Introduction and conclusion available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. The turn towards a Social Investment approach to welfare implies deploying resources to enhance human capital and mobilise the productive potential of citizens, starting in early childhood. This edited collection brings regional and local realities to the forefront of social investment debates by showcasing successes, challenges and setbacks of Social Investment policies and services from ten European countries: Italy, UK, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Spain. It provides practical, accessible illustrations of good practice, routes to success, and lessons learned. The book is informed throughout by engagement with service users and local communities, and features many previously unheard voices including front-line workers, local decision makers, volunteers and beneficiaries.

The turn towards a Social Investment approach to welfare implies deploying resources to enhance human capital and mobilise the productive potential of citizens, starting in early childhood. This edited collection brings regional and local realities to the forefront of social investment debates by showcasing successes, challenges and setbacks of Social Investment policies and services from ten European countries: Italy, UK, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Spain. It provides practical, accessible illustrations of good practice, routes to success, and lessons learned. The book is informed throughout by engagement with service users and local communities, and features many previously unheard voices including front-line workers, local decision makers, volunteers and beneficiaries.

This timely book critically examines the European Social Model as a contested concept and concrete set of European welfare and governance arrangements. It offers a theoretical and empirical analysis of new economic models and existing European investment strategies to address key issues within post-Covid-19 Europe.

Introduction and conclusion available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. The turn towards a Social Investment approach to welfare implies deploying resources to enhance human capital and mobilise the productive potential of citizens, starting in early childhood. This edited collection brings regional and local realities to the forefront of social investment debates by showcasing successes, challenges and setbacks of Social Investment policies and services from ten European countries: Italy, UK, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Spain. It provides practical, accessible illustrations of good practice, routes to success, and lessons learned. The book is informed throughout by engagement with service users and local communities, and features many previously unheard voices including front-line workers, local decision makers, volunteers and beneficiaries.

It is commonly shared the idea that social innovation is the creation of social value by solving social problems. Accordingly, social innovation can be deemed to be the production of new solutions to social problems in a more effective, efficient, and sustainable way. Analyzing the consequences of the current economic crisis and its impact on health care services, there is who has advanced the idea that social innovation can constitute an effective strategy to counter-balance the retrenchment of public social provision.This book tackles the multiple facets of social innovation focusing on its relationship with the new technologies and the new forms of entrepreneurship.

Governments across the WHO European Region need to take urgent action to address the growing public health inequality economic and environmental challenges in order to achieve sustainable development (meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs) and to ensure health and well-being for present and future generations. Based on a scoping review this report concludes that current investment policies and practices (doing business as usual) are unsustainable with high costs to individuals families communities societies the economy and the planet. Investment in public health policies that are based on values and evidence provides effective and efficient inclusive and innovative solutions that can drive social economic and environmental sustainability. Investing for health and well-being is a driver and an enabler of sustainable development and vice versa and it empowers people to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for all.

This study of the theory and practice of professional social investment offers a conceptual foundation for investment policy and research and reviews empirical studies supporting new directions in investment policies.