On the 17th and 18th of March, the international project ICS — Innovation in Caregiver Support held its official kick-off meeting at Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa. The project is funded under the Erasmus+ KA2 VET programme of the European Commission.

Developed by CIES, through the Iscte Knowledge and Innovation Association, and coordinated by researcher José Miguel Nogueira, ICS aims to design and pilot an innovative methodology to support informal caregivers of people with disabilities across three countries: Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

Alongside its methodological framework, the project incorporates a strong technological innovation component, developed in partnership with a Greek organisation specialised in inclusive technologies. This strand seeks to create tools tailored to the specific needs of informal caregivers, a target group whose challenges are well documented in the scientific literature. The kick-off meeting brought together the international consortium partners, formally launching collaborative work and establishing the foundations for transnational cooperation in the months ahead.

The researchers involved emphasise that ICS aims to help address the social needs of this underserved group, responding to gaps identified both in academic research and in care-related policies across Europe.