BuyWISEly project
Newsletter n°2

One year of BuyWISEly project, one insight on our ‘Survey on MBs knowledge of WISEs and the social purchasing policies’

BuyWISEly survey was able to reach a considerable number of respondents (49 WISEs and 48 MBs) situated in three different contries – Austria, Ireland and Netherlands, providing the opportunity to make sense of the level of awareness and outreach of WISEs to MBs, and vice-versa. It not only frames social buying, but also puts WISEs in the spotlight with their interests, capacity and challenges around B2B partner-up. Therefore, this survey constitutes a key step to orient more tailored action to WISEs, which is what motivates this brief overview of some of its results, and the incentive to similar initiatives to take place across Europe in the future.

On BuyWISEly survey, 87.5% of surveyed WISEs sell products to MBs, while only 42% of MBs reported engaging with social purchase, being mostly limited to traditional goods and services (cleaning, catering, and small artisanal gifts). On one hand, such discrepancies unveil the potential for increasing exchanges and partnerships between WISEs and MBs. On the other hand, it also points for the need for increased awareness raising to MBs, and the challenge embedded in increasing the attraction to more durable partnerships, even though a considerable part of interviewed WISEs did not have a targeted marketing strategy in place (60%).

Where to start, and what to address? The results from this first survey, along with the progress of our work on BuyWISEly, showed us the need to consider multiple actions that are directed not only to the capacity building per se, but to opportunities of exchange with different actors (WISEs, MBs, policymakers, National and European networks, general public) through varied formats – study visits, trade fairs, inline platforms, voicing and providing recommendations.

In this second newsletter, we provide an overview of some of the activities implemented to strengthten the relations between WISEs and MBs, towards increased recognition of WISEs added value as trade partners. We also provide our brief plan to the continuous use of our project results, making sense of the strategy that circumvents all of our actions. Last but not least, some news about upcoming events are provided on our news session, along with the takeaways of our second consortium meeting. We wish you a nice read!

What is the BuyWisely Project?
Buy WISEly aims at enabling work integration social enterprises (WISEs) and mainstream businesses (MBs) in involved countries to design, foster and implement transactional partnerships, including trade relationships, for sustainable buy social B2B market to respond to the several identified needs and address current shortages of the labour market by using a holistic approach.

Find more information about the project on its dedicated webpage and dowloading the infosheet.

Project deliverables

Study Visits report

Study visits are explored as a key step in the build-up of strengthened relations between WISEs and MBs, offering the opportunity to showcase the kind of business developed by WISEs, their working methods, processes and governance structure as well as delivered goods and services. Therefore, it is an activity that unlocks the potential of new partnerships while also serving as an instrument for awareness raising. The Study visits report gathers the experience taken place in the four target countries addressed in BuyWISEly (Austria, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands), that were attended by a minimum of 10 national MBs in each of them.

The results are stated in the relevant language of each country, and gathered in this report.

Study Visit held by arbeit+ and WKO on AQUA Mühle (Austria)

Capacity building focus groups report

The previous identification of good practices on social buying oriented the continuation of project activities in the form of focus groups, that are described in this report. The focus group sessions are conceived as complementary activity to the assessment obtained through D3.1 surveys, providing the opportunity to hear from target groups and obtain more contextual information, identify concerns, approaches to challenges and barriers (including in terms of mindset) that the previous survey and desk research do not necessarily caption due to their typical objective approach. On total, two sessions of focus groups were held in each target country (Austria, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands) totaling 8 exchanges with minimum 10 participants in each group. Participants to the first session were WISEs representatives, while the second session gathered WISEs and MBs representatives to discuss on challenges and means for enhanced cooperation.
Our focus group report is available in English.

Exploitation Plan

By listing and identifying all the relevant BuyWISEly materials in this document, the consortium makes available a plan for political, technical, administrative and business activities that partners will implement in the future in order to entrench a “buy social” value at a multilevel scale. However, the applicability of the Exploitation Plan is not limited to the consortium, as it can provide interested WISEs and MBs from different countries with a set of guidelines on how to capitalise their learnings and achieved results in the long term.Check out our Exploitation roadmap below, as well as the full deliverable available at the project webpage.

BuyWISEly Good Practices!
CSAL and Big Mat
Consorzio Sociale Abele Lavoro (CSAL) works steadily with MBs to promote the employment of disadvantaged people in both WISEs and MBs in the Turin area (Italy).
In this good practice example, CSAL partnered-up with BIG MAT Di De Tommasi Bruno & C. S.a.S., a big materials’ supplier in construction industry. Their partnership started through an informal agreement concerning job placement opportunities of persons with disabilities.
The partnerhsip remained beyond this first contact, as today, it built a path to job placement following a vocational training course aimed at people with disabilities, who move from theory to practical work in the company. The tutoring of CSAL operators, in collaboration with the company tutor, is essential to consolidate the placement in the company and support person’s skills and motivation, and was proven to be successful.
Credit: Breedweer
Together Academy and Happy Out

BuyWISEly applauds the inspiring collaboration between Happy Out, an alternative café group in Dublin, and Together Academy, a pioneering initiative dedicated to providing specialised skills training for young adults with Down syndrome.

At the Happy Out café in Dun Laoghaire, Together Academy has integrated its trained staff into the team. This collaboration promotes inclusivity and provides invaluable real-world work experience for these young adults, enhancing their skills and confidence.

A remarkable outcome of this partnership is the public visibility of young adults with Down syndrome working in a bustling commercial environment, challenging stereotypes, and fostering greater acceptance and understanding in the community.

The success of this collaboration is rooted in trust, innovation, and open communication between Happy Out and Together Academy. By embracing diversity and harnessing the strengths of each organization, they have created a truly inclusive space where everyone feels valued and empowered.

Happy Out and Together Academy are a clear example of collaboration and inclusivity in the heart of Dublin’s café scene.

Latest news

BuyWISEly scale-up events!

This summer, BuyWISEly project will reach to WISEs and MBs representatives in Romania and Latvia! In the occasion, the experiences and current results from BuyWISEly will be shared with the relevant audience, seeking to promote practices and obtain feedback that can support the further adoption of project resources. The first scale-up event is organized in assocaition to BUYSOCIAL project, and must take place in Iasi – Romania, the 30th of July.

Second Online project meeting

On the 22nd and 23rd May 2024, partners gathered for the second project meeting, seizing the opportunity to plan the upcoming B2B Trade fairs, share strategies to outreach to MBs and to increase their commitment to social purchase, thanks to the signature of letters of intent. A lot is to come until the end of the year, so don’t miss out our updates!

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Our website is : 
https://www.ensie.org/projects/buy-wisely

Our mailing address is:
antonio.contini@ensie.org

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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them

 

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