Aquasport - Creation of a cooperative for the management of public sport facilities

A DESCRIPTION OF THE GOOD PRACTICE

A1 - Title in original language
Creación de cooperativa para la gestión de instalaciones deportivas de titularidad pública

A2 - Title in English
Creation of a cooperative for the management of public sport facilities

A3 - Location of GP (national)
Spain

A4 - Location of GP (regional)
Andalusia

A5 - Economic field of activity
R Arts, entertainment and recreation

A6 - Ultimate purpose of GP
To create or conserve employment
To provide amenities for local people
To respond to crisis

A7 - Spatial scale
Local

A8a - Start date
February 2011

A8b - Anticipated end date (if applicable)
Ongoing

A9 - Short description of the GP
Private running of public sport facilities fallen into disuse where sport activities are carried out 13 hours a day six days per week.

A10 - Key words relating to the GP
sport
rural employment
cooperation
disability
welfare

A11 - Objectives of the GP
To re-use the sport facilities while creating employment , favouring the practice of sport in the municipality and the use of renewable energies.

A12 - Activities that have taken place
Creation of the cooperative by 4 partners under 30 y.o., creating 9 new working posts, offering a wide range of sport and leisure activities in a wide schedule, with work-life balance measures supporting social integration and disability. It generates synergies of entrepreneurial cooperation and boosting healthy values in the local population.

A13 - Achievements of the GP
Exploitation of pre-existing facilities for the use of the overall population; energy efficiency and stable jobs for youth and persons with difficulties to access the job market.

B - IMPACT ON SOCIETY AND ECONOMY

B1 - How has the GP impacted on the following?

B1a - Legal/financial exclusion
Positive impacts
Any other comments?
The City Council has contributed to the project with disused sport facilities. That would have meant the major investment, so it made an agreement. The maintenance of the facilities are too expensive for the public trasury and the private management is required. Had not opted the Municipality for this agreement, the facilities would have remained disused.

B1b - Creation or conservation of local employment
Very positive impacts
Any other comments?
Creation of local employment for four unemployed partners under 30 y.o. All of them hold an university degree. It has been possible the creation of 5 extra jobs for 3 women (out of which 2 over 45) and two men under 30. Although this figur of employment may be considered meaningless, it is important taking into account the total population in Gerena: 7,200 inhabitants.

B1c - Adaptation to new realities
Very positive impacts
Any other comments?
The cooperative satisfies the population's demand of sport activities, educates in values the youth and enables de access to sport to handicapped persons.

B1d - Cross sectoral working
Very positive impacts
Any other comments?
There are synergies between public and private sector. On the one hand, the municipality and associations of disabled people are involved; on the the other, the private companies. A series of sectors come together in the project: education, sport, disability, physiotherapy, chiropody, restoration and tourism

B1e - Enablement of social enterpreneurship
Neutral impacts
Any other comments?

B1f - Amenities for local people
Very positive impacts
Any other comments?
New servicies for the community have been offered and the initial offer has been enriched thanks to the collaboration with educational centres, associations of disabled people (deaf, deaf-blind, autist, impaired people).

B1g - Educational opportunities
Very positive impacts
Any other comments?
Competitions of handball, swimming, soccer by the local teams do take places in the facilities and the centre collaborates with local schools and highschools. Likewise, life-saving courses for instructors are organised. The activities carried out reinforce values such as co-education, accesibility, social integration, sport, healthy habits, etc.

B1h - Crisis response
Very positive impacts
Any other comments?
Stability in employment. Cooperation with other local companies. Involvement in activities with a high local social impact (sponsoring, donations, promotion of values, etc.)

B1i - Local financial environment for social enterpreneurs
Positive impacts
Any other comments?
There was a necessary local view of making the most of pre-existing resources. The Municipality had facilities that were expected to be run and thought on social entrepreneurs.

B1j - Local policy environment for social enterpreneurs
Positive impacts
Any other comments?
The municipality had capacity and resources to advise the social entrepreneurs.

B1k - National financial environment for social enterpreneurs
Impacts not known
Any other comments?

B1l - National policy environment for social enterpreneurs
Impacts not known
Any other comments?

C - PARTNERSHIPS & GOVERNANCE

C1 - Is the governance of this GP fully inclusive?
Beneficiaries are highly involved in governance
Comments and learning points
Three of the partners are working full time in the project, while one is doing it part-time. There is a great involvement of the city council, sport associations, associations of diabled persons, educational centres and other private companies.

C2 - How influential has this GP been on local or national decision makers?
Reasonable degree of influence achieved
Comments and learning points
It proved the possibilities and feasibility of this kind of initiatives and the good results in the cooperation between public and private actors.

C3 - How much partnership work has been involved?
A great deal of cross sectoral partnership working
Comments and learning points
Apart from the cooperation between public and private entities referred above, other associations and stakeholders participate in the project.

D - PR & TRANSFERABILITY

D1 - Please describe how the GP communicated its experience and success to the public
The initiative has been spread to the general public not only in the municipality, but also in the county. The company has been presented to several contests where it has been awarded.

D2 - Please describe how the GP communicated with local or national decision makers?

D3 - Are there any elements of this project that you think would transfer particularly well to other contexts?
The transfer of management of public spaces to private companies. The management in public hands would show a deficit, while a private company in the sector would find serious barriers to the initial investment if the facilities were not created beforehand. Moreover, the use of renewable energies constitute an example of energy efficiency. The use of solar panels and biomass is basic for the sustainability of the activity, since the maintenance of the swimming-pool requires a very high expense of electricity.

E - RESOURCES AND SUSTAINABILITY

E1a - Total annual income of GP 2011/12
115,000 (2011); 130.000 (2012)

E1b - How is this made up?
Direct incomes from the activity and the amount given by the Municipality for the administrative management of the space.

E1c - Details of human resources
4 partners who are workers and 5 hired employees.

E1d - Details of technology
Climatisation machines, boilers, and production of energy (biomass and solar panels)

E1e - Details of financial investment for start-up/early stage
Great importance of public funds at the beginning of the business.

E1f - Details of external support
Municipality of Gerena (promotion); Nusavia (training of instructors); CVADE (advise and mentoring); FAECTA (advice).

E2 - If public funding were withdrawn, could the GP continue to exist?
Yes

F - EXECUTIVE BODY AND CONTACT INFORMATION

F1 - Who set up the GP?
State - local

F2 - Who runs the GP?
Individual or group of individuals

F3 - Short description/comments
Aquasport, Sociedad Cooperativa Andaluza; Municipality of Gerena; Associations (AGEDIS, APASCIDE); Primary School Fernando Feliù; Secondary School Gerena; several private companies.

F4 - Contact 
Francisco José Marín Pérez
Aquasport, Sociedad Cooperativa Andaluza
C/ Ferrocarril, 2 (Gerena), Sevilla
Spain
Telephone 955782398 / 658876809
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website under construction
Any other contact people
Antonio Jesús Marín Pérez

G - SUPPORTING INFORMATION

G1 - Photos (between 1 & 3)


Human resources: partners an hired workers.



Three of the partners. Picture by the national newspaper El País.


Aquasport and disability. Disabled person exercices thanks to his hydraulic chair.

G2 - E documents
Aquasport El País: article published by El País, presenting this cooperative as a good practice to overcome the crisis.
The Guardian cites several Spanish good practices to overcome the crisis and Aquasport is one of them.
News published by the Municipality where several recognitions to the project are mentioned.

G3 - Any other useful information