ECSILI - Empowering Communities is a European project introducing new procedures and responsibilities for social services to enhance inclusion support provided to Ukrainian refugees. It is based on two pillars: integrated case management and individualised support.  

As project coordinator, the European Social Network (ESN) recently participated in two monitoring visits to the cities currently implementing the model, Warsaw, Poland and Arad, Romania. We wanted to see how the two pillars are taking shape in practice, and the project’s impact on Ukrainian refugees.  

Learning from integrated case management 

Before ECSILI, the Warsaw Family Support Centre (WCPR), the city’s refugee support provider, had no professional ties with the city’s Labour Office (UP), resulting in limited and ineffective outreach to Ukrainians in need of employment.  

Under ECSILI, the two departments have now established a formal collaboration. The Labour Office leverages its database of unemployed Ukrainians to invite them to become part of the programme and then proceeds with a first assessment of their inclusion needs. Dossiers are then passed to the Family Support Centre and a shared responsibility for their follow up is maintained, creating an integrated case management procedure.  

In Arad, collaboration across services includes the County Labour Office and two third sector organisations. Centrul de Vis, a Ukrainian refugee-led organisation, connects Ukrainian refugees to social services. Once there, case managers assess their needs and can refer them to the Labour Office for job searches. They can also refer them to Romanian language classes organised by the Union of Ukrainians in Romania if appropriate. Progress of the pathway is then jointly assessed by all participating organisations. 

Despite its successes, settling into new tasks and procedures requires more time than this eighth-month pilot grants. Nonetheless, the cities are taking the opportunity to understand how these collaborations can be formalised further to endure  beyond the project’s original lifespan. 

Strengthening individualised support  

The model also relies on each participant’s co-creation of an Individualised Action Plan with an assigned case manager, setting inclusion goals such as attendance of psychological resilience trainings or local language classes and CV restructuring. Case managers are responsible for keeping individuals motivated through continuous follow-ups.  

To best design these plans, the project introduced a digital skills profiling tool, matching skills rather than educational qualifications to careers, allowing participants to evaluate opportunities beyond the usually trodden paths. For example, an architect was pointed towards leveraging mathematics and project management skills to enter the field of business and administration, with the app going as far as to suggest careers like “manufacturing cost estimator” and “solar energy consultant”.  

The new way of working is yielding promising results, with refugees praising the idea of skills-profession matchmaking, especially since recognition of foreign diplomas is one of the main hurdles to finding a suitable job.  

Tracking impact 

During the visits, ESN interviewed some of the refugees participating in the programme, learning about specific needs, their ongoing struggles, and the tangible effects of the project.  

During these interviews, the importance of the one-to-one relationship established with a case manager was repeatedly highlighted. One of the participants mentioned her appreciation for the case manager’s proactivity in suggesting tailored solutions without requiring an in-depth problem explanation: “She informed me about possibilities that I did not even know”. In her case, this resulted in the successful submission of the disability status of her father, granting him access to free medical treatments and a subsistence income.  

Another interviewee praised the support received in the process of having their Ukrainian diploma recognised, a pivotal stepping stone in getting appropriate, quality employment in a new country.  

While time and resources for the ECSILI project are limited, with the pilot ending in July 2026, the cities are committing to building a whole-person care approach. This mirrors the view of Alfonso Lara Montero, ESN’s CEO, who stated that,“professionals need to work in collaboration with one another but especially with people using services”.  

In a short time, ECSILI has shown what can be done when innovation is at the forefront, channelling efforts to making this approach the ‘new normal’.  

Learn more about ECSILI here.