European Call for Proposal in the field of Social Services

Supporting Reforms in Social Services

The European Call for Proposals VP/2014/008 “EaSI 2014-2020: For Social Policy Innovations Supporting Reforms in Social Services” has been published by the European Commission, Directorate Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion.

The overall purpose of the current “For Social Policy Innovations Supporting Reforms in Social Services” call managed by the European Commission is to foster innovation and reforms in the social services to tackle the main challenges identified above and to develop innovative responses corresponding to national, regional and local realities and in line with the social investment approach. This call foreseen under EaSI Progress axis promotes the social policy experimentation as a method for testing and evaluating innovative solutions with a view to up-scaling them.

 

The current  “For Social Policy Innovations Supporting Reforms in Social Services” European call for proposals has two objectives:

- using social policy innovations for undertaking structural reforms in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, in particular the Country Specific Recommendations received by the Member States as part of the European Semester;

- strengthening partnerships between public, private and civil society sector to involve in awareness raising activities about the use and benefits of social policy innovation.

 

The “For Social Policy Innovations Supporting Reforms in Social Services” European call for proposals aims to support innovative reforms of service delivery with evidence of improved outcomes, achieved through strengthened partnerships between public, private and civil society stakeholders, including social entrepreneurs and social NGOs. The proposals should present long term perspectives on how successful innovations and reforms will be designed, tested and implemented. Social policy innovation is key to support evidence-based reforms to improve the access, affordability, coverage, efficiency and effectiveness of integrated social services. Accordingly, innovation in social services means new practices, policies or processes to meet newly emerging social needs and needs that are not sufficiently met by current practices. This may involve improving the delivery, availability, quality, affordability, effectiveness and efficiency of an existing service or creating a new service which better meet citizens' needs.

 

Focus areas of the “For Social Policy Innovations Supporting Reforms in Social Services”  European call for proposals are the following:

- one-stop-shop approach: an advanced form of integration which comprises multi-service delivery in a single location and with a stronger coordination between services but it can also lead to the creation of a single body with a more or less autonomous decision making authority which implies more deep structural changes. The integration of social services through setting up 'one-stop-shops' has potential for cost efficiency, the effectiveness of the delivery and the capacity to tackle complex and multiple problems while also ensuring take-up and coverage;

- personalised approaches: a case handler is a form of integrated service at the level of the individual. For instance, in a multidisciplinary team, one team member could act as the case manager and ensure the coordination between the team members and the user. More integrated approaches rely on an intensive case management where the case manager coordinates the services for the user, especially for users facing complex and long-term needs. The outreach, and the thus the coverage, of social services could be increased through the use and training of high quality case handlers, able to assess and provide individualised guidance to people’s needs;

-  innovative partnerships: could include relevant private and public entities, as well as civil society organisations. Social policy innovations in social services can take place in public, private and civil society sectors, but also at the intersection of them. Innovative partnerships can include an increased share of information (through integrated databases) as a first step, but could also result in agreements on shared approaches or, in a more advanced form, agreement on setting up a formal governing body. Fostering such partnerships promotes complementarities and synergies between actors, encourages further social innovations within a context of limited resources and rising costs, and creates the premises for sustainable cooperation beyond the particular intervention.

 

The scope of the co-financed actions under the current “For Social Policy Innovations Supporting Reforms in Social Services” European call for proposals in the framework of EaSI programme is:

  • pay particular attention to vulnerable groups, such as young people;
  • promote equality between women and men;
  • reduce discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
  • promote a high-level of quality and sustainable employment, guarantee adequate and decent social protection, combat long-term unemployment and fight against poverty and social exclusion.

 

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of the action is estimated at EUR 9 200 000 maximum. The grant requested must be 750 000 € minimum and 2 000 000 € maximum. The European Union financial aid granted will not exceed 80% of the total eligible costs of the action. The consortium members must guarantee the co-financing in cash of the remaining 20%. Contributions in kind are not accepted as co-financing. The duration of the project must be between 24 months and 36 months. The Commission reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

 

The deadline for submitting proposals in the framework of the current “For Social Policy Innovations Supporting Reforms in Social Services” call for proposals is 30 July 2014.

 

Further information on the current call for proposals is available on the European Commission’s web site at: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=629&langId=en&callId=408&furtherCalls=yes