The BacLinks Program is undepinned by principles that encourage more sustainable, healthier communities where power, responsibility and opportunities are shared by all.
Community Strengthening
Research has shown that people with strong social networks feel safer; have improved health, a greater sense of control over their lives, feel more valued and are more involved in community life. 1
Strengthening communities to achieve these and other positive outcomes requires a persistent effort to increase involvement and partnership between community members to achieve common objectives. “It involves local people, community organisations, government, business and philanthropic organisations working together to achieve agreed social, economic and environmental outcomes”. 2
Governments have adopted community strengthening strategies within their policies and programs, many of which are already established within existing community life.
Strategies to strengthen communities include: 3
Community Enterprise:
Linking business and community sectors to connect communities. These can take the form of business-community partnerships that work together on projects for mutual benefit.
This type of business-community relationship differs from the philanthropic approaches of the past that were based solely on donations or charity and were fundamentally flawed by their top down nature. The new business-community partnerships, however, can involve a number of different contributions with a sharing of responsibilities and benefits.
”By working collaboratively on common goals, partnerships allow business and community groups to maximise the available resources and deliver benefits for both parties and the community”.
Community building:
Harnessing the energy and ideas of local communities to develop effective collaborations between government and community agencies to plan for and address local needs, build local leadership, encourage local ownership and control, and build community networks.
Volunteering:
Volunteering holds an important role in community strengthening through the donation of time, skills, energy and experience by community members.
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Corporate Social Responsibility and the 'Triple Bottom Line'
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is “the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life.” 4
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development believes CSR to be a driving force for social progress that helps companies live up to their responsibilities as global citizens and local neighbors in a rapidly changing world. It has stated that a reasoned CSR strategy, based on integrity, sound ethics and values, and a long-term approach, offers clear business benefits to companies and contributes to the well-being of society i.e. that acting in a socially responsible manner is more than an ethical obligation but has a real bottom line payoff for business. 5
Corporate Social Responsibility has arisen out of the recent heightened interest in the proper role of businesses in society and has been promoted by increased global sensitivity to environmental and ethical issues. This has resulted in increased pressure from Government, investors and consumers on businesses to operate in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable way - the ‘Triple Bottom Line’.
It is important to distinguish CSR from traditional philanthropy e.g. the cheque-book mentality. CSR goes beyond charity and requires that a responsible company take into full account the impact on all stakeholders and on the environment when making decisions. This requires them to balance the needs of all stakeholders with their need to make a profit and adequately reward shareholders. This holistic business approach sees organisations as being full partners in their communities.
A growing number of enterprises, especially large, global companies are using Triple Bottom Line reporting that measures social and/or environmental performance as part of the accountability reporting system to stakeholders. Many more are accepting CSR as part of good business governance and are including it within their business plans and accountability statements. 6
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Social Justice
Social Justice is recognition of the importance of attaining substantive equality for diverse groups of people who are under-represented. 7 The term is also used to refer to the overall fairness of a society in its divisions and distributions of rewards, responsibilities and burdens.
Equal rights apply to all. Social justice focuses on the disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups in society.
It recognises: 8
- That there are situations where identical rules applied to unequal groups can generate unequal results
- The presence of past and present disadvantage
- The existence of barriers embedded in our systems that perpetuate systemic discrimination
The four key principles are: 9
- Equity
- Access
- Participation
- Rights
This simply means giving all people the rights of full citizenship through inclusive practices; an acceptance of our common humanity and connectedness with each other regardless of differences. It can be applied by reducing inequality, encouraging participation, removing barriers, building stronger communities, education and valuing and promoting the social, economic and cultural benefits of diversity. 10
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Mutual Benefit
Business-community collaborations provide positive community benefit through the impact of corporate social responsibility. This creates a 'win-win' situation for business, community organisations and the broader community.
- Business wins by the stimulation of new thinking around economic opportunities, the increase of business commitment in the region and the realisation of tangible benefits.
- Community organisations win by increased access to new resources and the realisation of creative, lower cost solutions to community needs.
- The community wins by the opening of doors of opportunity to under-served populations promoting social, environmental and economic well-being.
Everyone wins through enhanced social, environmental and economic well-being.
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References:
1, Department for Victorian Communities (DVC), ‘Building Stronger Communities’, <http://www.dvc.vic.gov.au>
2. Department for Victorian Communities (DVC), ‘What is Community Strengthening', <http://www.dvc.vic.gov.au>
3. Department for Victorian Communities (DVC), ' Business Community Partnerships', <http://www.dvc.vic.gov.au>
4. The World Business Council on Sustainable Development, <http://www.wbcsd.org>
5. Ibid
6. University of Amsterdam 2002, KPMG International Survey of Corporate Sustainability Reporting 2002, p.5
7. University of Western Sydney 2004, ‘Social Justice Unit’, <http://www.uws.edu.au>
8. Murdoch University 2004, “What is Equal Opportunity and Social Justice’, <http://www.tlc.murdoch.edu.au>
9. University of Western Sydney 2004, ‘Social Justice Unit’, <http://www.uws.edu.au>
10.Department for Victorian Communities (DVC) 2005, ‘Access and inclusion’, Department of Victorian Communities Annual Report 2004-05, pp.33-35