PHASE 1. GATHERING KEY ORGANISATIONS

PHASE 1. GATHERING KEY ORGANISATIONS

Insights from the case study Suggested actions

MAIN ACTORS

The Consortium finds its origins from a single local B-type social cooperative which was founded in 1996 by a group of labour union members, social operators and psychologists9 employing people suffering from mental issues, namely the patients of the local Mental Health Department (some of whom soon became members of the cooperatives along with some of their relatives).

Patients of the local public Mental Health Department.

The social cooperative soon started to engage with a local association of a volunteers linked to a catholic order devoted to a “social Catholicism” idea and carrying out charitable activities.

The local municipality which subcontracted the provision of public welfare services and the management of the Centre for Disabilities (see section Activities below) to the social cooperative.  Map your local context to identify, if any, social enterprise or similar organizations already active in employing people experiencing social exclusion and/or in delivering social/welfare programs and/or in valorising the local territory (i.e., sustainable agriculture)  Map your local context to identify who are those people experiencing or at risk of social exclusion.  Map your local context to identify if there are other actors working for the same social purpose and vocation.  Investigate if local public bodies offer tendering processes to subcontract public service delivery in order to secure a source of revenue. If absent, carry out a market analysis in order to identify potential clients for the offered services/products.  Are there local social enterprises or similar organizations already active in employing people experiencing social exclusion and/or in delivering social/welfare programs and/or in valorising the local territory in your context?  Who are those people experiencing or at risk of social exclusion in your context?  What are their main barriers to social inclusion? (i.e., resources, institutions, asymmetric power relation, conflictual relations, low participation, lack of cooperatives or community associations, …)  Are there local third sector actors working for the same social purpose and vocation?  Can local public bodies support the servicedemand for these work-integration social enterprises (or similar organization), i.e., by subcontracting public services? If not, is there a local demand for specific services/goods which the work integration social enterprises can satisfy?

MAIN RESOURCES

During the planning stage, the main resources were not economic, rather human resources. In fact, a key ingredient was the willingness of these first actors to join forces and act together for a common purpose.  Make sure these local actors and organizations have a strong common understanding of the social inclusion and local development strategy as well as shared core values and mission. Most importantly,  Are these actors sharing a common social purpose willing to cooperate and to join forces and strategies?

Self-assessment questions

9 This group of people followed the mission and vocation of the so-called “Democratic Psychiatry”. The latter is an Italian society which triggered a historical national psychiatric reform contrasting the social and economic exclusion of people suffering from mental issues and forced to internment in mental institutions, now illegal in the Italian legislation.

Subcontracted public services on the part of the municipality to the first social cooperative for the provision of cleaning services (namely, public funds).

makes sure these actors are willing to cooperate to pursue them.  Adapt your offered goods/services to the real public or private demand in order to secure sources of revenue for the work-integration strategy.  Is there a demand for the offered services/products coming from the public or private sector which can secure sources of revenue?

MAIN ACTIVITIES

The first social cooperative began by offering public cleaning services (subcontracted public services) and employing people suffering from mental issues coming from the local public Mental Health Department (some of whom became members of the cooperatives along with some of their relatives) but soon started to engage with other third sector actors, namely the local association of a volunteers linked to a catholic order. Together with the latter, efforts to provide job opportunities as well as socialization opportunities also for people with disabilities were put in place. For this purpose, a Centre for Disabilities was set up (through public tendering process) aiming at the socialization and emancipation of people with disabilities.  When beginning to collaborate with other local actors and organizations, make sure the latter have a strong common understanding of the social inclusion and local development strategy as well as shared core values and mission. Most importantly, makes sure these actors are willing to cooperate to pursue them.

 Consider if the work-integration/social inclusion pursued strategy could also target other kinds of social exclusion than originally envisaged.

 Are these actors sharing a common social purpose willing to cooperate and to join forces and strategies?  Can these already active local social enterprises or similar organizations expand their target and include people experiencing also other kinds of social exclusion?