Grennesminde

The way Grennesminde functions today is based on a development process initiated by a change in legislation that the organization needed to respond to. Hence co-creation of the public service has developed over time, both due to systemic changes and due to a hiring process focusing on recruiting candidates with a business mindset.

No digital transformation process is going on.

Despite being evaluated upon the measurement and quality criteria in the formalised inspections, the managers of Grennessminde furthermore distinguish between impact at a micro or macro level. At a micro level, the managers stress all the little success experiences during the everyday life at Grennessminde. At a macro level, the success is also understood as two-fold. On the one hand it is to support or trigger a cultural change in the municipalities where the employees (as representatives of the system) meet the youngster with respect and in this manner open up the doors of the system. On the other hand, it is believed a success criterion to push and actively engage in the debate on social economy in Denmark.

A main driver that eases collaboration is clear expectations from the municipalities, transparency in the referral and assessment process, and trust from stakeholders and partners.  In opposition, a key challenge has to do with navigating in diverse realities with different quality parameters; the public sector and the third sector. Also, the aspect of clashing logics is also mirrored in structural settings, where it becomes hard to operate and change practices due to municipal silos and silo thinking. This can e.g. be between different administrative bodies or between different groups of professionals.

The case in itself is not easy transferable, but the idea of establishing work integrated social enterprises is not new, and as such the case can be an illustrative example.

The overall aim of Grennessminde is to create a meaningful life for young people with special needs. To be part of the job market is perceived key in this regard, which is why Grennessminde supports the development of their social and collegial skills. Hence the value lies in the experience of the youngsters as being important relative to colleagues and their job function. Thus, the success is not measured in people getting a job, but rather in empowering the young people.

An overall challenge regarding the understanding of success criteria and measurements is that, in Grennessminde’s view, most municipalities focus on the degree of youngsters that have entered the job market – despite not being able to undertake ordinary jobs. A circumstance, which is especially in a long-term perspective hard to identify, since it is illegal to keep civil registration numbers and hence Grennessminde cannot know, or show, how the young people are doing after e.g. a two years period. Therefore, Grennessminde urges the municipalities to make as specific measurement parameters as possible, while the youngsters are at Grennessminde, e.g. to be able to do a bus ride alone and hence support that the youngsters become ready for the job market – whether as an employee at Grennessminde or at another work place.