Local partnerships of social inclusion: a tool for active employment policy

1
Local partnerships of social inclusion a tool
for active employment policy?

• Zuzana Kusá David Kostlán
• Institute for Sociology Slovak Academy of
  Sciences
• Second ASPEN conference Activation and Security
• Stream 2 Employment friendly policies in
  Post-Communist Europe activation as security?
• March 20-21, 2009,
• Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

2
Outline

• Main questions
• Social Development Fund (SDF) and local
  partnership of social inclusion (LPSI) as
  employment policy tool ideas, mission
• Governing structure of SDF and LPSI
• Implementation history
• Experiences with micro-projects
• Developmental convolutions of SDF and their
  impact on activation/social inclusion policies in
  (small) communities.
• Cultural context and governing barriers for
  working of LPSI
• Conclusions

3
Main questions

• How does a new context matter for effectiveness
  of SDF and LPSI as transferred policy tool?
• How does the changing governance and financing
  framework of the SDF and LPSI shape the profile
  and implementation of the transferred policy?
• Which conditions for activating those farest
  from labour market were not sufficiently
  fulfilled by SDF and LPSI?

4
SDF and LPSI as a complementary to ALMP reform

• 2004 ALMP reform (Act No. 4/2004)
• fixed variety of employment services and
  measures (exception of pilot projects)
• Centrally set rules of regional variation of
  their provision
• specified categories of disadvantaged jobseekers
  as target groups (Reg. 2204/2002 Com)
• delivered by labour offices
• funded from SOP Human Resources as
  implementation of national programmes (drawing of
  ESF)

• 2004 Establishment of FDS (Decree of Ministry of
  LSAF) as the main instrument of
• mainstreaming the Roma issue
• operation in selected areas with highest level of
  depression
• assisting disadvantaged communities in unequal
  position in competition for structural funds
• executing comprehensive strategies including
  housing, health, economic activities and
  education through cross-sectoral interventions
• facilitating community participation on
  preparation of local social inclusion strategies
  and projects tailored to target groups needs
• implementation of NPVI of the SOP Human
  Resources

5
Social capital approach of the WB as the basis of
SDF and LPSI programmes
sustainability of projects and its outcomes
reflecting the needs of community
Partnership governance and cooperation
Preparation of projects
Participation of target groups
6
SDF and LPSI in the NAP inclusion

• (Fund) shall solve the problem of poverty and
  social exclusion of at-risk groups in the SR
  directly in the afflicted area or region. Its
  objective is to help the separated and
  segregated Roma communities to become the object
  and at the same time also the subject of the
  projects (), which the Fund is preparing to
  realise by means of stimulating the community
  development of the afflicted area. (NAP 2004
  47),

7
Organizational structure of SDF
Steering Committee
8
Activation by micro-projects

• supports of the bottom up initiatives
• direct involvement of vulnerable groups
• stimulating motivation of all actors by
  formulating realistic reachable goals that are
  within view.

9
Developmental convolution of SDF

• Low share of co-financing but need of pre-payment
  was not envisaged
• understaffed financial administration in
  headquarters
• Required two-level financial control was not
  secured
• Necesssity for governance change (from final
  beneficiary to intermediate body of managing
  authority)
• Development of more complex administrative
  structure in headquarters at the expense of
  closing down regional and local structure of the
  SDF (Gov.Res. 856/2006)
• New programming period (2007- 2013)
• Openning SDF to the whole country (except
  Bratislava) calls for high costs projects Roma
  community losses its position of privileged
  target group, Calls for LPSI make work on local
  inclusion strategy the core activity

• No advance-payment
• protracted reimbursment of payments
• Suspension of microproject cycles
• SDF structures leaving the depressed areas
• Target groups experiencing distance from LPSI
  paper work

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Consequences of instability of rules and
discontinuity of LPSI activities

• Loss of trust of target groups (especially after
  the halt of micro-projects)
• Experienced collaborators are leaving
• Worsening position of LPSI in communities, in
  relation to public sector, loss of social
  capital

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Cultural/political barriers to effectiveness of
the SDF and LPSI

• missing legal definition of social inclusion
• narrowed concept of social inclusion as access to
  labour market
• universalisation of competetive principle (even
  the most disadvantaged should compete for
  resources)
• flat understanding of social justice (positive
  action/evening out policies are perceived as
  favouritism
• insufficient backing of the SDF and LPSI by the
  governmental strategic documents
• short institutional memory lack of continuity

12
Governance and financial regime barriers to the
effectiveness of SDF and LPSI

• Dominant funding of activation/bottom up projects
  from structural funds results in
• necessary subordination to the n 2 rule ?
  insecurity, preference of individual survival
  strategies to collective interests
• importance of absorbing capacity? preference
  of high-cost projects
• ? exclusion of disadvantaged groups living in
  depressed areas from competition.
• This practice rather diminishes the chance of
  long term investments in regeneration and
  activation of the most disadvantaged areas.

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Conclusions

• Systematic pressures to reduce public
  expenditures promotes one-sided dependence of
  employment and welfare programmes on ESF and the
  rules of their drawing.
• Universalisation of competitive principle and
  lack of political will to justify positive
  action can cause that prospects of disadvantaged
  groups living in depressed areas in the new
  programming period would not increase

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Thank you for your attention!