essential functions.
Co-financing
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A requirement for the applicant to contribute a portion of the project costs from their own resources or other funding sources. For example, a grant may cover 80% of costs, requiring 20% co-financing.
Coach
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A professional who supports individuals in unlocking their potential, developing skills, and achieving personal or professional goals. Through guidance, feedback, and encouragement, a coach helps people improve performance, overcome challenges, and foster growth.
Collaborative digital platform
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A collaborative digital platform is an online environment or software tool that enables individuals or groups to communicate, share information and resources, coordinate activities, and work together towards common goals. It supports collaboration regardless of users’ physical location and may include tools for messaging, document sharing, task management, and joint content creation.
Collective action
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Action taken by a group (either directly or on its behalf through an organisation) in pursuit of members’ perceived shared interests.
Community education
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Community education is a local, participatory approach to learning where programs are created with and for community members. Its aim is to build skills, knowledge, confidence, and social connections outside traditional institutions, often through activities designed in dialogue with participants.
Competence
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Competence is the proven ability to perform a task or role effectively by applying the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes. It reflects not just what a person knows, but how successfully and responsibly they can use it in practice.
Competence descriptors
See definition
Competence descriptors are statements that describe observable behaviours which indicate that the person concerned has achieved a certain level of proficiency with regard to a competence. In order for descriptors to be relevant for curriculum planning, teaching and learning, and assessment, they need to be formulated using the language of learning outcomes.
Competence framework
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A competence framework is a structured model that outlines the skills, knowledge, and behaviors needed to perform roles effectively within an organization. It provides clear indicators and criteria to measure each competence, helping employers evaluate performance and identify the behaviors that lead to success in specific jobs.
Consortium
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A group of organisations that apply together for funding and jointly implement a project. Common in EU programmes, where partnerships across countries or sectors are often required.
Consumer cooperatives
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A consumers’ cooperative is a business owned and democratically controlled by its customers. Profits are either reinvested in the cooperative or distributed to members by reducing prices.
Cooperative banking
See definition
Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organised on a cooperative basis, each person has one vote. They are often regulated under both banking and cooperative legislation and provide services such as savings and loans to non-members as well as to members, and some participate in the wholesale markets for bonds and equities.
Cooperative governance
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Cooperative governance is the act of steering cooperatively owned enterprises toward economic, social, and cultural success. It consists of answering key questions, defining roles and responsibilities, and establishing processes for setting expectations and ensuring accountability.
Cooperative intercooperation systems
See definition
Collaboration and mutual support among cooperatives, based on the principle of “cooperation among cooperatives”.
Cooperative
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An autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet shared economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
Corporate governance
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Corporate governance refers to the systems, rules, and practices by which a company is directed and controlled. It deals with balancing the interests of a company’s many stakeholders, such as shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government, and the community.
Corporate Social Responsibility
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The European Commission has defined Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society”. Respect for applicable legislation, and for collective agreements between social partners, is a prerequisite for meeting that responsibility.
Critical thinking
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Critical thinking is the ability to carefully analyze facts, evidence, and arguments to reach well-reasoned judgments. It involves questioning assumptions, evaluating information objectively, and applying rational and open-minded thinking to make informed decisions
CSEI: Cluster for Social and Ecological Innovation
See definition
A collaborative ecosystem where social economy entities, mainstream enterprises, civil society organizations, public authorities, and research institutions work together in a specific location to enhance social and ecological impact.
Curriculum or course outline/Curricula
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A curriculum is the structured plan of what students are expected to learn, including the learning objectives, content, teaching methods, activities, and assessments. It serves as a guide for educators to ensure consistent, standards-based learning experiences that help students develop knowledge and skills.
Deliverable
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A concrete output or product that must be completed and submitted during a funded project. Deliverables can include reports, training materials, studies, communication products, or events, and are usually linked to specific deadlines defined in the project plan.
Digicomp
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DigComp, the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens developed by the European Commission, defines the key skills needed to use digital technologies confidently, critically, and responsibly. It provides a common reference across EU countries to support learning, employability, and active participation in society.
Digital gap
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The digital gap is the inequality between people, groups, or regions in access to digital technologies and the internet, as well as in the ability to use them effectively. It often reflects differences in socio-economic status, geography, or education, and impacts opportunities for learning, work, and participation in society
Digital inclusion
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Digital inclusion refers to efforts to ensure that everybody can contribute to and benefit from digital opportunities. Exclusion may arise from a lack of access to digital tools, unaffordability, lack of skills, or language barriers.
Digital isolation (divide)
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The division of society into those with and without access to the internet and modern forms of communication, resulting from very dynamic digital development. In addition to the ability to access the internet, it includes factors such as digital literacy, the quality of the connection and the linguistic dimension (lack of knowledge of the language in which the information needed is found).
Digital literacy
See definition
The ability to use information and communication technologies to find, critically assess, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.
Digital security
See definition
Digital security refers to the economic and social aspects of cybersecurity, encompassing the comprehensive collection of measures used to protect our personal information, identities, and other digital possessions in the digital realm.