CRITERIA Capacity to catalyse SDG localization
Focus on specific vulnerable groups / communities / territories
Systemic change
Multi-actor processes and dynamics
Multi-level territorial processes and dynamics
Institutionalization
Social/transformative resilience
Potential replicability
CONSORTIUM SALE DELLA TERRA The Consortium annual social report explicitly recognizes its social mission and vocation, namely, to broadly promote sustainable, inclusive and cohesive local development. As such, it explicitly and concretely pursues and catalyses SDGs 1,2,3,5,8,9,10,11,12,16 and 17 through local, sustainable and innovative solutions. The Consortium explicitly and primarily pursues social inclusion by engaging and employing vulnerable people at risk of marginalization such as migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, people suffering from mental illness, native unemployed people, detained persons or people sentenced to alternative measures to prison, families in need, homeless people and more. The Consortium places social inclusion at the very centre of its local development vision. The local development strategy pursued by the Consortium based on social and economic inclusion of vulnerable groups and people at risk of marginalization not only proves to be feasible, but also manages to expand its logic to a growing number of territorial stakeholders and actors. In fact, the success of its “Welcoming Small Municipalities” network joined by surrounding municipalities shows that the strategy has the potential for a systemic and innovative change in the local economic, social and welfare systems as a whole. Also, the Consortium was able, together with other territorial stakeholders as well as the families of people with disabilities, to advocate for the advancement and implementation of the Health Budget reform on the part of the local public service provider. Moreover, the number of social cooperatives joining the Consortium has grown over the years, magnifying its range of impact. The latter also is to be intended in geographical terms as these cooperatives are based in other Italian regions and each address specific local needs and offer tailored services. This is emblematic of the suitability of the Consortium of social cooperatives model which allows to pursue systemic and coherent local development policies while providing context-specific activities and services tailored to specific territorial needs. The Consortium actively collaborates and partners with different types of actors ranging from the private sector, the public sector and the third sector. In fact, the Consortium stakeholders range from state and local public administration entities and institutions, pastoral organizations, third sector organisations, private enterprises and financial institutions. The collaboration among different actors is an important feature for long-lasting interventions, since it allows to take into consideration different perspectives, needs and interests in tackling specific issues. Moreover, the co-creation among different actors usually increases the ownership and the embeddedness of a process, creating a favourable environment that allows its sustainability. The Consortium actively collaborates and partners with different level entities varying from different municipalities, the Campania Region, State Agencies, Ministries and National Authorities. Involving and leveraging territorial processes at different levels indeed fosters new connections and innovative collaborations to solve common problems. The local development strategy pursued by this case study has gone beyond a citizen movement, a philanthropic practice or a voluntary practice. Instead, it has taken the legal form of a Consortium of social cooperatives, which is a legal form recognized by ex art.8 of the Italian Law number 381/91. This legal status allows the experience to be embedded and recognized within an institutional and juridical system potentially ensuring its sustainability and long-lasting impact. Moreover, it allows the Consortium to formally partner and engage with both private and public entities in carrying out its entrepreneurial activity and delivering social and welfare services. In addition, the President of the Consortium has been actively advocating for the law proposal concerning the innovative welfare instrument pursued through the health budgets, allowing for the institutionalization of co-managed community welfare practices. The creation of a consortium of social cooperatives entails a cooperative economy model instead of a competitive one. Moreover, these social cooperatives offer training and concrete job opportunities for the locals, both migrants and natives, fostering trust and social cohesion. Ultimately, the activities of these social cooperatives collectively foster a sustainable, inclusive local development strategy boosting the local economy, safeguarding the environment, regenerating unused and abandoned land and premises and recovering ancient craftsmanship traditions, among other impacts. In turn, these positive effects concur to leverage local resources, reduce the territory’s fragilities and, conversely, boost social and transformative resilience. The experience of the Consortium and its model shows a great degree of potential to be replicated in other contexts. The organizational model of a Consortium of social cooperatives allows for a flexible and adaptable response to localized territorial needs, hence showcases a high potential for successful application in different contexts. In other words, it is a versatile and suitable model that provides an organizational umbrella to local organizations pursuing a common human development vision. Moreover, the cooperative model and the Consortium of social cooperatives are indeed quite widespread worldwide, suitable to rural context as well as urban areas. Hence, potentially being an endogenous model for other conte xts, the latter might find it easier to replicate it. Source: Authors
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