The Social sErviceS helpdesK on EU Funds (SESK) is a 24-month project funded by the European Social Fund+. Led by a consortium of 16 organisations/ networks with members from across Europe, its aim is to provide the building blocks of a Social Services Helpdesk that will support social services in accessing and using EU funds and help Managing Authorities use EU funds to finance quality interventions in the field of social services.
Additionally, the Helpdesk project aims to foster relationships between the managing authorities and the authorities responsible for designing social services, creating a dialogue and a reciprocal collaboration with common vision to improve social services access to EU funding and therefore contribute to tackle social challenges across Europe through cooperation and good practice exchange.
As well as a website and online resource centre, the project will also produce a Toolkit on Facilitating ESF+ and ERDF for Social Services, a Guidance on Effective Interventions in Social Services and a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), to support public social services applying for EU funds.
ESN, as the organisation which represents public social services and a growing number of Managing Authorities, is responsible for making sure they are actively engaged in all project activities and that their needs and challenges are equally reflected and represented.
ESN also assists in facilitating the exchange and cooperation between Managing Authorities, social services, and the European Commission to ensure that funding priorities are based on an assessment of social needs so that investments target programmes that respond to these needs.
In April 2023, a Helpdesk webinar was conducted to showcase the primary findings of the evidence gathering effort. During the event, representatives from both national and European sectors shared their insights and recommendations based on these findings. The webinar recording is accessible through this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9nhPb9ZTIo
In May 2023, ESN hosted a three-day event in Brussels centered around the theme Tools to Facilitate and Manage EU Funding. The workshop catered to managing authorities, entities responsible for social services planning and coordination, intermediate bodies, and experienced social service providers in managing ESF+ and ERDF for social services.
More recently, in October 2023, ESN organized a three-day training workshop on EU funding in Stockholm, Sweden. This workshop specifically targeted beginners within the social services sector who work with submitting project proposals and developing project activities funded by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+).
For more information, contact Eleni Kefallinou at eleni.kefallinou@esn-eu.org and Vesa Latifi at vesa.latifi@esn-eu.org