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CSR vs R&D

LABORATORY OF IDEAS

CSR VERSUS R&D

At the As Salgueiras Foundation, sponsored by Galopín, we say that hand to hand work, with rehabilitation physicians, physical therapists and grassroots organisations help us do our work.

We were the first ones to take out the equipment from a physical therapy clinic out to a public space.

The others, being followers but unaware of the concept, copied us but did not understand that they should not mix that equipment with outdoor gymnasium equipment. They are different concepts since there is no relation between the activity carried out in a physical rehabilitation clinic and that performed in gymnasiums.

CSR VERSUS R&D

Our mistake, derived from honesty and some ingenuity in marketing, was to call the rehabilitation equipment, since these are associated in our collective minds with the pain and suffering from an accident. The name biohealthy is an ill-conceived language term, because it hides a real danger as explained above.

The most injurious thing is that by associating the idea that some of the games came from Chine (just as a result of being a cheap copy of a very old concept in the California coast) some have even had the audacity of associating these modules with the Zen philosophy. The question

Contact with animals produces wellness and is therapeutic

CSR VERSUS R&D

is whether in the confusion of this superficial and consumerist society, such uses of a respectable philosophy would penetrate to really hide a gross and dangerous copy that is unashamedly placed within the reach of children, surrounded

The Red Cross visiting As Salguieras Foundation’s facilities.

by playground equipment and damaging the accomplishments of the standard EN 1176 throughout three decades.

Making new friends

CSR VERSUS R&D

CSR is not a topic that should be focused on thereputational side. Partly because virtue Is not preached but practiced. Most of the times People will say one thing and end up doing a completely different one. In fact, the government have a certification system to evaluate the CSR and to award scores during contests, because otherwise,the evaluation will have a subjective character as to as to what each company issues.

At Galopin, CSR has been useful for us to improve our work and to meet professionals with whom we share our concern for issues such as infancy, sports, disabilities, the elderly, education…

In this relationship or shared work towards altruistic goals we have learned that we should focus all aspects of design, communication and the conceptual definition of our line of work.

We have learned to do our jobs better, to make an honest product and to facilitate access to a game to the population with a product that is competitiveproperly executed and conceived, this is how we truly manage our CSR, and not acting without moral criteria to then give a little bit of our earnings to ill-understood charity.

http://www.octo.es/arti culos/rsc-vs-idi/

CSR VERSUS R&D

SOME FACTS:

SPANISH PEDIATRIC SOCIETY

We have been invited to congresses on cerebral palsy (organised by the CHUAC Hospital and Dr. Javier Cairo, founder of primary care centres and a recipient of a Reina Sofía Award). The mere fact of being allowed to speak in front of senior members of the Spanish Pediatric Society proves that we have learned something, and that such prestigious entities recognise the work we do and how we capture that into our products.

LANDSCAPING CONFERENCES

Carlos Cárcamo, founder of the prestigious international landscaping conferences held in the Ourense City Council, invited us as speakers to said congress in 2010 and during the conference he explained that we were not there as producers but as thinkers. Those people concerned by the landscape were very worried about the concept stage of a playground and had no interest in the production process. In fact, before beginning to design a product, several important concepts must be analysed, such as environmental psychology, biophilia and, especially, pedagogy. A skilled carpenter can create a copy of a swing, but in order to design a game that is coherent with the psychological evolution of a child, that grows to become an adolescent, a set of skills and knowledge is needed which oftentimes exceed those required by legislation.

As an example, we could strictly comply with the requests of a reference standard to manufacture a game that corresponds with the access requirements for children close to adolescence. But, if later on, as we have seen in some catalogue,

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CSR VERSUS R&D

The tip of the post in one of the open towers designed for children with certain muscle skills and who is immersed in a pre-adolescent phase will feel offended if he or she encounters a little flower at the tip of the post, and will end up breaking or destroying the element. However, if the same element is painted with more sober colours, corresponding to a more adult age, removing the little flower, the element will be respected.

Another example is when we see rock-climbing walls with a two-metre height, painted with primary colours and adorned with letters like those used by small children when they are learning to read or spell. For older children, this will be seen as an offense to their maturity, while younger children will see it as an invitation to play, with the subsequent danger to their well-being.

To sum it up, in order to know how to make good play elements, one needs a lot more than a good carpenter or professional steel maker, even being an expert engineer and knowing the European legislation will not be enough. Above all, one must know quite a few things that are inherent to the product that will be designed.

CSR VERSUS R&D

A VISIT FROM THE IOC

Looking at several press releases, we have proven that our way of taking up projects has caused many professionals to think about the importance of our methodology to design a ski set for people with disabilities or reduced mobility.

It is necessary to be aware of the group’s set of problems and the limitations of technology, materials and even the common speak that is used by these groups, in order for things to work the way they should and so that a well-intentioned project does not end up being an embarrassment for the park’s management or the entity who has promoted or sponsored it.

If things are not done based on some theoretical foundation, the reputational objects ends up becoming discrediting and that is fairly common

when one does not rely on businesses or professionals who take all the emotional aspects into account.

Jose Manuel Iglesias VilasPresidente de la Fundación As Salgueiras

Sylvana Mestre, from the International Paralympic Committee, visiting As Salgueiras

Pol. O Acevedo, Parcela A – 15185 Cerceda, Spain | +0034 981688070 | www.galopin.es

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