Context, international cooperation
Context, international cooperation is a development organisation understanding itself as a social enterprise: pursuing a development agenda in a business-like manner. We are innovators who use business principles that aim to achieve fundamental social change and generate revenue.  Context positions itself between the development and academic communities, and tries to facilitate dialogue between policymakers, academics and development practitioners. Context aims to enhance the learning and adaptation capacity of development actors: individuals, organizations and institutions.

Social Business
Context works on a number of strongly interconnected thematic areas: social business, civic engagement, new methodologies for measurement and learning, global citizenship, knowledge management for development, and capacity development. The focus of the internship that we offer is on social business. Context believes that social business can make a unique contribution to social change by generating services and products which reduce inequality and create new opportunities for groups of people who are usually excluded. Social businesses have the potential to combine social improvement with competition and innovation. Context itself, operates as a independent social enterprise, working as a business but based on social principles. We organise and facilitate several seminars and training programmes on social business in which Context collaborates with local social entrepreneurs.

Requirements
•    Bachelor/Masters degree
•    Interest and knowledge of social business and socio-political change
•    Being able to work independently and take initiative
•    Analytical and research skills
•    Good English language skills

What do we offer?
Working for Context means that you work in a small organisation (10 staff members), where communication lines are short and where you can learn and gain experience from people who have a sound academic background as well as working experience in the development practice. During your internship, an experienced staff member will act as a mentor (stagebegeleider).  The period of the internship will be determined in consultation with the candidate. A stipend (stagevergoeding) will be provided.

Interested?
If you are interested in this internship, please send your CV and letter with your motivation to: Petra van Os, Context, international cooperation, Cornelis Houtmanstraat 15, 3572 LT Utrecht, The Netherlands, phone: + 31 30 2737500, e-mail:  info@developmenttraining.org

Huren kan per dagdeel, per week of per maand.
Openingstijden zijn van maandag t/m vrijdag van 9.00 tot 17.00 uur.
Er is een mogelijkheid om een beamer of flipover te reserveren. Internet is standaard aanwezig.

Voor meer informatie kunt u contact met ons opnemen.

Contactpersoon: Petra van Os
telefoonnummer: 030-2737500
e-mail: info@developmenttraining.org

In the Introduction of this publication Fons van der Velden argues that nowadays many individuals, organisations and institutions are involved in the search for new approaches to address issues of justice and mercy. They are looking for new strategies and forms of value based change processes in general and new forms of international solidarity in particular. One of these approaches, social business, is explored in depth in this volume. This approach aims for value creation through value chains to benefit all involved stakeholders, sustain the environment and contribute to the common good.

The book costs 30 euro’s (excl. costs for sending: 3 euro’s) and may be ordered by sending an email to Tamar van der Leeuw tvdl@developmenttraining.org.

Participants were introduced to the concept of social accounting and experiences were exchanged regarding the positioning of SROI (Social Return on Investment) within M&E and the field of international development. Based on real case studies selected by the participants from their own realities, all the components of the SROI process were covered. This included hands-on application of various tools and methods to assess social values, by way of semi-structured interviews and other tools; and identifying the most relevant indicators to assist with assessing values beyond the market prices already known. The training was conducted in a very participatory way, predominantly to experience first hand the importance of understanding the perspectives of stakeholders in the design of a Theory of Change (or business plan).

The facilitators thank all participants for their willingness to share their experiences in the training. It was a joy to conduct this training. They are looking forward to a new experience next year.  Stay tuned to updates on this website regarding new trainings on SROI in the area of international development.

Participants felt that the training was highly relevant to their work. Some feedback that we received from participants:
-    “Personally I learned a lot. Group work even made us learn more and it will not be easy to forget what we shared in groups. We were like doing SROI practically. Thanks to the facilitators and the organisers of the workshop. We hope to have more of such workshops in the near future. Thanks to all fellow trainees because the interaction was free. The recap was a good learning technique. We will apply SROI in every aspect of our working.”
-    “….my sincere thanks and gratitude for the great efforts you have made to make this important training course successful. I would like also to underline the great benefit that we found from this training, which allowed us to meet as a group interested in social change in the first place and as well as pioneers in the field of SROI.”
-    “Personally I have benefited from the training having new inputs and it was great learning from other colleagues. I also like to appreciate  other participants for making the training a successful one. As we have several SROI exercises ahead of us, I will apply the skills I got from the training”.

Leergeld Netherlands is an association of currently 67 local Leergeld foundations across the Netherlands. The association’s mission is to prevent exclusion of children from families with minimal financial resources. Leergeld Netherlands enables the children to participate with peers from the same age group as it comes to education, culture sports and/or welfare. In this way they give the children a better starting position in Dutch Society.

In the next five years, Leergeld Netherlands is aiming at an increase of 15% of their range. Moreover they would like to optimize the quality of their assistance to the local Leergeld foundations. Leergeld Netherlands would like to assist the local Leergeld foundations in their competencies and resources.

In order to get an insight in the exact needs for assistance and the priorities of the 67 local Leergeld foundations, a needs assessment will be conducted by Context, international cooperation. For this needs assessment several interviews will be conducted with representatives of the local Leergeld foundations. In total 29 people of 14 local Leergeld foundations will be interviewed. Also, a questionnaire has been send to all the 67 local Leergeld foundations. The outcomes of the interviews, questionnaires and other resources will be analysed on the basis of triangulation, which will result in a final report for Leergeld Netherlands.

The outcomes of this needs assessment form the starting point of the planning of activities for Leergeld Netherlands in the coming years.

For more information about Leergeld Netherlands, please visit: http://www.leergeld.nl/

Datum: Donderdag 24 november 2011
Tijd: Lecture 9.30 – 12.00  (koffie en thee vanaf 9.00 uur) Workshops 12.00 – 16.00 hours (including lunch)
Locatie: Winkel van Sinkel, Oudegracht 158, 3511 AZ in Utrecht
Gast sprekers: o.a. Edwin Willemsen (Fresh Food Technology BV, Tiel) (onder voorbehoud), Fons van der Velden (Context, international cooperation)
Dagvoorzitter: Marleen Hasselerharm (International Child Support)

Kritiek op ontwikkelingssamenwerking is de laatste jaren in Nederland sterk toegenomen. Bijna de helft van de Nederlandse bevolking vindt dat het budget voor ontwikkelingssamenwerking verlaagd moet worden en het huidige kabinet bezuinigd hier ook fors op. Sinds de bezuiniging wordt de nadruk meer gelegd op economische ontwikkeling in plaats van sociale ontwikkeling, waardoor zelfredzaamheid, investeringen en economische groei nu centraal staan. Mede als gevolg hiervan proberen steeds meer ontwikkelingsorganisaties sociaal politieke veranderingen op een bedrijfsmatige manier te bevorderen.

Lecture & Paneldebat
In de lecture zal de vraag: ‘In hoeverre is sociaal ondernemerschap een alternatief voor traditionele ontwikkelingssamenwerking?’ centraal staan. Fons van der Velden (directeur Context, international cooperation) zal een inleiding verzorgen over sociaal ondernemerschap: wat is sociaal ondernemerschap en waarom zou je sociaal ondernemen? Vervolgens zal de praktische kant van sociaal ondernemerschap worden belicht. Edwin Willemsen is uitgenodigd om een aantal voorbeelden te presenteren van social businesses in India en Kenia. Vervolgens zal onder leiding van dagvoorzitter Marleen Hasselerharm (ICS) een paneldebat worden georganiseerd waarin ook jonge sociaal ondernemers gevraagd worden om mee te denken over de relevantie, de beleidsmatige aspecten en de operationele issues rondom sociaal ondernemerschap als alternatief voor traditionele OS.

Werkatliers
Na de lecture en het paneldebat in de ochtend volgt een workshopronde (werkatelier) in de middag. Bij dit werkatelier gaan kleine groepen actief aan de slag met verschillende dimensies van het thema. Tijdens deze interactieve verdiepingsworkshops wordt gewerkt aan verschillende cases, waaronder o.a. een workshop rondom Social Return On Investment.

Geïnteresseerd?
Ben je geïnteresseerd om deel te nemen aan deze deze Context MasterClass? Stuur dan een e-mail naar info@contextmasterclass.nl.  We zetten je dan op onze mailinglist en dan ontvang je binnenkort een uitnodiging waarin je je kunt aanmelden.

The focus of this Leading for Change programme is on entrepreneurs (preferably women) who are interested in doing business beyond the traditional notion of maximising profit towards social change. The programme is value driven and explores the concept of social business.

For more details about the Leading for Change programme, please read this flyer.

Training for Transformation (TfT) is a method that was developed in the 70s in Kenya.  The method is based on the philosophy of Paulo Freire’s methods of Adult Education and other thinkers such as Rivo Tivo. The methodology was developed to meet the critical need for mobilizing organizing communities on psycho – social generative themes and take action to change their lives for better.  In 2003 an international training for transformation programme was launched at the Cape Town Grail Centre. 

The visit of two trainers of Training for Transformation to the Netherlands and to the office of Context in particular, will contribute to strengthening capacities of both organisations by exchanging knowledge, insights, experiences and skills. Training for Transformation and Context are working from related philosophies, but operate in different contexts and with different focus.

For this E-motive exchange three main meetings and events will be organised: (1) training for Context staff members; (2) a public event (Context MasterClass lecture and workshop) in order to disseminate and learn from the TfT approach and methodologies; (3) an informal meeting with some selected client organisations of Context, international cooperation.

The training course will be building on Context’s experience on SROI, developed with partners including ICS, and which, among other things, led to the publication of the Practical Guide on SROI in 2010.

The NGO and civil society movement in India has been vibrant and quite successful for a long time in India. There have been many success stories with very high impact and success in bringing about change in the lives of the poor and marginalised. While some of these good work is being continued, NGO sector is also showing some forms of fragility. Many NGOs have been under fire because they have not been able to prove their worth as they have not been able to deliver the results they were aspiring to achieve. On one hand, the work of NGOs have been excessively dependent on external donor funds which have resulted in lethargy and complacency and dampened innovation. On the other hand, the donor money is fast drying up. The projection of India as ‘shining’ and projections of GDP growth too have contributed to the reduction of funding for developmental activities in India. Apart from the ‘donor factor’, NGOs are also experiencing difficulties to continue ‘business as usual’ because their legitimacy and moral authority are increasingly challenged by larger society. The reasons for this could be many-faceted however it seems that the Golden Age of the NGO sector is coming to an end.

The current situation calls for the development actors to look inwards critically and be more innovative if they are to pursue their goals. Social Business, in this context, emerges as an inspiration to address the social issues that are still relevant – abject poverty, marginalisation and violation of human rights – but with a radically different set of principles of organising.

A social business uses market based business models to address social objectives. Social business is a cause-driven business. Thereby the purpose of the investment is to achieve one or more social objectives through the operation of the company. A social business is driven to bring about change while pursuing sustainability.

Purpose of the Seminar on Social business
The purpose of the Social Business Seminar is to provide a better understanding on the concept and practice of social business as an inspiration in the wake of the challenges explained before. Social Business will be understood as a concept and practice that link emerging trends such as Civic Driven Change (CDC) and Social Return on Investment (SROI). These concepts will be understood from an Indian perspective based on the past and contemporary experiences in India. As such, the seminar will contexualise the concept of and practice of social business in India. The seminar will also look ahead in terms of promoting Social Business in a strategic sense in India and beyond.

Participants would obtain a good understanding on
- an understanding of Social business through practical live cases;
- an Social Business efforts in India;
- an understanding on the concepts of measuring social change including Social Return on Investment (SROI);
- formation of a platform for community of practitioners on Social business and SROI.

Methodology
The methodology would be based on principles of experience-based learning. The link between practice and theory is a prominent element of the seminar. Live cases of social businesses will be used as input for the various sessions. Literature on social business experiences in India will be compiled by the organisers and shared with the participants well in advance to enable an understanding of social business practices.

Dates and venue
The seminar on Social Business will be held from 13:00 hrs on September 16, 2011 till 14:00 hrs on September 17, 2011. The seminar will be held at The Ecology Centre of Accion Fraterna, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India.(It is at a distance of 170 kms and around 3.5 hour drive from the Bangalore airport (http://www.af-ecologycentre.org). Participants are expected to reach the venue by the noon of 16 September, 2011 and plan their departures after lunch on September 17, 2011. Food and lodging for participants will be made from lunch on 16 September to lunch on 17 September, 2011.

Participation fee
The organisers will take care of the costs of board & lodging of participants. The travel costs to and from to the venue at Anantapur need to be borne by the participants themselves. The taxi fare from Bangalore airport to Anantapur is between Indian Rupees 2,500 – 2,800 (US $55-65). There are government busses from Bangalore city (Majestic) to Anantapur (takes five hours and costs around Indian Rupees 200).

Registration details
Organisations who are desirous of attending the seminar are requested to register with Ms. Sathyasree Goswami (g.sathyasree@gmail.com) before August 15, 2011.