Reach for Change has launched ′′Toolkits′′ with a set of tools for social entrepreneurs

REACH for Change has launched ′′ Toolkits ′′ with a set of tools for social entrepreneurs aimed at guiding and supporting more social entrepreneurs, even outside their incubator program.
Reach for Change Toolkits has been developed with support from the Innovation Agency Vinnova in Sweden and is a beta version of the platform.

The Reach for Change Toolkits has been developed based on 10+ years of experience in selecting, coaching and supporting social entrepreneurs as they have sought to improve the lives of children and young people in 18+ countries around the world. The Toolkit is a way to support more brave and passionate social entrepreneurs towards building sustainable social businesses, and support the larger ecosystem of social entrepreneurship.

The Reach for Change Toolkits is a platform for social entrepreneurs who are creating a positive social impact and can find guidance to support their entrepreneurial journey through the stages Proof of Concept and Scaling Readiness.

To access the Toolkits you register on https://toolkits.reachforchange.org/en/. The registration is free of charge. We are looking forward to testing the platform rigorously and to improving it further.

Impact measurement and management tools for social entrepreneurs

Interreg Central Europe website shared great info on their currently running project “CE Responsible – Empowering Social Business in Central Europe” . The aim of it is to connect successful entrepreneurs with social entrepreneurs through our soon developed platform to make strong, long-term connections.

It’s a win-win situation: while the social entrepreneurs gain the knowledge and expertise they need, successful entrepreneurs create a new business environment and improve positive social impact.

They recently shared info on Information Communication Technology tools that can greatly improve daily internal communication of business enterprises and consequently the quality of their products and outputs. They will only get more important in a post-covid period where remote work and online meetings will gain more popularity than in previous periods. Furthermore, as social entrepreneurship has a strong tendency to innovate (in fact they have to be innovative in one aspect or another), ICT tools are a perfect match in reaching goals and changing a social or ecological issue towards better.

If used properly and if there is a solid business strategy (they are only tools, not a guarantee of a successful business), they can improve social entrepreneurs’ internal communication and work pace, public outreach and visibility, customer experience, etc.

 

Impact measurement and management tools (IMM)

Impact Reporting & Investment Standards (IRIS+) – an online and generally accepted system for measuring, managing, and optimizing social or ecological impact
– Mobenzi – enables organisations to measure and maximise their impact by digitising their fieldwork and data collection
– The B Impact Assessment – complete, free, comprehensive and interactive online impact measurement tool, specifically designed for various types of businesses and activities. The Assessment comprehensively covers the impact of a business on all of its stakeholders, including its workers, suppliers, community, and the environment also captures best practices regarding mission, measurement, and governance.
– Clear Impact – platform for automated assessment and planning of impact that allows businesses to create custom visualisations and converge project management with impact management, but also public communication for advertising their impact.
– Social Value UK – an convenient Excel spreadsheet of the value map with pre-set formulas to help to calculate impact.
– Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) – allows social entrepreneurs to upload their own report, but also browse through thousands of others, getting new business sustainability and impact ideas
– SDG compass – allows social entrepreneurs to upload their own report, but also browse through thousands of others, getting new business sustainability and impact ideas
– The Impact Management Project (IMP) – provides a forum for organisations to build consensus on how to measure, assess and report impacts on environmental and social issues.
– Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) – This tool helps users understand poverty from the perspective of the stakeholder. The SL framework looks at how a stakeholder’s range of assets (not just physical) currently impacts their livelihood, and it delivers insight on what additional assets would be required to achieve positive and sustainable livelihood outcomes.
– The Higg Index – a suite of tools that enables brands, retailers, and facilities of all sizes to accurately measure and score a company or product’s sustainability performance
Planetly – easy and certified way to analyze company’s carbon footprint and Klima – simple, rewarding, effective tools to help you fight for the planet

This publication has been prepared within SENBS project No. 2020- 1-EE01-KA204-077999. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

 

Pigeonly – helping inmates stay in contact with their family

Frederick Hutson is a former convict who has started the social enterprise Pigeonly, which uses IT technology to help inmates in the United States keep in touch with their friends and family.
Pigeonly is an IT platform that offers cost-saving services to inmates.
Pigeonly is basically a range of features that help families keep in touch with their loved ones, who are in jail.

Currently, it includes Fotopigeon, which allows inmates to receive hard-copy photos printed from phone, computer or tablet, and Telepigeon, which allows inmates to make cheap calls to their loved ones rather than having to make expensive long-distance calls. The telephone service, which works in the same way as Google and Skype, is a significantly cheaper alternative to what the prisons otherwise offer. Typically, a detainee pays 70 dollars a month for the 300 minutes call on the phone, that they are entitled to by law. At Pigeonly, 300 minutes on the phone costs 18 dollars.

Pigeonlys’s platform also includes a comprehensive database of inmates in 50 state prisons, enabling families to locate inmates without having to go through the databases of individual states.
The services offered may not look like much, but for the inmates they can make a big difference.
Frederick Hutson from the beginning considered the project as a business and always assumed that people would pay a few dollars to receive a photo and to be able to make cheaper phone calls. And it looks like he was right.

Today, Pigeonly has 13 employees at its Las Vegas headquarters, which is part of Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project. The project has been able to raise more than 2 million dollars in start-up capital.

Salesfigures also show that Pigeonly’s services are popular.
Fotopigeon has send more than 90.000 photos to 11.000 customers at 0.5 dollar each. And more than 30.000 customers have used Telepigeon (subscriptions are available from 5 dollars a month).
600-700 people sign up daily for Pigeonly and the company sends between 3-4.000 orders every day.
Telepigeon mediates somewhere between 2-3 million minutes a month.
The company currently (2020) has subscribers to its services in 88 countries worldwide.
Since its inception, Hutson has expanded with additional services, e.g. you can now also send letters, postcards, greeting cards and articles to inmates. Pigeonly also offers to help inmates with other types of services such as. banking services and housing offers after release.

The ideas for the services is inspired from Hutson own time in prison. It was here he experienced how difficult it is for the family to keep in touch with the inmate.
He was transferred to 8 different prisons when he was incarcerated. This often made it difficult for his family to keep track of where he was.

With Pigeonly, Hudson would like to make an effort to democratize and decentralize the criminal justice system. Among other things, he sees corporate action as a way of preventing recidivism.

By making it easier for inmates to stay in touch with their family, Pigeonly also encourages inmates to stay away from crime. And his idea is backed by research.

Observations from 40 years of research show that communication and education are the two factors that affect the percentage of recidivism the most. Isolation is one of the worst things a human being can experience.

To further enhance Pigeonly’s impact, Hudson would like to open up the platform to other companies’ products and services that can help address some of the issues and challenges in the prison system.

The important question, according to Hudson, is: What kind of people do we want to release? Someone who has lost contact with everyone they know and who has more than a 50% chance of committing crime again? Or someone who is in contact with people, who can help and support their integration back into society?

Hudson’s questions is important, because 1 in 3 people in the United States are affected by the criminal justice system. The former convicts who come out of the prison system are going to have an impact on other people, communities and tax spending. Therefore, everything else being said, it is important that the prison system supports, that it is the best possible version of these people, that returns to society again after serving their sentences.

Read more about Pigeonly at: https://pigeonly.com

Source: fastcompagny.com

 

erasmus_plus_logo-300x86

This publication has been prepared within SENBS project No. 2020-1-EE01-KA204-077999. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency. 

| | | |

Powerful Communication Tools for Entrepreneurs: Connecting

We all know how important connecting is in our everyday life. Especially now, facing COVID-19 challenges, we appreciate every chance to interact with other people.  But what role does connecting play when it comes to entrepreneurship?

We recommend you to read this article by Joanne Bond, executive leadership coach, discussing the importance and practice of connecting as a powerful communication tool for entrepreneurial success.

Powerful Communication Tools for Entrepreneurs: Connecting

by Joanne Bond

Connecting is About Relationships

Connecting is about relationships. Relationships you form today can help your business far into the future, often in unexpected ways. To establish relationships and build your network, it can be helpful to think of all those who are related to your business in some way. These are your “stakeholders.” Entrepreneurs have many actual and potential stakeholders.

Who Are Your Stakeholders?

As a first step you need to identify your stakeholders. To simplify, think of your stakeholders in different roles with different purposes:

  

Role People in Role Purpose of Role
Entrepreneur You You are the primary stakeholder in your network. You need to stay focused on your entrepreneurial offering.
Support Network Family, friends, mentors, experts, etc. These stakeholders help you stay focused, encourage you through the ups and downs, link you to their relationships and resources, etc.
Investors People who are invested in you and your success (financially, emotionally, etc.) These stakeholders provide funding, they ensure you track financials and stay focused on the bottom line. They connect you to other investors or resources.
Staff Your employees These stakeholders work for you. They help you actualize your offering and implement the processes that will support your business emergence, development, and growth. These stakeholders care about the success of your business as it relates to their career opportunities, salary, and work-life balance.
Customers Past, current, and future customers These stakeholders provide revenue to keep your business going. They help you understand what they need and how your offering can meet these needs. They can help you connect with other consumers, referral networks, etc. Customers are a top priority for any business.
Service Providers Companies or individuals with whom you contract services These are stakeholders you hire to provide services and resources to run your business. These can be critical to your business, so relationships and contracts should be closely managed.
Others Not yet determined Be open and curious about the connections you have not yet made, help you don’t know you need, and new ideas that can take your business in unexpected directions.
     

If you mapped these relationships, there would undoubtedly be overlap, with some people acting in more than one role. For example, a family member may be part of your support network, an investor, and a staff member.

Stakeholder Roles and Needs

As a second step, think about the key needs of your stakeholders. You will likely communicate in different ways with different stakeholders to meet these needs. For example, your staff has different needs than your investors. Your staff may see you every day, so they have the advantage of frequent updates. However, are these updates organized, and do they provide the information employees need? On the other hand, your investors may work in many different locations and rely on meetings, phone conversations, or email for information. This information may be well organized and completely different from the information you provide staff. These two stakeholders require different methods of communication and different topics. As another example, you may have one mentor who is a business development expert and another who specializes in operations. The business development expert may only be interested in your marketing efforts, while the operations mentor is interested in areas such as manufacturing, business processes, and supply chain management. These two stakeholders also require different methods of communication on different topics.

Connecting with Your Stakeholders

Your third step in connecting is to communicate in meaningful ways to each stakeholder. For your staff, communication efforts might include regular meetings, employee badges printed with the mission statement, and/or publicly posted company policies and job descriptions. For your investors, communication may include regular financial updates, reports, and meetings. For your business development and operations mentors, perhaps more direct communication and one-on-one meetings are the best way to seek guidance and exchange ideas.

By communicating in a specific way with each stakeholder you demonstrate empathy and build connection and trust. You are showing that you understand, value, and respect their point-of-view. This is the best way to build long-term relationships. Stakeholders will be much more likely to open their resource and relationship networks to you and provide assistance and support to your business when they feel they are a valued collaborator. You can foster these relationships by connecting, communicating with your stakeholders in ways that are meaningful to them.

Summing Up

Connecting is a powerful communication tool for entrepreneurs. There are many potential and actual stakeholders in any business venture, each with a different role and different purpose, yet some overlap. By connecting directly with each of your business stakeholders, you can create lasting relationships that will support your business long into the future. These connections will remain strong even while the roles and purposes of your stakeholders shift and evolve over time. Always be open to new connections and new relationships. You never know how a person might impact your business with a new idea or perspective. In your map of stakeholders, keep a place for “Others” to remain mindful of the opportunity and power of connecting with new people.

Source: https://www.scu.edu/mobi/resources–tools/blog-posts/powerful-communication-tools-for-entrepreneurs-connecting/powerful-communication-tools-for-entrepreneurs-connecting.html

received_2563814793867341

erasmus_plus_logo-300x86

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

| | | |

Entrepreneurship Training and Mentoring Circle for Women

Entrepreneurship Training and Mentoring Circle for Women (ETMCW) is a concept delivered by European Activism Incubator. It is a year-long innovative, flexible training programme directed to Brussels – based women, who wish to launch a social or environmental impact business, a social enterprise or a non-profit project. The training has been designed to support a diverse group of women living and working in Brussels in becoming economically empowered through entrepreneurship. Its aim is to provide women with solid and actionable skills, which will increase their initiative’s likelihood of success.

The design of the training will allow its participants to focus specifically on their idea for an impact project that they bring to the table. The skills curriculum is strengthened by a strong ICT element, as today’s entrepreneurial success strongly relies on proficiency in digital skills. The curriculum also addresses systemic challenges encountered specifically by women and teaches specific leadership and professional skills needed to overcome them on the entrepreneurial journey.

Innovative, responsive and inclusive

ETMCW provides a set of directly actionable skills for women, specific to their project. The participants immediately apply the business or project development principles, concepts or tools explained by a tutor to the project they wish to launch.

The progress of each participant is monitored and the content of classes is adapted and tailor-made to the individual’s needs. This markedly differs from a majority of classroom and online-based business and entrepreneurship courses, which teach a variety of principles that may or may not be relevant to a specific project, context, background or situation.

The responsive design of ETMCW also means that the course can address many important aspects that hold women back in addition to their gender, such as race, origin and class, making the programme truly intersectional.

The course departs from the traditional top-down, classroom-based approach to education, applying instead a mix of teaching methodologies that are highly empowering. It is interactive and participative, and includes circle discussions that build on emergent collective knowledge, experience exchange and mutual support.

The concept has been developed from experiences gained through the Beginner Entrepreneur Mentoring Programme for Women, which provided solid insight into the needs of women with entrepreneurship aspirations.

 

More information can be found here: https://activismincubator.eu/training/etmc-women

received_2563814793867341

erasmus_plus_logo-300x86

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

 

 

| | |

The Polish Model of a Social Economy with the Financial aspects and Profits at Background – from the General Theory to Practice

Within the InDigiSE Erasmus+ project we aim to bring youth the best knowledge and expertise on how to establish and run a successful youth social enterprise. One of the articles we recommend is was published in “Financial Internet Quarterly”,  Volume 15: Issue 3, “The Polish Model of a Social Economy with the Financial aspects and Profits at Background – from the General Theory to Practice” by Katarzyna J. Chojnacka 1     from the Jan Kochanowski University (JKU) in Kielce, Poland.

You can see the abstract below and read the whole text here:

https://content.sciendo.com/configurable/contentpage/journals$002ffiqf$002f15$002f3$002farticle-p29.xml 

 

This article contains main trends, assumptions and thesis about the social economy in Poland, which the author agree with. The main goal of it, is to bring together fundamental facts depicting the situation of the social economy in Poland (in theory and in practice) with the conditions that must be fulfilled in order for it to grow (also from the financial side). In the article, the aspect of profit in a social enterprise, was especially emphasized. To describe the topic the descriptive methods were used. The graphical analysis refers to the last three years, but to understand how the social economy operates in practice, author uses description of the data from 1999 to now, in this paper.

received_2563814793867341

erasmus_plus_logo-300x86

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

| | |

Is Crowdfunding an Appropriate Financial Model for Social Entrepreneurship ?

Within the InDigiSE Erasmus+ project we aim to bring youth the best knowledge and expertise on how to establish and run a successful youth social enterprise. One of the popular trends nowadays is the use of crowdfunding tools in your social business. Thus we recommend reading the academic article by Tiziana Priede Bergamini1*, Cristina López-Cózar Navarro2 and Ivan Hilliard3 

titled: ” Is Crowdfunding an Appropriate Financial Model for Social Entrepreneurship ? to learn more about this topic. You can see the introduction below and the full article here:

https://www.abacademies.org/articles/is-crowdfunding-an-appropriate-financial-model-for-social-entrepreneurship-6609.html 

A social entrepreneur is someone who identifies a business opportunity based on solving a social problem (examples would include the integration of people at risk of exclusion, or initiatives aimed at reducing ecological damage) through the development of a business project. Not to be confused with charity or altruism (Kroeger & Weber, 2014), this consists of creating a business model, based on the implementation of an innovative and creative solution, and motivated by a desire to help others and implement positive social change. The social entrepreneur, therefore, aims to provide an effective and efficient responses in order to create financial, social and environmental wealth (Zahra & Wright, 2016), as a starting point for the creation and strengthening of a consolidated and more equitable social and economic order (Hilliard et al., 2014; Priede et al., 2014a, b).

Due to the growth of social enterprises around the world in many different sectors of the economy (Short et al., 2009; Santos, 2012; Zahra & Wright, 2016), research and article publication has grown substantially in recent years (Noruzi et al., 2010; Huybrechts & Nicholls, 2012; Santos, 2013). However, little has been written regarding the financing of this type of entrepreneurship (López-Cózar & Priede, 2015). Similarly, the topic of crowdfunding has received limited attention in academic literature (Belleflamme et al., 2013; Ahlers et al., 2015), and its use in financing social entrepreneurship even less (Lehner, 2013; Lehner & Nicholls, 2014; Calic & Mosakowski, 2016). Therefore, this paper helps to fill this gap in the literature by analyzing social entrepreneurs’ use of crowdfunding and its appropriateness to meet their funding needs.

This issue is clearly of some importance, as these social entrepreneurship ventures may vary in their business models, ownership structures and financing (Zahra & Wright, 2016), and access to funding is one of the main problems they have to face (Melián et al., 2011; Valcárcel, 2012; Calic & Mosakowski, 2016). In a study conducted in France, Ducci et al. (2002) confirmed the increase of social enterprises in that country, but identified several obstacles they face, among which figure prominently the difficulty of obtaining financing. In this context, the European Commission launched in 2011 the Social Business Initiative (COM 2011) with the aim of promoting the development of social enterprises, and focused on a number of key areas for action, among which are a series of measures to improve access to finance.

Additionally, this work is particularly timely as different countries are developing initiatives along the same line. One example of which is the Spanish Law on the Promotion of Corporate Finance (Ley 5/2015, de 27 de abril, de fomento de la financiación empresarial). This legislation includes mechanisms to improve business financing, and regulates for the first time in this country equity crowdfunding as an alternative financing system.

Therefore, the broad objective of this article is to analyze the perception social entrepreneurs have of crowdfunding, and its level of usage in social enterprises. In particular, the article will analyze the main reasons that drive or impede the use of crowdfunding, the availability and accessibility of relevant information, the suitability of crowdfunding to finance social projects, and how best to improve promotion of crowdfunding in order to encourage greater use in the future. For these objectives, the Delphi method is employed, a methodology that is recommended in these type of cases, as due to the lack of previous studies on the subject, it is considered appropriate to use qualitative techniques of this nature (Dubois & Gadde, 2002; Seguí-Mas & Server, 2010).

The article begins with a brief review of the concept and importance of social entrepreneurship, and an assessment of the different sources of funding available to social entrepreneurs. The appropriateness of crowdfunding as an alternative to corporate finance is also looked at. Following this, the survey and research methodology are described, and the main results of the study are presented. The principal conclusions are then presented and a series of recommendations offered for further research.

received_2563814793867341

erasmus_plus_logo-300x86

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

| | |

22 Awesome Social Enterprise Ideas and Examples

There are several ways you can go about searching for social enterprise ideas. Seeing examples of social enterprise in action is one of these best ways to get inspired for what you might want to create!

Social enterprise ideas, unlike conventional business ideas, typically result from a desire to solve a social need; similar to how many non-profit and charity organizations find their beginning.

As the message of merging business acumen and innovation with the task of building lasting social change spreads, and along with increasing numbers of powerful examples of positive change manifesting around the world, the social enterprise movement continues to gain traction. With this entrepreneurial approach to diversifying funding streams, an organization can be freed from “strings-attached” grant funding and often unreliable corporate or individual donations.

More information is available here.

received_2563814793867341

erasmus_plus_logo-300x86

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

| | |

POLISH INSTITUTIONS SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP OF SOCIALLY EXCLUDED PEOPLE

Entrepreneurship of people excluded in the transformation process

In the program scope of incubators in Poland, initiatives focusing on entrepreneurship of socially excluded people are most often absent. This situation was conditioned by the processes of economic and social transformation in which snowballing unemployment required the creation of dedicated aid programs. Large groups of people were dependent on a state employer and did not have the skills of an entrepreneurial approach to overcoming social exclusion. Another large group of socially excluded were the disabled people that had an extremely difficult access to the labor market. Large support programs were launched, neglecting the creation of institutions and instruments to stimulate self-resourcefulness. It was particularly visible in the countryside adjusting from farming in state-owned farms into the free-market rules.

Polish entrepreneurship has slightly different features than it is usually in Europe. It is the result of the transformation from socialism to liberal democracy. Selected entrepreneurship indicators in Poland and in Europe 2018 differ, for example among the motives for entrepreneurship a good career path is mentioned significantly mor often in Poland (86% in Poland and 61% in Europe – report of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Poland 2019). Another difference in the entrepreneurial culture is the much higher share of people who set up a company due to the lack of other job opportunities (in Poland, declared 8%, and in Europe 18% – according to the GEM research cited above). These sociological features contribute to the fact that in Polish initiatives and activities of incubators, the dominant emphasis has been put on the technologically innovative direction of development. In general terms, the goal of the incubators’ activity is to help in creating and to assist in the first period of operation of a new company. The main forms and development directions of these incubators are: technology transfer centers, seed capital funds, business angel networks, local and regional loan funds, loan guarantee funds, training and consulting centers. The world of innovative business, which was located in technology parks, start-ups, and business incubators, was strongly associated with the economic career path of people with great creativity and ambition potential. Whereas the trend of socially innovative forms of stimulating entrepreneurship of people with disabilities was located in centers financed from public funds.

 

In order to show initiatives stimulating entrepreneurship of excluded people, the following forms can be mentioned:

 

  • Entrepreneurship incubation activities are most often located within a network of public institutions. Usually, those are institutions with the characteristics of incubators created by large local governments that cooperate with specialized non-governmental organizations. Social Economy Support Centers, that are located in all voivodeships, are the strongest institutionalized form of such activities.
  • The activities of entities supporting entrepreneurship of socially excluded people (the disabled and the unemployed), are financed from three basic sources: state budget funds directed at social assistance; from EU funds directed at specific projects; and from local government funds.

 

INSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVES SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN POLAND

 

State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled

 

Supporting the employment of people with disabilities involves large public funds, which are directed, among others, to: reducing the costs of employment of people with disabilities (co-financing the remuneration of people with disabilities, refunding social security contributions for the company owner); co-financing of insurance fees for those who start their own business; adapting jobs for people with disabilities; help for disabled people who start a business or agricultural activity. 2/3 of the fund’s resources were allocated to employment support, i.e. approximately $ 900 million in 2018.

 

Social economy support centers (OWES)

 

There is a system of 62 centers in Poland that operate for the benefit of the social economy and have considerable public funds at their disposal. The centers running these units are most often NGOs or foundations established by local governments. The centers operate through animators and trainers who support the process of creating social cooperatives that have favorable and even preferential legal regulations and get financial support from public funds. OWES’s priority is supporting employment within the program “From exclusion to activation. A program to help socially and professionally excluded people.” This program creates procedures for adjusting the offer of professional reintegration to the needs of employers operating on the local labor market, including in particular social economy entities such as social cooperatives, foundations and non-profit companies. An important element of OWES activity is strengthening of cooperation between social employment entities and employers, especially social cooperatives and social economy entities, thanks to which participants will be able to smoothly move from classes in Social Integration Centers to employment.

 

A very important methodological aspect of entrepreneurship incubation of socially excluded people are OWES’ specialists working to support those in need. There are three types of advisors:

 

  1. a) Animators – their task is to identify excluded persons interested in taking up a job. In cooperation with a given local government, it organizes preliminary talks inventorying the resources and expectations of those interested in a given environment. It creates a context and knowledge about the environment in which a right support path needs to be created’

 

  1. b) Key advisers – their task is moderation in the field of legal and business problems and identification of industry problems that require additional support;

 

  1. c) Industry advisors – their task – being a specialist in a given industry in which a group of excluded people wants to operate – is to analyze technological and market problems of a given industry. Figuratively speaking, the adviser must set the excluded in the realities of the industry.

 

The OWES system operates based on the entire network of cooperating institutions, which aims to map the path of professional activation of the socially excluded. The basis of this network are the following institutions:

 

  1. The Center for Social Integration that is focused on building up the potential of economic activity and independence of participants and includes, for example: production of leaflets, posters in a printing workshop; repair services for residents, working in a garbage sorting plant.

 

2. Professional activity center, that is an institution financed from public funds and employing people with disabilities who have been diagnosed with a significant and moderate degree of disability. For example, it carries out the activities of carpentry and wicker, paper and bookbinding, sewing and weaving.

 

3. Occupational Therapy Workshop operates in the environment of handicapped people. This economic activity exceeds the forms of ordinary therapy and produces products and services that are commercialized. It occurs, for example, in such forms as: production of handmade paper, stationery, occasional paper, postcards, invitations, etc .; production of brewed and cast stearin – various types of decorated candles; tailor production – shopping bags, gift bags, patchwork tapestries, pillows;

 

4. Municipal Social Assistance Center – is a systemic institution of social assistance of local government that has an important instrument that can affect the improvement of professional competence and employment. The path to this is an individualized contract, a support contract concluded by a social worker with a person applying for assistance, specifying the rights and obligations of the parties to the contract, as part of jointly undertaken actions aimed at overcoming the difficult life situation of a person or family and to counteract social exclusion (art. 6 point 6 of the Act on social assistance). According to OWES experts, the key problem of cooperation between these institutions is having a leader, who does not have to be a socially excluded person, but a social animator usually operating in associations and foundations, who undertakes, using OWES’ support, to launch a business initiative in the form of a social cooperative, a foundation, or a non-profit company.

Text by: dr hab. Witold Toczyski, BISER vice-president www.biser.org.pl

Project Social entrepreneurship development in the Baltic Sea region SEBS2 is executed under the Erasmus+ program and co-financed by the European Union.

Responsible for the content solely publisher/presenter; it does not reflect the views of the European Commission or any related financial body. Those institutions do not bear responsibility for the information set out in this website.

logo erasmus