What is MatchImpulsa?

MatchImpulsa is a program that is profoundly feminist for the digital platformization of Social Solidarity and Collaborative Economy in Barcelona.

This innovative program aims to promote and scale projects within the Social and Solidarity Economy and collaborative domain. It reinforces local networking, international projection, gender perspective adaptation, and the implementation of gender equality measures and plans in digital business environments. Furthermore, it accelerates the digital economy as a common good through three strategic lines:

  1. Business Platformization through digitESSt as a self-diagnostic tool and digiDIETA as a facilitator of training pills for the feminist digitalization of Solidarity Economy organizations.
  2. Strategic collaborations for MatchTech, MatchIgualtat, and MatchUniversitat.
  3. Creation and maintenance of strategic ecosystems in the city of Barcelona.

MatchImpulsa is developed within the framework of Càtedra_Oberta, collaboratively promoted by the Dimmons research group, the Open University of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, and Barcelona Activa.

Principles

  1. Support for digital platformization.
  2. Strengthening of the Social and Solidarity Economy and collaboration.
  3. Incorporation of a gender perspective.
  4. Support and promotion of diversity.
  5. Fostering collaborative, cooperative, and community work.
  6. Methodological innovation through action research.
  7. Promotion of the digital commons and open knowledge (free licenses, open-source software, scalability, replicability).
  8. Promotion of a digital economy model aligned with people’s well-being and the right to the city.

Objectives

The main objectives are based on accelerating projects economically, digitally intercooperating, reversing the gender digital divide, deploying measures and plans for equality, creating and reinforcing strategic ecosystems of the Feminist Digital Economy and Collaborative Economy of Barcelona (BarCola), promoting the internationalization of companies and ecosystems that are part of MatchImpulsa, and incorporating action research to disseminate and share generated knowledge.

  • Facilitate the digital transition of initiatives that have needed to adopt digital tools.
  • Accelerate projects economically through programs that provide digital training and digitalization of business models.
    • Use innovative financing tools like matchfunding.
    • Deploy networks and nodes of collaboration within the local circular economy.
    • Foster connections between ESS value-based companies and technology companies.
  • Reverse the gender digital divide with equalizing measures, equality plans, and connections between companies and services for equality.
  • Support strategic ecosystems: reinforce the Feminist Digital Ecosystem to accelerate the feminist perspective in the Social and Solidarity Economy and strengthen BarCola, the collaborative and commons-based economy ecosystem.
  • Incorporate action research so that the knowledge generated throughout the program is open and available to everyone, with collaboration between companies and universities.
  • Promote the internationalization of companies and clusters that are part of MatchImpulsa.

Transversally Feminist

MatchImpulsa has feminist quality dimensions that inspire the entire program:

  • It is directed towards a digital economy model with a mission and values system aligned with the preservation of life.
  • It aims to promote a balance between work and personal life.
  • Intersectionality: it seeks to promote equality among social classes, based on origin, sexual orientation, race, and global relationships.
  • It fosters the inclusion and participation of women at all levels.
  • It aims to provide equal access and empowerment for individuals facing discrimination and disempowerment, while reducing privileges.
  • It uses non-sexist and non-discriminatory technology.

It also includes specific elements and practices associated with the gender mainstreaming dimension:

  • Impact monitoring, including gender impact: Design, monitoring, and analysis of impact from the beginning and on an ongoing basis, based on quantitative and qualitative data.
  • Budget with a gender perspective: Analysis of budget items with a gender perspective.
  • Parity at all program levels: Possibility of non-binary enrollment. A minimum of 40% representation of women and others in all spaces and levels of participation and contribution to the program.
  • Gender equality criteria as an access criterion: The entire program is targeted at the Social and Solidarity Economy and collaboration as an economic model that aligns more with placing life at the center.
  • Mobilization of companies and entities linked to the Strategy against Feminization of Poverty and Precariousness.
  • Care ethics as part of the methodology. A code of conduct that promotes a respectful, inclusive, and caring environment for everyone. A space free from violence.
  • Training in measures and plans for equality adapted to digital environments.
  • Specific program to enrich the ecosystem intensively with feminists connected to the 8th Congress of Feminist Economy, held in Barcelona from 16th to 18th March 2023.
  • MatchIgualtat Program: Mapping of public and private resources and services in equality measures within the city, and a program for creating agreements or matches between companies offering equality resources and companies participating in the program.