The MatchImpulsa programme has been conceived to promote the digitalisation of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and the collaborative economy. The goal of the first programme by the Open Chair in Digital Economy, offered in collaboration with the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), is for organisations and businesses in this sphere to fully enter the digital economy at a time of change which has accelerated since the start of the pandemic.

The new programme follows the lines set out in the city’s 2030 SSE strategy, which identifies the challenge of digitalisation and the creation of digital platforms as one of its main goals. Along with these goals the idea is to include the feminist perspective, redress the increase in gender inequalities in digitalisation processes and speed up the adoption of equality measures in digital environments in companies.

The new Open Chair involves a cost of 701,500 euros between now and the end of the year, with the City Council to contribute 55% to fund SSE and collaborative economy projects, provide advice and mentoring, strengthen ties in specific sectors and foster collaboration between projects.

The programme is structured into three strategy areas:

• Digitalisation of organisations and businesses, the creation and strengthening of digital platforms: three programmes to providing varying degrees of support for companies and organisations, to help develop their digital strategy, adapt their organisational and teleworking strategy and start working with digital platforms or create their own.
• Boost for key SSE ecosystems in Barcelona: in particular, agro-ecology (in a year when Barcelona is the world sustainable food capital) and digital feminism, which aims to build an ecosystem of practices with feminist values in Barcelona’s digital economy and create a resource for empowering women and promoting alternative masculinities.
• Groups of experts in technology, equality and university-business ties to offer resources for moving forward with digitalisation under the guidance of those who know most about it.

MatchImpulsa will run from 25 May to 31 December. Those wishing to participate should sign up on the website matchimpulsa.barcelona.