For 165 years, the IRSAM Association has welcomed, supported, integrated, and educated young people and adults of all ages with sensory disabilities, as well as individuals with autism, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, or multiple disabilities. And this, throughout their lives.
Today, together, we want to clearly reaffirm who we are, our mission, and the means we provide to accomplish it, setting a course for action with an initial milestone in 2028.
Formalizing this association project for 2023-2028 is an adventure in itself, an initiatory journey inviting all members of the IRSAM community.
Set sail for our association project, destination autonomy!
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The IRSAM Association has always framed its actions within societal evolutions while remaining true to its origins.
Originally, in 1858, the foresight of Louis-Toussaint DASSY, a Catholic priest, supported by Marie BOUFFIER, founder of the religious Congregation of the Sisters of Marie Immaculée, enabled the reception and education of young blind and deaf individuals in Marseille.
Later, the Congregation established a civil society, of which the Regional Institute for the Deaf and Blind of Marseille (IRSAM) is today the continuation, with public utility status recognized since 1933.
Father DASSY asked the sisters to give children “all possible good” in care, education, and support.
The heirs of yesterday and today contribute to the development of the association, remaining faithful to its founders and continuing their charitable work.
Through the values of solidarity, responsibility, equity, and respect, our association has always considered the individual as the measure of its action.
These values guided the association’s approach in creating the association project for the coming decade. They enable engagement with the people supported and professionals in their participation in society, at all stages accessible to their abilities, throughout life, respecting all dimensions of the individual, both human and spiritual.
They are applied with vigilance and discernment to societal and medico-social changes.
The association project is the common good of those who, in various ways, work within IRSAM, with the desire to support its development, which tomorrow will reflect what we have been able to build together.
“You are important to me, I am important to you[1].”
[1] Theme from the 160th anniversary events of the IRSAM Association in 2018.
The individual is the measure of all IRSAM Association’s actions. By giving attention and care to each person supported, our teams ensure their fulfillment and rights in the pursuit of inclusion in society, regardless of differences.
IRSAM also ensures the quality of life at work for its staff, necessary for professional fulfillment in their roles with the people supported, whatever the tasks within the association.
Solidarity is at the heart of IRSAM’s commitment. It expresses a mutual will and union that creates, for each person supported, a dynamic leading to greater equity.
Professionals at IRSAM work interdisciplinarily to ensure coherence and success in the support provided.
The association is committed to strengthening optimal professional conditions, in terms of stability and belonging.
It is the commitment of our professionals to provide the best possible support to individuals.
In consultation with families and professionals, the person supported is the author of their own path toward greater autonomy.
Equity within IRSAM means taking into account the specific needs and expectations of each person supported.
Through adaptation, creativity, and initiative, professionals use their skills to reveal the potential of the people they support and promote individual development.
An association is a collective united by a mission in response to a need. The mission of the IRSAM Association is to mobilize energies to promote the autonomy of people with disabilities. Our associative project details how we plan to achieve this in the coming years. Immediate boarding for a quest serving the autonomy of each individual, beyond disability.
When a group of people share a vision to defend a cause, help others, pursue their passion, or carry out a common project, they may decide to unite their forces to move forward together as a team, creating an association. This is what the Sisters of Marie Immaculée did, under the guidance of Father Louis-Toussaint Dassy, by founding in 1848 in Marseille the first institution that would officially become the IRSAM Association in 1923. Objective: to give children with disabilities “all possible good” through reception, care, education, and support.
Faithful to the values of respect, solidarity, responsibility, and equity that inspired them a century ago, we, their heirs today, wish to continue this journey in service of the most vulnerable by formalizing the IRSAM Association project for the next ten years.
But what exactly is an associative project? It is the result of collective reflection on three major questions: who we are, where we want to go, and how we plan to get there. This approach allows us to share a guiding line among all stakeholders: professionals, supported individuals, families, administrators, institutions.
As a strategic document, the associative project is not intended to be a fixed object or a pre-packaged program. On the contrary, it is a living material, a vision in motion. It is a story whose origin is known, whose characters are known, and the challenges they will face to accomplish their quest are identified.
In short, it’s an adventure. For the IRSAM Association, committed to the Mediterranean and overseas, it is like embarking on a high-sea voyage.
Yes, the IRSAM associative project is both:
a Course to Achieve
and the Choice of an Association to Promote.
It’s a CAP.
That’s why we have chosen to communicate about our associative project as one would speak of a sea crossing. Because it is the journey that transforms more than the destination. Because we must continually re-choose that horizon which once called us to set sail, with and for others.
This course represents a collective aspiration to explore the best way to fulfill our mission together, for the greatest service and well-being of those IRSAM supports, today and tomorrow. By allowing each member of the IRSAM community to occupy their rightful place, maximizing their autonomy.
Set course for our association for everyone’s autonomy!
“CapAsso IRSAM” is the name of our associative project for the period 2023-2028.
So, CapAsso IRSAM – are we up for it?
The passengers of the IRSAM ship are all the people currently supported by our crew: supported individuals and their families.
As actors in the medico-social sector, we position ourselves as facilitators in the service of their autonomy, without deciding for them or ever replacing their own agency.
In this spirit, we work to compensate as best as possible for situations of disability by making IRSAM’s various facilities increasingly accessible, deploying new tools, and promoting the emergence of new professions to enable greater freedom of action for supported individuals. All this in close cooperation with families, invited to be fully active alongside the IRSAM teams.
As mentioned: writing an associative project is embarking on a journey. This journey takes us toward what we want to become.
From the beginning, the IRSAM Association has supported young people and adults with sensory disabilities. Without giving up this expertise that forms our identity, we have gradually expanded our field of action.
Whatever the audience, we aim to adapt our service offerings to each individual. We achieve this by working hand in hand with our institutional partners and systematically promoting educational, professional, social, and housing inclusion.
Before setting sail, it is necessary to ensure the condition of the ship and its capacity to face the elements to reach port safely. Do we have enough provisions for the voyage? Are the sails suitable for the ship and strong enough to catch the wind?
For the IRSAM Association, the same applies. How do we plan the management of our buildings in view of the growing development of our external support? Are our professionals trained to adapt to sector changes and evolving job roles?
Our associative project must integrate this question of aligning resources with the scale of our collective ambition. Because we want to go as far as possible in service of the autonomy of people with disabilities, without merely complying with regulations.
This requires a shared willingness to continually improve our best practices and constantly question them from the perspective of professional ethics. It also requires all of us to engage together for the common good, taking responsibility for the social and environmental impact of our association.
All sailors know the excitement of new departures. But they also know that you cannot set sail without seriously preparing your journey as a crew. Within the IRSAM Association, we worked for months to mobilize the teams and define our itinerary before embarking on the adventure.
For an associative project to reflect the essential reason why association members act collectively, we chose to share this process with all members of the IRSAM community in their diversity.
Our goal: to ensure their adherence and active participation in achieving the objectives arising from the associative project. Management, staff, supported individuals, families, and partners: all on deck!
No adventure without preparations. The IRSAM associative project is the result of extensive reflection and discussions.
At the helm, for the occasion, not one, but 13 crew members formed a steering committee including 4 representatives of families and supported individuals, 3 preparers from the association’s headquarters, the vice-president of the board, and 5 staff representatives from our three professional areas: care, support, and education.
January 2022
COPIL launch
June 2022
Topics validated
October 2022
Resumption of work and creation of Ethics/Quality, Support, and Governance working groups
March–April 2023
Presentation of project topics to the association’s management
April–May 2023
Presentation of topics to staff representatives of the association
June 2023
Inauguration of the associative project and launch of communication around it
In total, 67 meetings—about 900 hours of production and 440 hours of reporting—preceded the finalization of the IRSAM associative project.
In parallel, a questionnaire was sent to families to gather their opinions and expectations regarding participation in the life of the institutions. 219 responded and contributed their input.
Full speed ahead: set course for our shared project! Once is not customary: to reach the destination, we must follow four paths, which are the four success conditions of the IRSAM associative project. Everyone at their station!
Set a course, make the right decisions, assign roles to everyone based on their talents, ensure compliance with the rules for collective progress while strengthening the sense of belonging… This is what governance of an association like ours entails. It is holding the ship’s wheel steady to move in the right direction with the active help of the entire crew. Without governance, the ship drifts!
Having solid governance is therefore the first condition for ensuring a sustainable future for the IRSAM Association in service of its beneficiaries and their families. To achieve this, we set four objectives.
Implement a governance model common to all, everywhere, that unleashes energy.
Encourage local initiative, break institutional isolation, and adapt regulatory requirements to the specificities of each territory.
Pool the expertise of our territories and share knowledge to create a collective expertise contributing to the development of the IRSAM Association.
Develop local and national advocacy communication to promote IRSAM’s cause.
Supporting people with disabilities is at the heart of the IRSAM associative project. It is for them and with them that we set out, seeking the best way to support their development throughout a journey where the travelers are the authors and actors.
This service today requires inclusion, as more and more supported individuals and their families envision it. IRSAM teams are therefore working to implement best practices and adopt new tools to gradually be fully capable of meeting this requirement.
To guide this work, we set four objectives inspired by the ministry’s action plan “Ambition Transformation 2019-2022,” which aims to evolve the medico-social sector toward a more inclusive offer.
Ensure that every person with a disability, wherever they are, can access high-quality personalized support throughout life with the help of the best professionals.
Adapt territorial organization for an agile and appropriate response according to the age, development, and project of each supported person.
Systematize accessibility for people (professionals or caregivers), spaces, services, and our communication to optimize inclusion of people with disabilities.
Improve the quality of our support, based on competency approaches and human development, by adapting our practices to the needs of our beneficiaries and the current medico-social context.
At the service of passengers, there is an entire crew. They are the driving forces of the IRSAM Association. These professionals, like the people they support, deserve equal consideration.
To keep everyone engaged and committed to our common mission, we must cultivate internal social dialogue. Only shared trust and professionalization of our skills will allow us to meet new challenges together in a constantly evolving medico-social sector. Therefore, the IRSAM associative project defines three work axes.
Maintain our level of expertise for fulfilling our mission and attract new talent.
Enable professionals to understand and embrace changes in the medico-social sector and professional practices.
Foster a collaborative environment and working conditions that prevent occupational risks.
Let oneself be carried by the waves or take destiny into one’s own hands by charting one’s own course? Deciding the direction for the development of the IRSAM Association means going beyond its historical horizon. Our ambition: leverage its DNA to better respond to new needs in supporting people with disabilities and choose appropriate solutions.
To adopt this forward-looking mindset and support new audiences in our establishments while developing complementary skills for outreach work, the IRSAM associative project integrates five work axes.
Leverage the expertise of our establishments to respond locally to project calls and the needs of supported individuals.
Act with discernment and responsiveness in development matters.
Encourage sharing and dissemination of best practices between establishments and territories.
Develop technological monitoring for better access to innovative solutions for supported individuals.
Forge partnerships with other managing associations, allocate a development budget, and design a system for public fundraising.
No matter the chosen route, we know: the success of our adventure also depends on various factors which, combined, will allow our vessel to reach its destination. These are both values and techniques that make up our compass rose, so as not to lose our bearings on board.
Every association is a collective adventure whose meaning is measured by the mark it leaves on the world.
The IRSAM associative project must question our responsibility and guide our actions for the most positive social, economic, and environmental impact possible. How? By committing to a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach, providing a framework for actors who want to set objectives for greater respect for people and their environment.
First, because we want to remain faithful to the historical vocation of the IRSAM Association, rooted in deep respect for the dignity of every person, beyond disability. Second, because we must meet current and future regulatory requirements, while assuming our societal commitment and limiting our environmental impact.
Adopt CSR as the guiding thread of our collective action through training and knowledge sharing, aiming for the IRSAM Association’s certification.
Implement concrete actions to reduce waste, energy consumption, and digital pollution.
Improve quality of work life while raising professionals’ awareness of CSR and sustainable development challenges.
Consume better together through a responsible purchasing policy involving our external partners.
To sail and face the elements, a robust ship is required. But the strength of a vessel also depends on the crew’s ability to prevent damage. Just as it is proven by the strength of the bonds that unite them.
For the IRSAM Association to continue this continuous improvement of service quality, which also incorporates ethical considerations in supporting people with disabilities, it must adopt a new roadmap.
These orientations are being drafted within a voluntary and proactive process by the teams and are expressed in four objectives within our associative project.
Work for the well-being of supported people by allowing them to express their expectations and self-determination, stimulating their ability to act independently.
Reflect among IRSAM professionals to leverage our expertise for the expression and participation of the people we support, so they can freely act on their lives.
Establish a body to define the framework for executing our mission and the rules to follow for effective and safe cooperation.
Share the ethical ambitions of support and deploy available resources and solutions to all employees at all levels.
A ship is recognized by its flag. Its colors are a visible sign of its identity to be recognized externally. Inside, information must also flow, from the deck to the hold, for the crew and passengers to understand where they are headed and what is expected of them.
To communicate with its audiences, the IRSAM Association has many tools and has implemented actions internally and externally. Yet, many professionals still ignore the richness of their association’s missions, while families’ knowledge is often limited to their relative’s establishment.
To bring the IRSAM Association closer to its audiences, both internally and externally, communication is organized around four objectives within the associative project.
Enable employees, supported people, and families to better understand the IRSAM Association.
Enhance accessibility of documents and materials produced by the association and its establishments.
Plan communication actions within a coordinated institutional strategy with IRSAM ESMS.
Develop expertise to support establishments in crisis communication.
Farewell sextant and spyglass, long live digital technology! Today, to gain speed and efficiency, we have equipment and services suited to the Internet age and the digitalization of practices.
The Information Services Directorate now steers the organization as part of our associative project. The teams of this new ISD will be responsible for implementing the four orientations defined in “CapAsso IRSAM” to prepare the association for the arrival of “digital health”.
Develop and support digital tools for professionals and ensure accessibility for supported people to serve their autonomy and exercise of citizenship.
Act for cybersecurity to guarantee continuity of support and data protection.
Develop digital tools adapted to current needs and establish continuity and recovery plans in case of accidental or intentional interruptions.
Raise awareness among professionals and supported people for proper and responsible use of digital tools to improve quality of work life and autonomy.
For a century, the IRSAM Association has charted its course. This new journey undertaken as part of the associative project will not end in 2028. It will then be an opportunity to dock at port, measure the distance traveled, and set a new horizon.
People with disabilities express legitimate expectations to which public authorities strive to provide appropriate responses. The IRSAM associative project aims to integrate all these requirements and developments as best as possible, in order to jointly promote autonomy.
This is our horizon, in fidelity with our associative values. This is the course proposed to all actors of our association in service of a care and service offer that is set to evolve.
How do we know if we are on the right track? Better yet, how do we know we are achieving the goals set within the IRSAM associative project? The following success indicators can confirm this:
To best assess the effective achievement of these milestones, the IRSAM Association will dock each year to review planned actions. The objective: to take stock of new territories potentially explored, stops made along the way, possible issues encountered, and so on.
And in 2028, is it over? No, everything (re)starts. Or rather, everything continues in a spirit of continuous human and associative growth. 2028 is only a milestone, symbolic because it will be the occasion to set a new course in search of favorable winds. This new route may be completely different or may partially redirect us to deepen a previously known path.
Whatever path lies ahead, we will explore it by always adapting our action to the needs of each person, with a holistic and ecosystemic approach.
By embarking with the association through its “CapAsso IRSAM” project, all stakeholders—supported people, professionals, families, and partners—are called to co-create their shared destiny and give meaning to their actions, for a more inclusive society where everyone can live as a responsible and engaged citizen.
The President, the Board, the Administrative Council, and the management teams are the captains “at the helm” of the IRSAM ship. They are also the first ambassadors of the associative project to professionals, supported people, families, and partners of the IRSAM Association.
These young people and adults with disabilities, welcomed and supported at any age within IRSAM establishments, are determined, through the associative project, to embark on a collective adventure in pursuit of the greatest possible autonomy.
Whatever their role and mission within the association, these professionals form the crew of the IRSAM ship. The associative project, by setting the right course for the coming years, allows them to move forward together toward a shared horizon.
Parents or relatives of a person supported within the IRSAM Association are all invited to take an active part in the adventure. The associative project, by helping them better understand the stakes and benefits of the IRSAM service offer, encourages them to express themselves and engage in co-constructing future projects and developments.
“CapAsso IRSAM” is an adventure to be shared, including with external actors such as institutional or private partners of our association, our funders, network members, service providers, as well as friendly associations, federations, and companies. The associative project allows them to understand and support IRSAM’s commitment to developing a quality service offer in response to existing challenges.
