Respons&Ability - investing in diversity

Date

1/02/05

Contact

José Barros

Country

Development Partnership

Associação de Paralisia Cerebral de Coimbra

Demand

There are in Portugal over half a million CP sufferers. SME's represent over 99% of business units pertaining in the national market and they generate between 75% and 83% of employment opportunities in Portugal. Many still do not know how to operationalise and optimise human resource management processes. There is a lack of practical instruments for helping SME's improve their organisational processes, effectively implement diversity management, and, particularly, promote the employability of CP sufferers.

Solution

The Respons&Ability products are a Collection of Practical Guides (Communication Guide, Marketing Guide and Guide on Integrating People with Disabilities) and they consist of innovative tools directed at SME's, which in Portugal are responsible for 75% to 83% of all employment opportubities. They are supplemented by a study on European SME's regarding the management of diversity and systemisation of Good Practices and a Trans-national Manual with various case studies from 6 countries.

Products

Manual Transnacional de Boas Práticas - Responsibility for Change Guide on Integrating CP Sufferers Communication Guide for Integrating CP Sufferers Marketing Guide for Integrating CP Sufferers Managing Diversity at European SME's

Results

Creation of practical tools directed at companies Intention of companies to integrate the knowledge acquired in the workshop within the scope of their professional activities Integration of this subject matter in undergraduate university level marketing and business administration degrees and in MBA's Dissemination of the benchmarking strategies involving success stories and innovative practices regarding acceptance of diversity in SME's Development of ways of supporting communication corporate marketing