Co-ordination : FAF gGmbH

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SOCIAL FIRMS

Promoting the cooperation of social firms and private enterprises has proven to be a possible strategy for facilitating integration (the creation and securing of jobs for people with disabilities).

Specifically, social firms and their cooperation partners within the regional economy are testing various kinds of cooperative models in this current phase of project implementation which carry varying thematic focal points. Cooperation contents can be grouped according to the following thematic points:

Production communities (the joint creation of products)
Exchange of information (the mutually beneficial exchange of know-how)
Qualification (of social firm employees, associated with the increased acceptance of disabled employees in cooperating enterprises)
Buying syndicate (to achieve lower purchase prices and increase economical advantages on both sides)
Exchange of personnel and joint use of machinery (to enable more flexible responses to market demands)
Further complementary effects (e.g. marketing strategies)

A total of 7 social firms in North Rhine-Westphalia were selected to develop and test new cooperation models that correspond to these points together with private enterprises. They will exemplify which factors are decisive in building up sustainable cooperation and how new social enterprises can successfully be developed through partnerships with companies of the private market economy. The transfer of know-how will provide new approaches for opening up the job market to people with disabilities.
Participating social firms work in diverse sectors such as gardening and landscape gardening, industrial assembly, trade as well as the service sector. To realize their projects, they are cooperating with partners active in the private market economy.

:: AllerHand gGmbH – Bochum
:: HFR Rümpelfix gGmbH – Münster
:: Jaider – Solingen
:: Garbe gGmbH – Velbert
:: DKI gGmbH – Rösrath
:: proWerk – Bielefeld
:: Beta e.V. – Wuppertal
:: RIS GmbH – Kierspe/Rönsahl

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