How Australian ethical/social enterprises strategically respond to COVID19?
This Roundtable is part of the A Better Work Start initiative within the RMIT ECP Post COVID-19 Restart Strategy
Date and time
Location
Online
About this event
The Roundtable aims to explore how Australian ethical/social enterprises strategically respond to the current pandemic. It will be led by Dr. Natalya Turkina from the Graduate School of Business and Law and will feature a panel, which consists of the following members:
- Julie McKay - Founder and Managing Director of Enable
- Sue Boyce - CEO of Ability Works
- Melanie Raymond - OAM, Chair of the Board of Directors of Youth Projects
The panel will discuss the following topics:
- Key opportunities and challenges brought in by COVID-19 to their enterprises;
- How their enterprises strategically respond to these opportunities and challenges;
- If there are any unexpected consequences of their strategic actions during COVID-19;
- How their enterprises remain accountable to their stakeholders during COVID-19
Enable is an innovative and Award-winning social enterprise, recently crowned at the 2019 Victorian Premiers Sustainably Award 2019. As a not for profit, Enable’s vision is a socially, environmentally and economically connected community without disadvantage. Our mission is to break unemployment cycles by enabling disadvantaged jobseekers to connect with community, environment, and improve prospects of participating in gainful employment through providing innovative and supportive work and learning programs. Enable achieves their mission in the context of 3 main commercial ventures, Enable IT Recycling, http://www.enableaustralia.org.au/it-recycling, online shop www.intheclick.org.au and fulfilment and storage services. Since opening in 2014, Enable has supported over 800 participants with Employability skills, created 15 employment pathway outcomes as well as divert over 184 tonnes of technology from landfill. 2020 saw the growth of Enable’s affordable tech program, supporting disadvantaged community with access to technology so to stay connected with family, friends, teachers, health professionals, support and community workers during the pandemic.
Ability Works is a certified social enterprise providing employment to 150 members of the community with a disability and those experiencing social disadvantage. Ability Works social mission is to provide purpose, pride, belonging and social connections. Operating in Kew, Melbourne, Ability Works employees produce goods and services for government and business. Employees are supported to develop skills in manufacturing (wire and metal fabrication); Records scanning and management; Packing and assembly of products, and Consulting services. Customers include Transurban, the Department of Defence, The Aurecon Group, Victoria Racing Club, RSL Victoria, Good Friday Appeal, infrastructure corporates and many more.
Youth Projects is a large homelessness charity. Youth Projects delivers intensive front-line support to people who are experiencing homelessness and disadvantage across a range of wrap around services from medical care, mental health and drug counselling, outreach nursing and drug safety workers and employment and training. Youth Projects will also open two new social enterprise cafes this year in addition to its first cafe in Hosier Lane in Melbourne’s CBD established in 2013.
Chair - Dr. Natalya Turkina , Vice Chancellor Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT Graduate School of Business and Law
Natalya is a passionate researcher and educator in the areas of Corporate Social and Environmental Sustainability and Responsibility, Social Entrepreneurship, Strategic Stakeholder Engagement, Cross-Sector Partnerships, and Creating Shared Value. In her research, she critically looks at how international and national institutional contexts condition the ways organisations and individuals understand, contest and practice ethics, sustainability, shared value and responsibility. Natalya’s research projects are interdisciplinary, international and comparative in their nature and involve various industries and national contexts, including mining and extractive industries of Australia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Russia and Botswana.
During the event Dr.Turkina will be supported by Associate Professor Joona Keranen, Dr Alena Golyagina and Apurva Sharma.