Atempo is a social enterprise operating in Austria, aiming to promote equality by developing digital products and services. One of its successful initiatives was an e-learning course that helped stay-at-home mothers find flexible careers as personal assistants. Personal assistance enables people with disabilities to live independently in their own households or to work in a self-determined way with support. Personal assistants provide the “helping hands or legs”, supporting with daily activities such as household tasks, shopping, dressing, or basic personal care.
The development of the course was funded through a Social Impact Bond (SIB). In this financing model, private investors fund preventive measures, and the public sector pays only if the agreed results are achieved. The impact of the project was measured in multiple ways, and the set targets were clearly exceeded.
A solution to two challenges
The development work at atempo was driven by two identified needs.
“We wanted to solve two problems: the shortage of assistants was obvious, and at the same time many stay-at-home mothers were looking for flexible work that would suit family life. A digital learning environment provided an effective solution,” explains coordinator Verana Kofler.
The course was designed as a low-threshold option so that as many people as possible could participate.
“Mothers might not have considered working as personal assistants because they were not aware of the flexibility and significance of the job. We wanted to change that,” Kofler continues.
The developed course included practical information about assistant work, workplace norms and expectations, and time management. A key feature was that the content was co-created with people with disabilities – the very individuals the assistants would later be working with.
The course was linked to atempo’s existing Ava service, which connects assistants with people seeking assistance through an app. This made finding open positions and employment easier after completing the course.
Making the impact visible through evaluation
Because of the SIB funding, clear and concrete impact measurement goals were established. Statistics tracked how many mothers became employed through the course and how many hours they worked as part-time assistants. The criteria for the target group used in the measurements were also defined precisely in advance.
Both the course itself and the chosen indicators proved successful: this was Austria’s first SIB-funded project that met and exceeded its targets.
The impact was also examined more broadly.
“We wanted to understand the course’s success in a wider sense and carried out a survey to find out, among other things, how participants’ digital skills developed and whether they felt empowered during the course,” Kofler says.
Results were also compared with the general situation in Austria. The comparison showed that mothers who completed the course worked an average of 17 hours per week, while the national average for mothers was around 15 hours. In addition, those who completed the course entered the labor market in an average of three months.
Impact and next steps
The economic effects of the course and subsequent employment were assessed at both the individual and societal levels. Through employment, the mothers’ disposable income increased by an average of 500 euros per month.
Conducting the evaluation was also beneficial for ensuring the continuity of the activities. Based on the results of the impact analysis, additional funding was secured. At present, atempo is working on a scaling project in order to expand the impact achieved in the SIB-project to other cities in Austria.
For more information: atempo-association.org – About Us
Written by Heli Laurikainen from Kuntoutussäätiö. The article is based on an interview and email correspondence with coordinator Verena Kofler.