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>View discussions about this entry País: United States
Organization: Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence
Focus of activity - Other
Year the initiative began - 1995
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
Description of Initiative - What is the main focus (products, services, etc.) of your initiative and how does it contribute to ending or preventing domestic violence? What principal aspect of domestic violence are you addressing? What activities does it involve for your organization? Who are your primary beneficiaries and target groups? The main focus of the program is engaging the business community in preventing domestic violence by 1) encouraging employers to create programs that address domestic violence as a workplace issue 2) encouraging employers to partner with and support community organizations that help those involved in domestic violence because those organizations must be robust in order to assist their employees when those employees need help, and 3) raising awareness of domestic violence as an issue that is "everybody's business" because of the value of a network of businesses standing together with a single message regarding the issue. The power of their message (especially since many of them are Fortune 500 companies) is meaningful and sends a message to a segment of society that may not usually consider domestic violence as something that affects them.
Innovation - Demonstrate how your approach differs from other programs in the field? Which specific components of your initiative are particularly effective, novel, or unique (e.g., the products and services, the technology used, the delivery, or financing mechanism)? Our approach is unique because we are a non-profit organization created by the business community to reach out to the business community to engage them on this issue. We are also asking them to look within their own infrastructure and create programs for their own employees as well as partner with community organizations to address the issue. We do this by providing turn-key materials, a step-by-step program, and training that can be customized for each workplace culture so that the program to address domestic violence can be integrated into the existing programs and policies within the workplace.
By engaging the business on many levels (business case, volunteerism, philanthropy, signature cause. etc.) we are able to help work through the business culture on micro and macro levels -- much in the way that society must address the issue. Delivery Model - How does your initiative reach its target populations? What communications mechanism(s) do you have in place? How do you measure their impact? We reach those involved in domestic violence through employers. We use a variety of "push" and "pull" materials -- some are passive and available if someone wants to seek them out at the worksite (such as resources we create that employers post on websites), and some are more active (such as desk-drops, brochures, trainings, etc.)
Impact within workplaces is measured by pre-and post-surveys (micro-level). On a macro level, the impact of the organization would be measured by the satisfaction of the companies that continue to work with the Alliance, which is a membership organization. Key Operational Partnerships - What key partnerships have you established to make your model possible or more efficient? Who are your partners (business, social, government, other) and what are their roles? How central are these partnerships for your initiative. The partnerships with our members companies are what make our work possible. This is especially true of our member companies that are willing to reach out to other companies and share with them regarding the benefits of addressing domestic violence as a workplace issue. These partnerships are central to our initiative, because we would not exist without the will of the businesses that desire to do this work. It is with them that we design new resources and determine best practices, it is the strength of their network together that makes the work stronger than if they were each doing this work as separate entities. It would be impossible to name each of them separately since they are each invaluable to our work.
Financial Model - Which mechanisms do you have in place to ensure that your beneficiaries can afford your products or services? Do you have financial schemes or arrangements for low-income and marginalized populations? Companies join the Corporate Alliance based on a number of employees. Non-profits, educational, and governmental institutions join at a 50% rate. In addition, we have a "Friend" designation for those that want to receive certain information from us, but are not able to join as full members. In addition, we provide a wealth of information, research, and resources at no cost on our website.
Effectiveness - What has been the concrete impact of your project to date? How many people have benefited from your program in total? What policies, communities, or institutions have been influenced to make fundamental changes because of your work? We currently serve well over a million employees in the companies that are involved with CAEPV in the US. In addition, we have hundreds of thousands served through our sister alliance in the UK, and our member company in Turkey. Because of the way that our program outreaches through workplace programs, it is difficult to get an actual number of people served -- likely it is many more than we know.
We are proud to have been part of creating "corporate alliance" models in Turkey, the UK, Australia, and Israel. We have also assisted in the US in creating versions of the model in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and other states. We are gratified every time someone sees the value in this sort of partnership model and in the opportunities afforded when businesses work together to address domestic violence.
Scaling up Strategy - What is your priority for the next 3 years and please describe why. In the next three years, our priorities will include looking at outreach in other areas such as Employee Assistance Programs since their "reach" is so broad with so many employers. We will also be looking at partnerships that can strengthen our reach to employers to increase awareness and action regarding domestic violence as a workplace issue. Finally, we will work to increase mechanisms for measurement and research in this area, since outcome and effectiveness are such valuable parts of the work, and since it is a relatively new area of study, there is much to be done in that area.
Origin of the Initiative - Tell the personal story that will help people connect to your work. How did the initiative start? Was there a particular individual or event driving the idea? Tell the reader the story behind the innovation. In 1994, several insurance companies were called to task by Congress for not writing life and health insurance for victims of domestic violence. One of those companies realized that if domestic violence was a health and life insurance cost for insureds, it was a cost for employees. They started to look around and realized that rather than do something punitive to victims, there could be something proactive that could be done for them -- perhaps through the power of the network of the business community working together to address domestic violence as a workplace issue. Thus, out of a negative situation, the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence was formed. It is the only organization of its kind founded by businesses themselves to address domestic violence as a workplace issue.
Main Obstacles to Scaling Up - List the two (2) main obstacles to scale up your innovation (policy, legal, organizational, people, financial, etc.)? 1) The business case/human face - We call this the "ick factor." Businesses are uncomfortable with the idea that domestic violence is impacting their workforce -- although they certainly recognize it impacts society in general. We work hard to help them understand the business case in terms of "enlightened self interest" -- and how they can be proactive in retaining good employees and perhaps preventing some costs associated with productivity, turnover, absenteeism, presenteesim, healthcare and workplace safety. Ultimately, it is in their enlightened self-interest to do so.
2) Cutting through the noise - businesses have many important priorities, and helping them understand how addressing domestic violence as a workplace issue will actually save them time and money in the long run is a challenge, since it does require some "scaling up" time on the front end. Main Partnership Challenges - What are your major challenges with partnerships? (E.g., identification of partners, implementation of partnerships, relationship management, etc.) Our major challenge is engaging corporate partners in this mission to make intimate partner violence "everybody's business. While some may be ready to do so as an "external program" reaching out into broader communities, they are not always ready to take on both components -- reaching out to partner with community organizations that are helping families in need of help and also seeking to assist their own employees, recognizing that if domestic violence takes place in society, it certainly comes to work.
Contact Information:
Kim Wells
Executive Director Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
Engaging The Business Community in IPV Prevention Through Workplace Initiatives
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Very Good!