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22nd European Social Services Conference

 

This article is also available in français, español, italiano, deutsch

 

 

Our 22nd European Social Services Conference took place in Rome on 7-9 July, in cooperation with the Italian Presidency of the EU. With over 400 delegates from 31 countries in Europe and beyond, social services managers and directors, key policy makers and practitioners, service users, representatives from academia and the private sector, the event focused on reform and social investment in Europe.

 

 

Throughout three days of intense discussions, four plenary sessions and 30 workshops, there was a clear message supporting the need to transform our services to deliver better outcomes for people and communities. In particular, four directions for change have emerged as key to building a more caring and inclusive society.

 

 

Social investment and the future of a social Europe

 

 

At a time when the European social model has come under pressure due to difficult socio-economic circumstances and public authorities facing increasing demands and decreasing budgets, the European Social Services Conference came at an important moment at the beginning of the Italian EU Presidency. Poverty and social exclusion have increased dramatically in recent years, leading to growing inequalities, and even the recent economic recovery has been very fragile. Any solutions to these problems will require compensating the current low levels of investment with citizen-oriented public investment. Investing in people and communities is key to building inclusive and prosperous societies, thus investing in social services is the smart and sustainable way forward.

 

 

Nicola Zingaretti, President of the Lazio Region in Italy and László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, were two of the speakers who brought interesting viewpoints on the topic. Read more.

 

 

Working in partnerships

 

 

Working in partnerships and across sectors plays a crucial role in the design of services that promote economic and social investment. Considering the changing economic and social situation in Europe, speakers at the conference underlined that cooperation within the public sector and with the private sector are important for the efficient delivery of services, based on the needs and assets of the service users. The cooperation between the care sector and architects, for example by promoting accessibility and building engaging community spaces, can foster autonomy and social participation. A successful cooperation across sectors involves minimising sectoral and professional barriers, as well as fostering a dialogue between the private and public sector. Social impact investment plays an important role as it combines the values of the social sector with commercial interests. This can create both social impact and sustainable financial return. Local authorities are key to establishing infrastructures that promote a discourse about the right kind of social investment with different stakeholders, based on local issues and needs.

 

 

Karl Richter, CEO of Engaged Investment in the UK, and Lucina Caravaggi, Professor at La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy, shared their thoughts and experiences. Read more.

 

 

Evidence-based practice

 

 

The economic crisis has revealed that service users have not fully benefited from social care interventions, but experienced disadvantages, even in countries with high public spending. The limited level of knowledge concerning successful social policy interventions, the lack of clear targets for interventions and poor implementation of policies in terms of quality and leadership meant that there is a need to rethink social policy. In many countries there is still a need to integrate an evaluation approach into the policy development process. This refers to mapping the evaluation process alongside the cycle of policy implementation, as well as selecting the appropriate methods for collection and analysis of data and evidence. The next steps forward are the creation and use of knowledge of what works, with a shift on evidence-based methods, as well as a focus on progression, rehabilitation and inclusion.

 

 

José-Luis Fernández from the PSSRU, London School of Economics in the UK, Knud Aarup, CEO of the Danish National Board of Social Services in Denmark and other speakers shared their views. Read more.

 

 

User participation

 

 

Involving service users and their families in the design, delivery and evaluation of services is key to ensuring that those who are ‘experts by experience’ have a say in how services are delivered and will help ensure that services respond effectively to the needs of citizens. In this way, demand-steered support works best and services are more responsive to the needs of users, rather than users having to adapt to the structure of service provision. Therefore, investing in people directly, for example by promoting personal budgets for people with disabilities, enables those with care needs to live independently and to organise their own support.

 

 

Read more about what Peter Lambreghts from the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) and other presenters had to say on the topic.

 

 

More resources from the 22nd European Social Services Conference