"Despite many efforts, people with a refugee background still have great difficulties to find a job on the Dutch labour market. This has adverse consequences for the economic independence of people with a refugee background, their social connections, personal development, health and general well-being, but also for employers as well as society in general. There are many sectors in the Dutch labour market with large, structural labor shortages, while at the same time much talent remains untapped. Meanwhile, more and more social enterprises in the Netherlands are stepping into this void, with the explicit goal to facilitate access to the labour market for people with a vulnerable position, including people with a refugee background. Consequently, these so-called work integration social enterprises (WISEs) are — by far — the dominant type of social enterprises in the Netherlands. Although the diversity between WISEs in terms of economic sectors, specific target groups and business models is large, the way in which they organize their key activities can serve as an example for regular employers, who still tend to think in problems rather than opportunities when it comes to employing people with a refugee background. At the same time, the impact of these social enterprises still remains relatively limited in comparison to the scale of the societal challenge. The aim of this study therefore is twofold: 1) to obtain a better understanding of the role of WISEs with regard to the sustainable labor participation of refugees, and 2) to assess the ways in which WISEs can scale their societal impact with respect to labour participation of refugees. These conference proceedings focus in particular on (new) forms of collaboration between WISEs and regular employers that aim to become more inclusive employers."
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Our mission is to increase the productivity of Dutch greenhouses. Even the most modern greenhouses still suffer from 10% to 25% loss of crop due to pests and diseases (Pimentel, 2012). Our autonomous flying platform can reduce crop loss by regular scouting while avoiding excessive cost of manual labour. With one drone we can scout one hectare of greenhouse per hour, providing detailed information about environmental parameters and crop health, quality and quantity. In comparison traditional manual scouting methods scout a single hectare per day. As a spin-off from RAAK.MKB006.017 HiPerGreen, we are aiming for a fast track solution to a single pest control problem: Fusarium in orchids, and validate a Minimum Viable Product for use in the Greenhouse.
