2015 promises to be a busy and exciting year for ESN. We have many projects planned, working with our members to develop new knowledge and bring innovation to the design and delivery of social services.

ESN’s annual work programme for 2015 will continue to play a key role in supporting the concept of social investment throughout the life course in order to contribute to ensuring a sustained economic recovery.

This year we will work specifically on service integration. This will be the theme of a number of our meetings, such as our working groups on ageing and care and disability. Our work on youth services will include a workshop to identify coordinated approaches between education, employment and social services. A seminar will look at the European context in the field of integration of social services with other sectors.

This year we will continue with our research project Investing in Children’s Services, Improving Outcomes and a third peer review featuring five additional countries: Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Romania. Our Reference Group on the European Semester will analyse and assess the National Reform Programmes and Country-Specific Recommendations in the framework of the European Semester. We will hold a forum for applied researchers and practitioners to exchange evidence implementation in a number of social services related areas.

Finally, the 23rd European Social Services Conference will take place in Lisbon on 6-8 July 2015 and discuss partnerships across sectors and services to provide better outcomes for people.

ESN members can access the full schedule of activities in the Members’ Area

For any questions on our annual work programme, don’t hesitate to get in touch.