36.1. Short description Neighbourhood management companies (buurtbeheerbedrijven, or “NMCs”) in Amsterdam were an initiative of the housing corporation mere. In 2007, as part of the larger national Community Development Programme (“wijkaanpak”), it was decided that in a selection of so-called “problem areas” – or “aandachtswijken” – large-scale urban renewal projects were to be carried out:…
37.1. Short description Neighbourhood Stores for Education, Research, and Talent Development (Buurtwinkels voor Onderzoek, Onderwijs en Talentontwikkeling, or BOOT) are an initiative of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam, or HvA). The Community Development Programme (“wijkaanpak”), which started in 2007, raised the question about how the HvA – the largest institute for…
38.1. Short description Neighbourhood Mothers Catering is an initiative of three girlfriends who live in Nieuw-West – one of the areas that the “wijkaanpak” has defined as a so-called “attention area”. Within the framework of the “wijkaanpak” residents may apply for funding for so-called resident initiatives. And we saw that a lot of international women…
Sustainability Undeniably, financial contributions by the municipality/city districts played a role for all three social innovations that were presented in this report. Without the financial support of the municipality (and the additional funds that were available for the implementation of the wijkaanpak), all of these social innovations would have been more difficult to set up,…
Local background of the social innovations In Switzerland, there is not only a large sharing of competencies between the communal, cantonal and the federal levels, but also local authorities (and in particular city governments) and cantons develop their own social policies in many areas. For instance, social assistance is a compulsory task, imposed by the…
67.1. Short description The Unités d’Action Communautaire are structures created by the Municipality of Geneva and they were implemented 10 years ago. Located in four neighbourhoods, they are managed by the social services of the city of Geneva. Their goals are diverse: UAC are in charge of collecting information about the four areas where they…
68.1. Short description The ORIF (non-profit private organisation for integration into employment and professional training) addresses the reintegration into employment of people suffering from health problems. Marginalised young adults are part of the target group: due to medical conditions, some of them cannot get back to the labour market with the job they previously had,…
69.1. Short description This municipal service offers temporary subsidised housing to vulnerable populations: foreign households in a challenging housing situation, people who become homeless and sometimes those who are seriously depressed following a separation, households with massive employment and debts problems. The project aims to counterbalance the effects of the Geneva very limited housing market…
The three innovations we studied have grown and stabilised. A first critical factor explaining this stabilisation is certainly the significant public funds invested in social policy in Geneva. They enable innovations to stabilise on time. For instance, the UAC were created 10 years ago and they have progressively grown to 40 workers: wages represent a…