Experiences of social inclusion scale (ESIS)

Social inclusion is a prominent political goal in the European Union (EU), and a large number of projects promoting the social inclusion have been initiated and funded. However, there is neither a common definition for social inclusion on the individual level nor a commonly shared way to measure it. The Experiences of social inclusion scale (ESIS), developed by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), is a brief closed survey instrument to assess self-reported experiences of social inclusion. It consists of ten statements based on a comprehensive framework on social inclusion. The ESIS was developed for population surveys and evaluating projects and interventions, and it is suitable for various target groups.

Studies show that the ESIS is strongly associated with different forms of deprivation. Differences in mean ESIS scores between groups can reveal unanticipated, “hidden” or intersectional gaps of welfare. Thus, they indicate societal groups to which social inclusion measures should be targeted. The ESIS can also be used to evaluate projects’ success in reaching the intended target groups and the projects’ effectiveness in promoting social inclusion among participants.

The ESIS has a great potential for mainstreaming. In Finland, it has been included to many large population surveys. In addition, about 200 public and third sector organisations working with the least privileged groups use the ESIS for evaluation purposes.

Problem addressed

Social inclusion has been on the EU’s policy agenda since the 1970s and has become a central political goal in Finland during the last decades. A large number of projects and interventions have been initiated to promote social inclusion among people in disadvantaged positions. However, there is neither a common definition for the concept of social inclusion on the individual level nor a commonly agreed measurement for it. While policies for social inclusion at local, regional, national and EU levels seek to address various problems of inequality, effective action would require deeper knowledge on least privileged people, to which interventions for social inclusion should be targeted the most. The ESIS provides a practical tool to identify such groups, regardless of various forms of disadvantage as e.g. socio-economic position, unemployment or health.

People living in the midst of difficulties may lack the motivation or even the capabilities to answer long questionnaires. The ESIS is short, easy to implement, and experience shows that it is easy to answer even for people from highly disadvantaged backgrounds.

Innovative solution

The Experience of social inclusion scale (ESIS) is a brief closed survey instrument to assess particularly subjective experiences of social inclusion. Hence, the ESIS reaches beyond traditional statistical parameters used for social inclusion and fills an important gap in the field. It measures the experience of inclusion with ten statements. The statements assess the respondent's experiences of belonging, meaningfulness, capabilities for action, and manageability in everyday life. The statements are based on a comprehensive framework on social inclusion emphasising quality of social interaction, belonging and getting heard, agency and opportunities to influence the course of life and the living environment. A five-step Likert-scale from “strongly disagree” to “completely agree” is used to answer the statements. The answers of the ten statements are summed up to a single score between 0 and 100, where higher scores indicate a stronger experience of social inclusion.

The ESIS is not context-specific and can be applied to various different target groups and interventions. It is suitable for population surveys and evaluation of projects and interventions promoting social inclusion, with groups rather than individuals. The ESIS has been thoroughly scientifically validated. The psychometric properties were very good, and all statements belong to one factor, i.e., the experience of inclusion.

Key results and benefits

The results of various population studies in Finland show that the ESIS is strongly associated with different forms of deprivation: unemployment, experiences of poverty, impaired health or working ability, lower education, loneliness, and severe psychosocial distress, for instance. Differences in the mean ESIS scores between groups can furthermore reveal unanticipated, “hidden” populations in which social inclusion is weak or that intersectional accumulation of disadvantage leads to strong vulnerability in regard to social inclusion: In Finland, the mean ESIS scores for schoolgirls are lower compared to boys, but sexual and gender minorities have even significantly lower means. Then again, among adult men the mean ESIS scores are slightly lower compared to women. Generally speaking, the ESIS helps to identify groups with weak social inclusion. Interventions for strengthening social inclusion should be targeted at such groups, and particularly to groups, in which a very weak experience of social inclusion (under 50 ESIS points) is common.

On the societal level, the experience of social inclusion is also linked to the questions of social stability and cohesion. Groups with strong feelings of resentment and low trust towards institutions tend to have lower ESIS scores. This combination can lead to openness towards disinformation and affinity towards extremism. Therefore, the ESIS can facilitate identifying groups to whom actions tackling extremism or crime, for instance, should be targeted.

In the evaluations of ESR projects and other interventions promoting social inclusion, the ESIS can be used to evaluate the projects’ success in reaching target groups in need for such interventions and the effectiveness in promoting social inclusion among participants. It also enables examining mechanisms that are linked to positive outcomes.

The ESIS has been applied successfully to hard-to-survey populations. The experiences of using ESIS have been promising. It is easily added in surveys, and from the viewpoint of respondents the scale is easy to answer and encourages reflecting one’s own life and experiences.

Potential for mainstreaming

The ESIS has a great potential for mainstreaming. Since 2017 it has been included many large population surveys of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the cities of Helsinki and Vantaa, the Päijät-Häme wellbeing services county and, the Ministry of Interior, for instance. In addition, about 200 public and third sector organisations working with the least privileged groups have used the ESIS for evaluation purposes.

The ESIS is also used in Germany in research conducted by the University of Ulm. Furthermore, researchers from Turkey, India, Philippines, Iran, and the USA have expressed interest in using ESIS. However, worldwide monitoring of the use is difficult.

There are no known cultural restrictions for using ESIS. To date, the ESIS has been translated to over 20 languages. These language versions were successfully used among immigrant groups in the THL’s MoniSuomi-population survey in 2022. In the school health surveys, the youngest respondents were 14 years old, and ESIS was found working well among them. It is, therefore, suitable for adolescents a well as adults. However, for example illiteracy, disabilities, lack of basic IT skills or devices may challenge the use of ESIS.