Social Impact Vouchers (SIV) are employment vouchers that have a social impact on the labour market. The innovative voucher system brings together employee seeking companies and job seeking disadvantaged people in a very simple way. The free and uncomplicated employment vouchers enable companies and applicants to get to know each other and test each other over a period of three months with the aim of permanent employment. 

For companies, SIV is a new additional opportunity to test and hire exceptional and motivated employees. For applicants with limitations, SIV offers an authentic platform to introduce themselves to companies with their strengths and weaknesses and to prove themselves in a three-month test phase.

The innovative international project is financed by a Social Impact Fund, which is funded by private industry, crowdfunding and foundations.

Non-profit organisations, municipal partners and competence centres in eight countries in Central Europe are testing the innovative project simultaneously and jointly. In their cooperation, they benefit from each other‘s country-specific innovations and special features.

Each placement promotes the integration of disadvantaged people and provides companies with highly motivated employees.

To summarize it in regard to the project's end:

The Interreg Social Impact Vouchers (SIV) project followed the goal of tackling issues related to (long-term) unemployment in novel and innovative ways. For this, tailored voucher models were conceptualized and ultimately implemented in all eight partner countries. From a financing standpoint, the novel element is the establishment of social impact funds to support the voucher models. Within the preparation phase, the strategies and specific action plans for implementing the voucher models and social impact funds in each region were developed. In the later stages of the project, these ideas were piloted and evaluated.

In the participating countries, there are different types of assistance for disadvantaged groups in the labour market. However, they often lack the individual approach that increases the job seeker's potential to get employed.

The project was different in that it primarily focused on individuals – we were interested in each individual story. Each involved country decided for itself on which target groups to pilot test the innovative approach of support through vouchers. Vouchers were a ticket to our tailor-made voucher programmes.

The main project benefit was the individual approach and the sufficient time we devoted to disadvantaged job seekers. Thanks to coaching, training and consultations, we got to know the job seekers‘ needs and potential. Subsequently, we looked for suitable jobs that accommodated their disability and had the potential to develop their talent. The target group was also various employers, whom we prepared for employing a disadvantaged job seeker and provided with support.

In total, we managed to place over 340 job seekers in the labour market - long-term or short-term. Every single case was a valuable lesson, the benefits of which we will use in our future work. The project partners plan to continue these activities, even improved by the experience gained in the project.

Partners of the “Social Impact Vouchers” programme developed a comprehensive data-based monitoring and evaluation system which enabled the partnership to provide and analyse up-to-date data about the project’s progress as well as about the impacts of the project’s professional activities. Due to the available data the partnership could make evidence-based decisions regarding the implementation of the pilot voucher programmes and the setting-up of the social impact funds for financing them. The profound data analysis and evaluation also enabled the partnership to develop strategies and formulate recommendations for scaling the social impact voucher programmes and the social impact funds regarding their capacities and scope.

FOR COMPANIES

Test and find motivated employees for your company with us on a new innovative platform. With us you will find exceptional applicants, some with limitations and handicaps. These are people who often fall too quickly through the grid in the usual application process, even though they are highly motivated. Expect authentic and honest applications in which the applicants describe their strengths and limitations. All applicants will be coached and accompanied by us and will apply without the pressure of state job brokers or jobagencies. If you find applicants in our portal who suit you, you can easily get to know them free of charge in a three-month trial phase with the help of a simple employment voucher. During this period, applicants will receive full payment on a minimum wage basis.

If you decide to hire the applicant, the goal is achieved. If you are successful, you are invited to pay the costs for the employment voucher you use into our Social Impact Fund. This enables other companies and applicants to use the voucher model. 

Benefit and become part of an innovative social project. 

>>Applications

FOR APPLICANTS

Are you looking for a job? We will find a job in the company that suits you best. 
We help you with your application and attach importance to an honest and authentic application in which your strengths and possible restrictions are described. We support and accompany you throughout the entire application process and expect motivation and reliability from you. With the help of a free employment voucher and full payment you can test yourself for three months at the workplace of your choice. If the company hires you, we have achieved the goal.

If you decide to hire the applicant, the goal is achieved. If you are successful, you are invited to pay the costs for the employment voucher you use into our Social Impact Fund. This enables other companies and applicants to use the voucher model. 

Benefit and become part of an innovative social project. 

>> APPLY NOW 

FOR DONORS - SOCIAL IMPACT FUND

With the help of private capital, disadvantaged people are placed on a new, innovative path into the labour market, companies are provided with motivated employees and at the same time the structures of community-based actors are strengthened. 

The central element is a new intelligent voucher system (SIV). This enables job-seekers to prove their worth on a minimum wage basis and companies to test and recruit motivated employees on a new additional platform. 

Without the pressure of state job brokers or jobagencies, applicants are placed with open-minded companies in a motivating and authentic placement atmosphere. 

The voucher system is financed by private funds from foundations and sponsors who want to strengthen the project, especially in the start-up phase. Enterprises, which profit from a successful placement, are invited to repay the costs of a coupon into the fund, ensuring a lasting flow of funds. 

The costs for a voucher, which enables a three-month test and probation phase on a minimum wage basis, amount to xxxxx,xx EUR. For the project phase 2019 – 2021 the funds are needed to finance 800 vouchers. 

Become part of an innovative social integration project and help to connect job-seeking disadvantaged people with companies that are looking for motivated employees.

>> Donate now! 

SIV – summary at the end of the project

Within the framework of the project, eleven partners from eight Central European countries have developed voucher models for different vulnerable groups affected by unemployment over the last three years and tried to find private donors to participate in the funding.

In the participating countries, the fight against unemployment is very much perceived as a task of the state. So far, there are hardly any business models that make this topic interesting for impact investors. The first steps in this regard are social impact bonds. Attracting philanthropic donors, on the other hand, requires a lot of relationship building, which was very difficult during the COVID-19 phase due to the many restrictions. Legal hurdles were also evident in the establishment of a transnational fund, in part because the tax framework for cross-border donations is not yet well regulated. In view of developments in the labour market and associated social challenges, it is necessary for private and public stakeholders to cooperate and develop innovative solutions in order to continue to combat poverty and exclusion in the future.

Lesson learned is also that strong partnerships are needed for structural changes and their more considerable scale impact, probably from the early start of the project. Later you include the harder it is, ownership of the project and innovation is needed for the sustainability of such projects. 

Also is very hard to build trust with investors and create a need for intermediary role that most of the project partners played (and is often seen only as unnecessary cost).

Therefore, further efforts will be needed in future to assure additional stakeholders' co-operation (trade unions, employers organisations, public authorities, investors and financial institutions) and increase funds available for the fund to operate in this development period.

Please find here the links to our main outputs of the SIV project:

>> Output

For further details contact the Project Partner Section below.

Pilot Preparation (T1):
The groundwork for the pilot actions was done within the framework of the Preparation Work Package, where the strategies and action plans for the voucher programmes and the social impact funds in each partner country were developed. This served for the partnership as an introduction into the main topics of the SIV project, enabled the partners to become more familiar with their individual backgrounds, expertise and specific roles and set the basis for their collaboration with the SIV project. The careful planning and detailed preparation of the specific steps to be taken within the further course of the project allowed the partner to achieve most of the project objectives and to run successful and impactful voucher programmes within the framework of SIV.


Pilot Fund (T2):
In regard of Fund models we developed models for each country. Finally it has shown that for the croatian partner ZEF, the slovenian partner SKLAD 05, the austrian partner Caritas Vienna and the german partner Social Enterprise Neue Arbeit a platform for the transnational fund was created with a related payment tool. This will be developed further on. The fund will be registered in a form of a partnership agreement (contract) and hosted by SKLAD 05 in Slovenia. It will have a separate bank account and ability to receive donations on the both transaction account from institutional donors as well as through card processing payment gateway from individual donors.
In regard of National funds we reached following results:
In Hungary it is run by IFKA and will be operated by Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta (HCSOM) and funded through national Recovery & Resiliance programme.
In Czech Republic it is run by CpKP and set up as a separate legal entity. Individuals and legal entities, including Non-Profit-Organizations (NPOs), can be the recipients of contributions from the endowment fund.
Recipients of the endowment contribution are obliged to prove, at the request of the fund, how and for what purpose the endowment contribution was used and to account for it to the board of directors. A contract will be concluded for the provision of the contribution.
In Poland it will be run by Cofund and set up as a separate bank account within the company.
In Slovakia it is run by Centire and set up as a endowment fund under the Foundation Nadácia pre deti Slovenska.
More detailed information can be found in the related Fund section in the Outputs also in regard of investments.

Pilot Voucher (T3):
Implementing the project brought valuable experience and findings to all project partners. Despite our support and help, it was not always possible to place the job seeker in the labour market. In addition, there have been cases where it did not work out between job seekers and employers. Employers must be especially prepared for the fact that disabled job seekers have additional needs and potentially require more support and patience - especially at the beginning. 

The individual approach to job seekers proved to be the greatest benefit - devoting sufficient time, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and working on them. In particular, it helped to increase their chances of a successful and especially long-term placement in the labour market.

From a project point of view, it was important to first achieve some results that were presentable to potential supporters. It is important to show a working model, implemented activities and at least a few success stories that will convince potential partners and donors to cooperate. A prerequisite for the success of similar activities is including stakeholders in the project implementation.

The Pilots have been embedded in Evaluation & Scaling (T4) as follows:

Through the implementation of the Evaluation and Scaling activities, we learned the importance of a well-designed, methodologically well-prepared and systematic evaluation system that is embedded in the project implementation process. Having wide range of up-to-date data about the outputs and outcomes of the joint activity helps to follow the project implementation process, keep it on track while keeping in mind the initial objectives, identify intervention needs, make evidence-based decisions and improve the project performance in general.

By using the proper indicators we also became able to evaluate the impacts of the intervention of the project on the employment situation, incomes, social situation, physical and psychological well-being of several vulnerable groups in a disadvantaged situation in the Central-European labour markets. The ability to demonstrate or even to monetize these impacts helped to convince external parties about the “raison d'être” of innovative labour market interventions like social impact voucher programmes are, and to influence labour market policies in Central Europe.

Accordingly, it has to be acknowledged that evaluation activities must be treated as core activities, which require significant efforts, time as well as human and financial resources

Through the implementation of the evaluation and scaling activities, finally we learned that the data collection must be as simple as possible and must adapt to the data providers' social and cultural environment and situation and their lingual abilities. This sometimes is contradicting the huge data need and requirements of evaluation and impact assessment activities. The resolution of these contradictions requires professional preparedness and compromises from those who are responsible for the data collection and evaluation.

>> Outputs

>> SIF Starter Kit