The annual European Social Services Awards (ESSA) acknowledge outstanding achievements in social services, shining a spotlight on successful new approaches and the extraordinary ongoing work of public social services managers, funders, planners, providers, and deliverers of social services.
Since its inception, the Awards have honoured over 320 finalists from across Europe and the wider international community, and have brought together more than 950 participants.
The theme for the 2025 edition of the European Social Services Awards was ‘Social Services: Creating Lasting Change.’ Under this theme, the Awards recognised the organisations and people that are rethinking their services to provide impactful, long-term solutions for the people and communities they support, delivering future-proofed social services to break the cycles of disadvantage.
ESSA 2025 Winners
Social Services Delivery Innovation Award
Elevating Standards: A Journey through Care in Practice, Northern Ireland Social Care Council, United Kingdom
Digital Transformation and Technology in Social Services Award
Bağ-Kart: A Digital Model for Efficient and Inclusive Social Assistance, Bağcılar Municipality and Istanbul Bakers' Association, Türkiye
Strengthening Communities and Social Inclusion Award
Bucharest's 6th District Local Food Bank”, Bucharest 6th District City Council - General Directorate for Social Care and Child Protection, Romania
Public Sector Collaboration in Social Services Award
Local Care Ecosystem, Department of Care and Social Policy - Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Spain
Research for Social Services Award
NUSO – National Follow-up of the Social Services Transition, The Swedish Association of Social Services Directors (FSS), The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) and Karlstad University (KAU), Sweden
Disability and Accessibility in Social Services Award
Active Every Day, City of Warsaw, Poland
Public-Private Partnership in Social Services Award
Empowering Social Workers with AI at Dumfries and Galloway Council, Magic Notes in partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Council, UK
Children, Families, and Youth Support Award
The Miriam Project, CPAS (Social Services of Brussels City), Belgium
Ageing and Long-Term Care Excellence Award
Connecting Generations through Fairy Tales, Fabijoniškės Social Services Home (Vilnius City Council), Lithuania
Leadership in Social Services Award
Transforming Disability Services in Malta - Oliver Scicluna, Agenzija Sapport, Malta
Read all the details of the seventh edition of the Awards below: