Based on the results of an evaluation of the range of services provided by the social ministry of Upper Austria provided by the social department of the province of Upper Austria, which was carried out in 2017, goals were set to increase the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market. To this end, the province is pushing the concept of integrative employment. In this concept, people with disabilities who cannot gain a foothold in the free economy are employed directly in companies of the primary labour market or social enterprises with the support of counsellors or work guides.

The target values for the share of inclusive employment are to be reached by 2023. Their level depends on the type of service offered. For example, 30% of the approved weekly hours in skill-oriented activities and 70% of the approved weekly hours in sheltered work in enterprises are to be performed in an integrative manner. In the course of this, the 26 supporting organisations working for the province of Upper Austria, which offer work services for people with impairments, are requested to submit concepts for an increase in integrative employment.

The aim of the evaluation is to assess whether and to what extent the increased labour market integration of people with impairments has been implemented and what problems, if any, have arisen in the process. In doing so, the NPO competence centre relies on selected case studies, benchmarks and qualitative surveys. In addition, recommendations for the project are made on the basis of the content-related and economic analyses at annual platform events with the supporting organisations.

So far, in the course of the evaluation, the progress of the expansion of inclusive employment has been measured via 23 provider organisations on the basis of 15 relevant key figures and presented in an annual benchmark. Six organisations were also analysed as case studies. A total of 130 qualitative interviews were conducted with persons from the management and operational management, the cooperating companies as well as the carers and clients. Further case studies will be conducted according to this scheme by the end of the year.

The interviews with the impaired people were conducted by means of peer interviews.  A special feature is that the evaluators themselves are or were clients of services for people with disabilities. For the evaluation, the NPO Competence Center cooperates with the Competence Network Information Technology to Promote the Integration of People with Disabilities (KI-I).

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