The European Crowdfunding Network (EUROCROWD) together with members of its Italian Strategic Group (ISG) proudly presents its first activity report for the period January 2019 to June 2020: the ISG – Training activities Report 2019-2020. Following the establishment of the ISG in January 2019, the report provides a detailed overview of events, training sessions, and publications delivered over the past months, as well as an indicative plan for future activities.

On the basis of a survey conducted among participants to the 13 training sessions organised in Italy, the report focuses on analysing the performance and perceived value of ECN-ISG training curriculum. As stated in the report, the training session have been developed with the objective of introducing non-experts to the opportunities and specificities of crowdfunding in general and then guide them through the process of acquiring the needed skills to:

• launch and manage their crowdfunding campaigns
• understand how crowdfunding can be combined with different funding sources and financial instruments
• become Campaign Managers and provide advisory services to businesses, organisations and individuals
• support the work of an existing crowdfunding platform or create a new one

With a view to fostering the emergence of a standard and recognised framework for education on crowdfunding in Europe, ECN-ISG was established as a pilot initiative for Italy, and will soon be replicated in Spain.

“Following EUROCROWD's European vision, as well as the Italian ecosystem’s potential to become a reference point for other national ecosystems, we welcome the publication of this report and hope that it will inspire other organisations in Italy to join forces with us” says Ludovico Monforte, Head of Unioncamere Lombardia’s Brussels Office and Chairman of the ISG.

In line with the above-mentioned objectives, participants have been asked to provide feedback on the relevance of content delivered through the ISG training courses for their current professional activities and for their future professional development. Furthermore, the survey aimed at collecting insights on whether attending ISG training sessions had improved participants’ financial literacy and encouraged them to engage in crowdfunding as investors or backers.

Download the ISG – Training activities Report 2019-2020