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Description
Social economy entities have their own governance model, which combines the statutory dimension, assumed by the Board and internal decision-making processes, assumed by the operational component of organizations. These two levels come with different needs, but seek the same aim: management efficiency for greater sustainability of the organization and an increase in the quality of services provided to people with disabilities.
This project aims to promote the sustainability and quality of management of the Federation itself and its Associate members, through the improvement of its management, governance and accountability procedures.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to address several challenges faced by social economy entities, particularly CERCIs (Cooperatives for the Education and Rehabilitation of Maladapted Children). Despite increasingly integrating qualified professionals, these entities often lacked expertise in governance and management. Common issues included limited resource generation, the need for diversified funding sources, and the necessity for greater recognition and visibility of their work outside their organizational context. The coexistence of social and non-social sectors within cooperatives highlighted the importance of understanding their specificities and how the social sector could benefit from the practices of the non-social sector. The project sought to analyze existing best practices, adapt effective mechanisms, and support entities in finding new opportunities and solutions. FENACERCI, representing 51 cooperatives and supporting over 25,000 individuals with intellectual and multiple disabilities, aimed to address these challenges through capacity-building initiatives for its associates.
The project was developed in five main components: Development, Experimentation, Dissemination, Management and Communication, and Capacity Building. Through an internal reflection process to identify areas of weakness and improvement needs, an organizational diagnosis was conducted with the participation of all board members and staff, resulting in the identification of priorities and an Action Plan for areas needing improvement. The diagnosis and Action Plan were developed by an external consulting team and their results were presented, discussed, and validated by FENACERCI''s leaders and staff.
In dissemination workshops aimed at raising awareness for self-diagnosis and adopting management and governance practices, 34 organizations participated, all 34 completing their self-diagnosis according to the developed Sustainability Framework.
In total, eight entities were involved in capacity-building processes, including diagnosis, action plan development, and implementation of measures.
The internal capacity-building process of FENACERCI itself was successful, leading to a new application to the Active Citizens Program, which is currently being implemented, ensuring continuity post-project.
The project aimed to increase the sustainability and quality of management within FENACERCI and its associates. It achieved this by creating an intervention methodology and specific tools tailored to the contexts of these organizations, promoting improvements in their management, governance, and accountability procedures.
These tools were developed based on the collection and systematization of national and international information (benchmarking), which supported the creation of a Sustainability Framework. This framework, the project''s main tool, was tested and validated through a training-action process, allowing the involved organizations to conduct self-diagnoses and implement measures deemed essential for improving organizational performance, particularly in governance, accountability, and sustainability.
This process was fully supported by FENACERCI, enabling it to benefit from an internal capacity-building process that proved crucial for continuing the implementation of this methodology in the future, post-project. The primary beneficiaries were the organizations involved, which saw enhanced management practices and increased sustainability.