Entrepreneurship
Theme: Social Enterprise
Cross-cutting themes covered: - An example of a social enterprise working in practice
Name of project: La Grande Casa (The Big Home)
City: Milan
What is it? La Grande Casa is a social enterprise that was established in 1984 to work with disadvantaged young people, immigrants, and women who are at risk of abuse and social exclusion. The initiative delivers social services on behalf of the local authority, aligning these services with the needs of the community.
Who is it? La Grande Casa employs over 100 members of staff, and has around 20 volunteers. More than 70% of employees are women. The organisation works in close partnership with local and public health authorities.
Where is it? La Grande Casa works across the Milan metropolitan area. The disadvantaged groups targeted by the project mainly live in deprived local areas. Who funds it? The initiative is a financially autonomous venture. The total income for 2002 amounted to €3,172,000; this came from sub-contracting agreements signed with 26 municipalities.
How does it work? La Grande Casa works with disadvantaged people who are at risk of abuse and social exclusion. Target beneficiaries are young people, women, immigrants and refugees. The initiative delivers social services on behalf of the local authority, such as:
La Grande Casa plays an active role in local communities where it delivers its services, co-operating with local voluntary and community groups and churches in order to tailor its services to the needs of local people.
Crucially, La Grande Casa acts as a role model for the community as a whole, including the local authorities, by promoting tolerance and positive support for people in need.
How has the social enterprise model been facilitated? La Grande Casa has been successful in securing contracts from public authorities to deliver its services.
What are the results? La Grande Casa has been successful in delivering high-quality services to disadvantaged groups, combining efficiency of service delivery with a sound knowledge of local challenges and needs. Local knowledge is built up by close networking with local community stakeholders, such as voluntary groups and churches.
Is the model transferable ? In Italy, financial resources from public authorities are decreasing. As this situation is reflected in other EU regions, the Grande Casa model could be transferable, capitalising on the new opportunities for social enterprises to deliver social services contracts for local authorities.
Building on local competitive advantages? The Italian legal framework clearly recognises and promotes social enterprises, constituting a clear local advantage.
What are the barriers to transferability? Close partnership working between local stakeholders has been vital to the success of the programme, helping to realign resources to jointly identified priorities, and meet common local objectives. Working closely with local authorities has enabled La Grande Casa to reconvert derelict buildings into sheltered housing for its target beneficiaries. Lack of partnership working could pose a barrier to transferability.
