Central to building strong and sustainable inclusive communities is to ensure there is coordination between public and private organisations, service providers, and the persons they support. This Award honours co-creation and collaborative approaches that ensure all relevant stakeholders in the community are represented and included in decision making processes in the development and delivery of social programmes.
Specific examples of applications may include:
- Social planning approaches with the involvement of community agencies and services
- The development of community and neighbourhood networks;
- Intercommunity approaches;
- Partnership frameworks that foster constructive local collaborative processes;
- Inclusive community citizen engagement programmes;
- Integrated case management approaches.
The Sharing Factory
Organisation: Public Centre for Social Welfare Kortrijk
Country: Belgium
Website: https://www.kortrijk.be/deelfabriek
The Sharing Factory is a social and ecological shopping centre that promotes sharing as an alternative to ownership within the concept of the circular economy. A collaboration between government agencies, third-sector organisations and volunteers, the Sharing Factory hosts multiple shops offering items for shared and temporary use, such as clothing, household appliances, and bikes.
As the Sharing Factory is open to the public, it provides short- and long-term social support in a non-stigmatising environment. Supported families that come for material aid are connected to a community case manager, who directs them towards additional assistance based on the goals, values and preferences of the family. This may involve exploring and granting unused rights and benefits, support to find (more) suitable housing, a job, or health and social care.