As part of the CARE project, only in Serbia, a Social Innovation subproject is being realized. The realization of the subproject started in mid-2018 by making methodologies and gathering data in the field, through questionnaires and in person from Regional Housing Program (RHP) users.
Data was collected about:
• The socio-economic status of the households (employment, income, education etc.)
• About their involvement and integration in system institutions especially in the local community
• The willingness to improve their economic position and self-sustainability through retraining and launching their own businesses
Data was collected in 128 households in the municipalities of Ruma, Pancevo, Stara Pazova, Palilula (settlement Ovca) Sremska Mitrovica and Kula.
Analyzing the data collected , along with sharing experiences with existing models and examples of good practice, will serve as a basis for establishing inclusive business models with RHP users as potential distributors, suppliers and employees
For the purpose of the realization of these project activities, a Workshop in Novi Sad was held on March 29th 2019 (link to the agenda of the workshop). Workshop participants (here is the link to the participants of the workshop I provided) shared their experiences and suggestions that would contribute to the successful realization of the objectives of the Social Innovation subproject.
Based on the discussions of the workshop participants, the following conclusions were drawn up. The participants of the workshop agreed on the following;
- The final selection of support families to be done in cooperation with the local authorities and in direct contact with RHP end-users
- A combination of humanitarian interventions and economc (income) approaches is needed in establishing the applicable models of social innovation
- Special attention should be paid to the model of individual approach in terms of upgrading the existing household resources
- Before the selection of the model explore the possibility of associating multiple househoulds (individuals) in the sense of interest, knowledge and resources
- The realization of the project objectives and the establishment of effective support models will be achieved through close cooperation with local authorities, the business sector, foundations and NGOs that successfully deal with these issues
RTV Vojvodina had report about the CARE project in tv show (starts at 44 min) Lačhi rjat Vojvodino – 02.04.2019.