Set up of a rehabilitation clinic in Tbilisi Georgia Applicant Heap Research B.V. is specialised in the development of medical services in emerging markets. Local partner Medison Ltd owns and operates a number of privatised outpatient clinics in Georgia. The partners will set up a joint venture according to Georgian law. The project will be located in one of the local partner's medical centres in Tbilisi.In cooperation with a team of medical specialists from the Academic Medical Centre (AMC) in Amsterdam, rehabilitation centre Roessingh in Enschede and the HEAP/Artmed clinic in Yerevan, Armenia, the partners plan to open a clinic with a comprehensive approach to rehabilitation care. The focus of the clinic will be on patients suffering from orthopaedic trauma, stroke, and cerebral palsy. The concept is completely new to Georgia. Patients in need of the care offered by the new joint venture now have to go abroad to receive treatment. In practice, most of them receive no professional care at all. Nineteen physicians, three doctors and a number of nurses will be trained and supported by professionals from leading institutions in the field of rehabilitative care in the Netherlands. In total, the project will create 38 new jobs.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The partners already formulated a set of CSR principles to which both companies as well as the joint venture will adhere to. The partners will set up a Health, Safety and Environment council, which will review performance in this fields, develop the appropriate standards and procedures and oversee the company’s internal HS&E auditing process. Furthermore, the partners pledge to implement ethical business practices, equal opportunities and non-discrimination toward employees, and being a ‘responsible corporate citizen’.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsThe employees will receive extensive training in the Netherlands and receive support from experienced therapists for the duration of the project. The partners plan to pay the employees 10% above industry average wages. For almost all employees this will amount to a living wage.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThe multidisciplinary approach to treatment and rehabilitation is new to Georgia. This is confirmed in a number of support letters from Georgian medical institutions and independent experts in the local medical industry. Product for patients with chronic conditions based on a new concept of a multi-disciplinary approach of treatment and rehabilitation focusing on initiating therapy in patients and the establishment of an individual treatment and development plan for each patient. This comprehensive approach which assesses patients in medical, psychological, developmental and social aspects is new to Georgia.•	Chain effectsMedicine and medical consumables will be procured from two or three wholesale companies representing international suppliers.Comprehensive rehabilitative care is currently not available in Georgia. Patients who can afford it, and those who have health insurance that covers this type of care, go to Germany, Israel, Turkey or Ukraine to receive treatment. This project will make such care accessible to a larger group of consumers.•	Impact on the sectorSome collaboration with other medical facilities is foreseen. The partners will co-operate with doctor’s associations in order to inform their members on the advantages of comprehensive rehabilitation.•	EnvironmentNeutral impact.•	Position of womenThe project creates twenty medium-/high-level jobs for women. To set up a clinic for comprehensive rehabilitation care where a team of 22 therapists can offer 30,400 hours of patient care per year.