The schappo Commission awarded Innovage Nordwestschweiz the 54th Prix Schappo in 2025. Ajita Chowhan spoke with Barbara Leishman, a member of the Innovage Northwest Switzerland Network since 2017.
mozaik Tell us a bit about your career as a professional before you retired.
Barbara Leishman I left salaried employment at the end of 2016 but continued an unpaid governance role for an international organisation until 2024. Since joining Innovage, my level of professional engagement has remained relatively unchanged. When I first came to Switzerland in 1976, I worked in a Justice Department children’s home for 2 years. After two years, I started at Roche, where I stayed for 38 years, ultimately progressing to a senior role in clinical research. I have had many challenging opportunities over the years, which have fostered critical thinking, resourcefulness, and innovation, as well as developed professional skills such as leadership, project management, and communication.
What is the history of how Innovage came to be?
Building on an idea from Germany, Migros-Kulturprozent established a team comprising experts from the fields of education and social work, as well as the University of Lucerne, to work on a project that would be sustainable for Swiss conditions. They began work in 2005 and launched a pilot with three networks in 2006. Following an intensive development phase, Innovage.ch, the umbrella organisation, was founded in 2010 with six member networks. Since then, three additional networks have joined, bringing the total to nine across Switzerland.
What did winning Prix Schappo mean for you and Innovage?
Clearly, it brought us a lot of publicity and recognition. We also see it as a validation of the work we do and, indirectly, for our clients. It allowed us to talk about our organisation with people who saw the posters in town. And it also opens doors for us as an organisation that has received public endorsement at the highest level.
What kind of projects does Innovage handle?
Innovage supports only non-profit organisations. Each project is unique, memorable, and addresses an unmet need. We have worked closely together with many organisations to address a wide range of challenges. We also have our own projects: Collegium 60plus NWS, ScratchKids, and Pensioniert! Und jetzt? And a previous initiative of ours, now independent, is PUMA, which won the Prix Schappo in 2022.
What kind of clients do you get?
Our clients represent the entire gamut of activities in the non-profit space, and are non-political and non-denominational in nature – charities, clubs, and cooperatives covering a wide range of needs, including children, seniors, health, education, organic gardening, cultural activities, and sports. Their needs are multiple and varied. Often, we are approached to help with one activity, such as fundraising or publicity, and subsequently identify other fundamental challenges. Some of the primary needs include fundraising, strategy, governance, organisational restructuring, communication and marketing, business planning, finding and retaining volunteers, and crisis management. Basically, anything needed to help a nonprofit operate effectively and sustainably.
We must adapt our approach to suit the context, which can take various forms, ranging from quick reviews to comprehensive consulting engagements. Everyone is different. One person looks forward to retirement as a chance to realise neglected creative potential, travel, pursue hobbies, perform voluntary work, or share more time with friends and family. Another sorely misses the shared purpose and camaraderie of the workplace, the structure of regular work, or even the prestige and status that come with their position.
Innovage in Numbers
Over the 15 years since its founding, the nine networks comprising Innovage.ch have worked on approximately 1’800 projects. Nationwide, Innovage had 160 – 170 members for several years. Innovage Nordwestschweiz has supported approximately 200 organisations since its founding, and the membership in NWS has hovered around 26 – 28 for several years.
Website: www.innovage.ch
Mail: info(at)innovage.ch
Do you get paid for the work you do?
No: all our work is done voluntarily. Last year alone, our network worked approximately 5000 person-hours for Innovage.
Let’s talk about life after retirement, ageing, and the sense of loss of purpose when an individual retires.
It is precisely this situation that we address in our offering, Retired! What now? (Pensioniert! Und jetzt?). In this short workshop for impending retirees and their partners, we address the many changes that retirees and their families face when they step back from salaried employment. This course can be booked via our Collegium website. For those who wish to remain active in a meaningful role after retirement, there are unlimited opportunities for voluntary work: Benevol is a good place to start looking, but countless clubs and organisations are looking for support, be it a one-off activity such as handing out water bottles at a sporting event or a longer-term commitment such as serving on a club committee. Of course, Innovage is an option for those who wish to explore new opportunities to apply their professional skills. Our project, Collegium 60plus NWS, provides a platform for individuals who want to share their knowledge and hobbies with others, or learn something new in small, informal groups. So retirement does not need to be a daunting prospect – here are plenty of opportunities on offer!
How can someone participate in Innovage and in what capacity?
We are seeking individuals who wish to utilise their professional skills and experience in a consultancy role, serving nonprofit organisations. If the activities described on our website appeal to you, the first step is to contact us via our online contact form. We will then arrange an in-depth interview to determine if this is the right fit for you. We require a range of professional and specialist skills for our consultancy work with clients, including strategy, project management, finance, social work, and marketing. However, we also need help in running our own organisation, so we welcome those willing to serve on committees or working groups within Innovage, for example, in roles related to communication, administration, or technical skills such as IT, web design, or graphic design. Our biggest challenge is ensuring that we have enough qualified members to support both client projects and our own projects, as well as to help us run our own organisation.
Ajita Chowhan, Editor of Neighborhood News