RepaNet Regional Repair Network, Liezen Status: 10/2010

Transcription

1 DETAILED DESCRIPTION Summary of project The Regional Repair Network, Liezen, connects small-scale enterprises offering various repair services and the non-profit employment facility GBL in Liezen, which acts as coordinator. Joint activities under the umbrella brand name RepaNet help to keep repair departments and service facilities in the area going and to promote customer loyalty. Repairing things instead of replacing them preserves resources and saves energy while employment opportunities are maintained. Aims of the participation process Working toward sustainable development at the regional level, as envisaged in Agenda 21, the blueprint adopted by the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in A balanced relationship between economics, ecology and social parameters is developed in this way, and posterity's chance of a good life is preserved. Keeping and creating environment-related jobs and confronting ecological issues, particularly in the field of preserving resources. Building up a repair network to strengthen regional purchasing power and the local economy, and to maintain value-adding employment in the region. Extending products' service life, so as to preserve resources and avoid waste. Promoting the idea of repairing things, so as to boost demand for repairs and thus keep jobs in the area. Providing challenging openings for employment and acquiring qualifications in the supported-employment sector for people at a disadvantage in the job market. Collaboration between enterprises and the GBL, as a social integration facility, with benefits to both sides. Exchanging know-how, e.g. to make repairs economically attractive to customers. Establishing patterns of sustainable consumption in public awareness. Background to the participation process Initial situation In the course of the process it was necessary to dispel the suspicion that a non-profit firm might be competing unfairly with free-market enterprises. Initially, setting up a repair centre in the GBL (which receives public subsidies) was seen as the start of competition by means of dumping prices. In connexion with repairing appliances which had already been thrown away it was necessary to take waste-disposal issues into account. Licensing requirements for firms that integrate disadvantaged people into the job market had to be clarified. Common guidelines that should distinguish RepaNet enterprises from others in a positive way needed to be drawn up and decided on. The institutions concerned were thus to be found in the areas of community waste management, producer pressure groups, small-scale employers and authorities. Initiating the participation process Initiation The starting-point for GBL's entry into the market for repairs was the EU community initiative EQUAL. Feasibility studies were carried out to assess special features of the Liezen district, initial prerequisites and the relevant framework and market conditions for setting up a regional repair network. Individuals and institutions involved Alongside the GBL the main participants in the process were and are enterprises. However, the Chamber of Commerce and the unions were informed about the project and invited to collaborate right from the start. Representatives of waste-disposal institutions and local authorities were approached in connexion with support and collaboration. PR activities were directed at the general Source: 1

2 public. Informatory meetings and presentations were held to boost awareness of the issue, e.g. among schoolchildren). Design and implementation of the participation process Process design Potential network members were identified and contacted. At an initial informatory meeting the goals of and opportunities of the project were explained to employers who had shown interest. The advantages of joining forces were discussed, as were doubts and reservations. An exchange of ideas by between these meetings was supplemented by face-to-face contact between the project manager and GBL staff on the one hand and the firms concerned on the other, facilitating the flow of information about interesting new developments, instructive publications etc. Is still going on. The main communication channel to the general public is local council newsletters, supplemented by articles in printed media, lectures, contributions to events connected with environmental topics, etc. Key activities Development of strategies for sustainable development and preserving resources. Informing and advising non-profit institutions and enterprises, and building up the network. Establishing repair workplaces in the GBL, as a firm that integrates disadvantaged people into the job market. Cultivating links to people active in the same field, local councils, associations and firms. Encouraging and supporting organizations with the same or similar aims. Special features of the actual participation process As various other institutions were involved within the framework of the EQUAL development partnership, the project benefited from experience in existing initiatives. With waste-disposal firms, employers, unions and the Environment Ministry represented, a wide range of specialized knowledge and the diverse approaches to the subject were opened up to all those involved. Results of the participation process Results achieved The joint quality standards distinguish the firms taking part from other enterprises. Customers can thus be sure that these firms satisfy the requirements and have the skills to provide top-class repair services. Information about cost estimates, and warranties on repairs carried out, offer customers security. Interest in having things repaired is reflected in the level of response to questionnaires and in the use of feedback channels by customers. Environmental aspects are taken into account, at least in that waste-management strategies are drawn up. The extent of collaboration is documented by joint PR activities. The ideas involved have been published in several newspaper articles. It has even been possible to finance advertisements. Implementation status The network between the member firms have been in place for around five years. Joint activities have successfully implanted the brand name RepaNet in the general public's consciousness. Customer surveys have revealed predominantly favourable attitudes. The various activities have been registered in Austria and abroad, as evinced by invitations to give lectures on Corporate Social Responsibility or by mention as an example of good practice in an in-depth EU report. Since the start the number of orders for repairs in the GBL repair centre has steadily grown; again and again orders are passed on to other firms, too. In the near future it is planned to place another advertisement to remind the general public of the repair network's goals and intentions. The network will also take part in events with the town council's environment department, the wastedisposal associations and other institutions. Conclusion Benefits from the participation process People on low incomes can obtain second-hand equipment from the GBL at reasonable prices. Dismantled components that work make some repair assignments economically interesting for member firms. Some of those temporarily employed in the GBL repair centre have Source: 2

3 acquired new qualifications, which led to their being poached and thus finding permanent employment in the repair departments of local firms. Challenging job profiles can lead young people to stay in the region. In repair workshops there is a lively exchange of experience between younger and older employees, who thus learn from each other. That helps to bridge the generation gap. Linking social tasks with protecting the environment and with boosting the regional economy helps the employees to identify with their specific activities. The repair network has thus counteracted the despondency and the incipient gradual loss of skills that affect people who for whatever reason have dropped out of the job market. Noteworthy aspects of the participation process Informatory meetings organized for firms in the network on subjects such as waste management, or warranty and guarantee have generally been welcomed. Publications drawn up jointly have been a low-cost option for the individual firms. Passing on enquiries about repairs has led to quite a few additional orders. Difficulties encountered in the participation process It was essential to dispose of the prejudice that a supported-employment enterprise can provide services at dumping prices because its labour costs are subsidized. It was convincingly made clear that the advantage of lower labour costs (thanks to subsidies) is usually cancelled out by the reduced capability of employees who are either handicapped or no longer used to work after extended unemployment. Today the closest links are to firms in the electrical sector the very firms that had originally feared competition the most. Several firms have made use of opportunities to utilize individual members' experience or, for instance, to obtain second-hand spares in good shape at reasonable cost. Source: 3

4 Fact Sheet Used methods x Method Method x x Activating opinion survey Advocacy planning Citizen jury Citizen panel Consensus conference Cooperative discourse Delphi survey (no case histories yet) Focus group Future conference Future workshop Internet forum Mediation Neosocratic dialogue (no case histories yet) Open space conference Round Table SEA Round Table x Workshop Other: Neo-Sokratischer Dialog Topics x Topics Topics x Area of unspoiled nature Children/juvenile participation x Community work Providing and using energy x Residence and improving residents surroundings Industry, commerce, firms Community development Regional development x Tourism/leisure Water management Waste management Initiators The GBL's management and project team. Traffic and Mobility Other: Those involved Initially around 25 repair firms, representatives of waste-disposal institutions and local councils, the unions and the employers' association. Currently there are well-established links to 13 local firms. Organizational setting The process formed one of the modules within the framework of the EQUAL community initiative. Later the GBL continued it independently. Cost and funding Staffing costs (project management plus a key worker) were originally met from the project budget. Currently material expenditure (met from the members' dues) amounts to between one and two thousand Euro a year. This includes the cost of advertisements or inviting a guest speaker. Network activities are coordinated by GBL employees to the extent possible, free of charge. Process facilitation and advisory services The network meetings and administrative events used to be organized by the project manager; today the network coordinator plans these and carries them out. Initially support and know-how were available from the project partners during exchange and skill enhancement events. Geographical scope Bezirk Liezen (an administrative unit in Styria). Source: 4

5 Timeframe The EU project ran from 2003 to Since then the network links and activities have been maintained; the intention is to continue them in future, too. Publications about this process Various folders, entries in the guide to repair services in various websites. Various articles and advertisments in printed media. Contact: Mag. Manfred Skoff Wirtschaftspark B Liezen T: +43 (0) 3612/ E: More information: Source: 5