Brightening lives in medical institutions

Brightening lives in medical institutions: Company employees creating value for society

Winterthur (Zurich) and Lausanne (Vaud), SwitzerlandWinterthur (Zurich) and Lausanne (Vaud)

Project Stage:

Idea

Budget:

$10,000 - $50,000

Project Summary

Elevator Pitch

Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.

Vaudoise Insurance (VI) and Anouk Foundation (AF) cooperate on a project in Winterthur Hospital, where murals are painted on walls to enhance the healing process and well-being of patients and boosting the hospital staff motivation. The project benefits from AF know-how and VI employees expertise and network. It focuses on the core business and sustainability strategy of the company – becoming a social business opportunity with long-term impact.

About Project

Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?

Social challenge: A stay in a hospitalised establishment can be very stressful, and healthcare institutions are not always aware of the effect the surroundings have on patients. This significant issue should be brought up at management levels of hospitals and nursing homes so that a change in policy can be implemented, and solutions proposed. Business challenge: Employees of large companies are often disconnected from the community they live in. Companies need to find new business opportunities, cut costs, get closer to their customer and improve their brand image.

Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!

Social solution: A very simple yet effective solution, which has proven to reassure and help patients overcome their fear, is transforming the hospital environment into a more colourful, welcoming and reassuring one by painting murals. Business solution: Helping other people overcome difficulties is a very rewarding effort, which helps team building and employee interactions. The project AF and VI project reduces costs of the business by improving the hospitalisation of patients (less days), improving the hospital staff motivation and the company staff motivation.

Impact: How does it Work

Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.

i. VI corporate volunteers become the field expert thanks to their local knowledge and closeness to patients. Together with AF they chose a project that VI sponsors. (e.g. Paediatrics in Winterthur Hospital). ii. AF artists listen and adapt to the local needs and then create the project, decorating each room of the hospital with uplifting and joyous scenes, creating "therapeutic murals". iii. The VI employees document the project. The report is published on VI’s intranet and its customers will be informed. iv. The University of ZH will do a before and after impact assessment. v. Inauguration giving visibility to: AF mission, VI social involvement, socio-economic benefit the project. vi. A follow-up between partners and next steps.

Spread Strategies: Moving forward, what are the main strategies for scaling impact?

Scalability and replicability: i. Project can be implemented in any country, partnering with various types of companies. ii. Programme replicated by AF collaborating with partners in various countries and training local artists. Policy change: We’ll make a study to document the cost reduction of the project for society at large.

Sustainability

Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?

i. Paint a Smile Foundation: paint hospital wards. AF added-value: adapts fully to the need of the healthcare institution, interactive, no imposed style. ii. Theodora Foundation: send clowns to entertain kids once a week in hospitals. AF added-value: long-term impact, murals are there to stay, impact is sustained over time, not in and out; patients benefit from the moment they enter the ward until they leave, paintings become story-telling tools to help patients. iii. Design/Art schools: artists and students give time and talent to healthcare institutions. AF added-value: artists experienced to work with the AF ‘method’, formulating murals on basis of all stakeholders needs. Broad experience is very valuable.

Team

i. The top management of the business partner fully supports the project and gives its employees time to engage in the project. ii. The communication department supports the corporate volunteers by posting their reports and photos on Intranet, holding an Inauguration Event, posting the report in their newsletter to inform their clients. iii. The AF directors present the project to the business partner employees, introduce the volunteers to the AF artists and the hospital staff. Introduce the University students to the hospital and the artists. They will hold a follow-through session after completion of the project to see what can be improved.

About the Lead Co-Creation Partners

Organization:

Vaudoise Insurances

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LEAD SOCIAL-MISSION ORGANIZATION

Type of organization (e.g. NGO, association, not-for-profit, foundation, social enterprise)

not-for-profit

Total Number of Full-Time Employees

Lead Contact First Name

Vanessa

Lead Contact Last Name

von Richter

Title

Co-founder

Country

Switzerland

Twitter URL

https://twitter.com/AnoukFoundation

Facebook URL

https://www.facebook.com/TheAnoukFoundation

Website

http://www.anouk.org

LEAD CORPORATE PARTNER

Organization Name

Vaudoise Insurances

Total Number of Full-Time Employees

1200

Lead Contact First Name

Nathalie

Lead Contact Last Name

Follonier-Kehrli

Title

Secretary general & Head of Communications

Country

Switzerland

Twitter URL

https://twitter.com/Vaudoise_fr

Facebook URL

Organization Website

www.vaudoise.ch

Basic Info

Project Starting Year

2014

Primary European Country where this Project is creating social impact

, XX, Winterthur (Zurich) and Lausanne (Vaud)

Additional European countries where this Project is creating social impact

Europe wide

Select the category that best fits the type of your project:

New products & services: Entries in this category develop and offer essentials product and services that address needs currently unmet.

What awards or honors has the project received?

Anouk Foundation mural projects has received the Prix Clarins 2012 and was a laureate of the Ashoka Impact Programme

Project Summary

Co-Creation Model: Tell us about your main strategic partners and how the partnership truly create value. For each Partner please include its type (business/social/public), its name, a short description, its key motivation to participate in the co-creation project, and the key contributions it is making in the co-creation project. Please follow the format displayed below:

Partner 1: Anouk Foundation - Social-partner
- A not-for-profit organisation improving patients well-being in hospitalised institutions through tailored murals and music programs.
- Motivation: Spreading of AF mission and work, by realising more projects, raising awareness, increasing impact, benefiting from VI network, business expertise and financial support.
- Contribution: 6 years’ experience in the field, great track record: will find a hospital suiting VI local needs, perform a feasibility study, provide knowhow and the artists to execute the project, collaborate closely with VI, follow a strict budget.

Partner 2: Vaudoise Insurance – Business-partner
- One of the largest private insurance companies in Switzerland
Motivation:
i. Fits into sustainability strategy: impact on local community and employees' social awareness, economic impact (generating revenues and reduce costs).
ii. Key strategic component: AF interacts with clients (insured) and providers (hospitals).
iii. Team building
Contribution:
i. Head office gives employees time to evaluate, participate and communicate about the project.
ii. Employees bring key-competencies of the core-business: local knowledge.
iii. Gives necessary financial support.

Partner 3: Cantonal Hospital of Winterthur – Public-partner
- Public hospital in Winterthur, one of the ten largest in Switzerland, treating annually about 180'000 patients, 2'800 employees
- Motivation: Improves internal Key Performance Index: Patients calmer, families less stressed, treatment efficiency enhanced, staff contended, staff turn-over and absenteeism reduced.
- Contribution: Will provide the walls in a chosen ward to have them painted. Will also ask the staff to engage in the project, specify their needs and expectations.

Partner 4: University of Zürich – Public-partner
- One of the leading research universities in Europe. Offers the widest range of degree programs in Switzerland.
- Motivation: Psychology department wants to study a concrete example of positive psychology. Great practical experience for PhD student to be on-site.
- Contribution: Will provide PhD students to be on-site. Will evaluate impact of the project on the direct beneficiaries, the patients (change in wellbeing, sleeping pattern, eating habits, communication... before and after the project).

Impact

Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Also describe the projected future impact. Please specify using qualitative and quantitative data (e.g. # of indirect and direct beneficiaries); help us understand how this solution truly makes a difference.

Health support:
i. improve patients and families well-being,
ii. improve healing as treatments are more effective, are reassured and eating, sleep, interact better.
Core-business opportunity:
i. Reduced costs: improved hospitalisation (less days in hospital)
ii. Corporate stability and sustainability: employee motivation - bringing them closer to their core-business/clients. Positive effect on company culture and productivity.
iii. Brand loyalty and growth through positive, caring image.
Economic gain for hospital:
i. staff motivation: turn-over and absenteeism reduced.
ii. Long-term: murals remain for over 10 years.

Sustainability

Funding: How is your project financial supported? [select all that apply]

Businesses.

Sustainability Plan: Has your project already reached financial sustainability? If not, what is this solutio’s plan to ensure financial sustainability? Do the main partners have enough stake to sustain the solution? If this project requires limited budget, how will other resources be secured to maintain or grow this work?

Low expense: beyond covering specific costs of the project (AF artists salary, travel expenses, accommodation), the only other cost for the business partner is the employees volunteering. Paint is given for free by a paint company, hospitals provide the walls to be painted and food for the artists.

Team

Founding Story: Share a story about the "Aha!" moment that led the Partners to get started and/or to see the potential for this to succeed.

i. AF and VI have worked together in 2010 in the Paediatric Ward in the Sion hospital, Switzerland. They have experienced the strong, long-term link to their community and clientele.
ii. The hospital understood the impact of the project and immediately asked AF to do two more projects, now running.
iii. VI management and staff have identified a wish to link their strategy, core-business and social actions.
iv. AF recognised the importance of working with local partners and spreading its mission.

About the Co-Creation

Barriers: What main barriers may you have encountered to co-create during the creation and implementation of the project and how did you try to overcome them?

i. The project might not engage enough employees: VI management and communications departments approach employees directly and ask them to take part in a first project. AF builds a team and presents the project and the possibilities to get involved. AF also focuses on explaining the impact the employees and the project will have on the local community.
ii. The project might be too invasive for the hospital: AF will reassure the medical staff and management, explain that the project will be adapted to their specific needs and that all will work in full collaboration and with their complete approval.

Governance: What is the type of the relationship between the partners? (e.g. joint venture, contractual relationship, joint project...)

Joint project:
i. AF will be in charge of the execution of the project, providing the know-how and the artists to paint the murals.
ii. VI will contribute through corporate-volunteering, validating the AF mission, and raising awareness of its importance and necessity.
iii. Supervising will be done jointly between AF, VI's employee volunteers and the hospital. Minimum one representative of each partner attending every meeting: 1 full day session at the start to define the needs, weekly meetings to see the on-going progress over the whole period, and a final impact assessment.

Interaction model: How is the project a transformative partnership? How is the interaction transforming the partnering organizations and their employees/ leadership in terms of creating a new vision, new management practices, new skills and new organizational structures? Please provide for concrete examples

Internal motivation vehicle, external communication tool for all partners.
i. VI: links the employees to core business of the company and their community and clientele. Change in management policies as employees suggest new social projects the company could get involved in (bottom-up involvement).
ii. AF: takes advantage of VI employees’ local knowledge. Benefits from VI network and clientele to gain recognition.
iii. Hospital: staff brainstorm and collect their needs and wishes together (bottom-up involvement). One person of their choice is nominated to be in charge of the project, validating the drawings before they are painted on the walls.

How did you find out about this competition?

Olivier Fruchaud, Ashoka Switzerland