Spain has a high share of the working age population at risk of poverty or social exclusion and a high incidence of child poverty. While Spain has introduced a minimum income at the national level, social inclusion policies are the responsibility of the regions.

Spain has a high share of the working age population at risk of poverty or social exclusion and a high incidence of child poverty. While Spain has introduced a minimum income at the national level, social inclusion policies are the responsibility of the regions. At present, the coverage of the minimum income remains low and there are many differences in the design and implementation of social inclusion policies across regions, especially as a number of regions do not develop social inclusion strategies. There is also a lack of a multidimensional approach to social inclusion. This report develops options for new inclusion models that address current challenges and help formulate a coherent inclusion strategy. It also sets out a blueprint for developing a monitoring and evaluation framework. The recommendations aim to increase the effectiveness of minimum income policies and strengthen the co-ordination between social services, employment, health and housing.

Despite having advanced social protection systems, OECD countries still face challenges in identifying, enrolling, and providing benefits and services to all those in need. Even when programmes are well-designed and adequately funded, cumbersome enrolment processes and challenges in service and benefit delivery can be an obstacle to the full take-up of social programmes. Advances in digital technologies and data can go a long way towards making social protection more accessible and effective. This report presents a stocktaking of OECD governments’ strategies to identify individuals and groups in need, collect and link (potential) beneficiary data across administrative and survey sources, and apply data analytics and new technologies to improve programme enrolment and the benefit/service delivery experience – all with the objective of reaching people in need of support in OECD countries.

This report uses rich administrative data from different registers in Greece to evaluate the impact of two types of active labour market policies (ALMPs): wage subsidies and training for unemployed people.

This report builds on the OECD work on “government evaluations of COVID-19 responses”. It evaluates Belgium’s responses to the pandemic in terms of risk preparedness, crisis management, as well as public health, education, economic and fiscal, and social and labour market policies.

Social services in Spain are confronted with a series of challenges, including growing demand due to population ageing, changing family models, rising inequality and labour market changes. This report suggests ways to improve the legal context, move towards more universal services, strengthen quality, and move towards more evidence-based policies.

Written by leading experts from across Europe, this book provides a grounded exploration of innovation in the practice, research and education of social work. It focuses on the role of participation, collaboration and co-creation as key drivers of social innovation within these fields, providing practical examples of social entrepreneurship, people-centred design and participatory led innovation. The positive outcomes of local social innovations are analysed in the wider European framework, with reflections and recommendations for advancing innovation in policy, service provision, education and research.