In social services, we may believe we’re doing things correctly and in the best possible way, but without proper assessment, we don’t really know whether our services deliver good-quality social care. To help authorities create up-to-date quality standards and set up their own evaluation systems, the European Social Network (ESN) created a European Framework for Quality in Social Services. Based on this framework, ESN has been working with the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa in Spain to establish its local quality assessment framework and set up ‘Agentzia’ – a local agency for assessing social services quality. This initiative is an example of how international cooperation and social services leaders’ determination can drive local service improvement. Gipuzkoa’s experience and its joint work with the European Social Network can offer key learnings for any authority creating or reviewing its own quality assessment system wishing to engage with ESN to help them in the process. 

Building and reviewing systems based on international practice

To develop its model, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa has been working internationally with ESN.  In 2022, ESN helped organise study visits to ESN Members in Sweden and Scotland, which inspired the agency's creation and its working methods. Another cornerstone was the work done by the ESN Working Group on Quality in Social Services, which in 2025 presented its proposal for a European Framework for Quality in Social Services, which became the blueprint for the local quality assessment framework and was adapted to local needs through a co-produced process with local service providers and service user representatives, and the support provided by ESN throughout the process. 

Measuring quality-based outcomes for the person 

“We want to evaluate whether people live better and whether their quality of life improves”, said Eider Mendoza, General Deputy of Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, at the presentation of the new agency. To do so, the new quality standards in Gipuzkoa will be based on the views and expectations of people using the service, expressed as I-statements. These statements describe expected service outcomes such as: “I feel safe with the staff taking care of me”. The person's view is complemented by the provider's view in the form of a We-Statement: “We employ staff with whom people feel safe in our service.” Together, I- and We-statements form an outcome-based quality standard, as recommended by ESN’s European Framework for Quality in Social Services. ‘Agentzia’ will evaluate whether these outcomes are attained through evaluation visits, interviews with people using services, and reviews of key documents such as care plans. 

Joining forces with other quality improvement bodies 

Gipuzkoa’s ‘Agentzia’ will not only encourage permanent improvement as a guiding principle for local social services – it will also apply this principle to itself. To that end, Gipuzkoa Provincial Council has proposed to work with ESN tothe foster mutual learning between quality assurance agencies and authorities members of ESN. As a first step, ESN Members responsible for assuring quality in social services in Belgium, France, Ireland, and Sweden spoke at the launch event. 

Niamh O’Rourke, Deputy Director for National Standards for Health and Social Care at Ireland's National Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), said: “Over the last 15 years, HIQA has worked to improve the quality of life of those accessing care in Ireland… We believe the establishment of similar agency in Gipuzkoa will set the benchmark of quality for services to provide and for service users to expect.” 

ESN CEO, Alfonso Lara Montero, offered support for the community and encouraged authorities to use the ESN quality framework: “The Gipuzkoa experience shows that our Quality Framework can be the starting point for building person-centred, outcome-based evaluation practice. We are key partners to support authorities at all levels in adapting and creating quality assurance systems.”