Redesigning Local Economies

Residents of De Kleine Wereld, a neighborhood in Amsterdam Noord, face above-average poverty rates, high unemployment, and low levels of social cohesion. In response, Buurthuis de Bol has embraced Community Wealth Building (CWB) as a strategy to redistribute economic opportunities and strengthen the local economy. Social catering cooperative Restaurant Sufra was established by Buurthuis De Bol to create employment opportunities for residents who are distant from the labor market. To sustain this mission and achieve its goals, Sufra depends on a steady flow of catering assignments. While public procurement systems increasingly emphasize social impact, a key challenge remains: aligning these requirements with the operational realities and capacities of social cooperatives. 

• Collaborator: Buurthuis de Bol

• Students: Nathalie Struijk, Lina Adbo Nicholls and Ikram Ennaanaa 

• Supervisors: Jelger Kroese, Hanna Rudner, Martijn Rep 

• Cohort: 2026

Challenge

The main goal of this project is to bridge the gap between the ambitions of anchor organisations for socially responsible catering contracts and what small social catering cooperatives can realistically deliver. In doing so, we aim to strengthen the position of social cooperatives in catering tenders, enabling them to fulfill their social mission. 

Approach

Our project approach is analytical, comparative, and pilot driven. We will map the social and ecological impact criteria from anchoring institutions in their catering procurement strategies. Next, we will analyse how restaurant Sufra and other social enterprises meet these criteria and identify key challenges. The insights gained from this analysis, combined with literature and policy review, will inform the design of a social impact reporting framework, which we will test in a pilot to evaluate its feasibility. 

Outcomes

The aim is to deliver a detailed advisory report to Restaurant Sufra, outlining anchor institutions’ catering procurement strategies and opportunities for collaboration. Additionally, we will develop a practical impact measurement framework for social catering cooperatives to report their social and ecological impact. If time allows, we will create a toolkit to help social initiatives navigate available partnerships with anchor institutions and understand collaboration requirements.  

Student team