Proposals to improve collaboration between companies and social entities

On October 20^th, the Centre Cultural El Born (Barcelona) hosted MarketPlace 2014, a meeting space where more than 70 organisations and companies had the chance to share, analyse and promote their activities in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility and Volunteering. Xarxanet has contacted some of them, looking for advice on how to improve and turn the relationship between companies and social entities smoother.

What can companies do to improve the collaboration with social entities?

1. To be more creative and generate new ways of cooperation that should be productive for both parts.
2. To organize conferences and supportive events getting the employees involved. In most companies collaborating nowadays with social entities, it all started with their employees getting in contact with the organisations. Now it’s them who keep close in touch with these organisations and know their reality.
3. To announce ideas contests where the employees propose what organisation should be granted the funding.
4. To create a Department of Corporate Social Responsibility that offers material, human and economic resources to the organisations, while giving public visibility to the firm’s commitment with society.
5. To consider the possibility of collaborating with minor organisations. Companies use to cooperate with leading organisations in each area, thus discarding the smallest ones, which find it more difficult to make themselves known, but must actually face the same needs as the bigger ones.

What can social entities do to improve the collaboration with companies?

1. To be more creative and generate new ways of cooperation. The traditional model of sponsorship, patronage or simply economic funding is obsolete. Companies need attractive proposals that may benefit both parts.
2. Organisations must clearly define their needs and collaboration options regarding corporate volunteering programmes. This should facilitate the setting up of relationships by the companies and consolidate long-term initiatives between them.
3. To network, so as to ease the management procedures.
4. To design programmes on volunteering and activities related to the Third Sector focused on the Corporate Social Responsibility of companies. To study previously what do companies need and to offer programmes on volunteering along the same lines.

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