Problem addressed

As a result of the economic and financial crisis in 2008, the unemployment rate in the Piedmont region of northern Italy increased from 5.1% in 2008 to 11.3% in 2014, increasing the risk of poverty and social exclusion. The region’s welfare system was not equipped to deal with this situation, with a fragmented approach to social service delivery and a large number of disparate entities implementing social actions according to their own regulations and practices.

Innovative solution

WE.CA.RE (Welfare Cantiere Regionale) is a social innovation strategy conceptualised by the Piedmont region in 2017 that aims to make the most of EU funding by bringing together social actors in the region. It provides a regional framework to enhance coordination between actors and actions supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Through doing so it aims to improve the way that welfare services are delivered in the region by enhancing local governance and bringing public entities, third sector organisations and businesses together to offer more effective integrated services to people in need.

The strategy involves four departments of the Piedmont region and two regional directorates. Different partners helped to design the strategy. EUR 20 million is available to organisations operating in the region to implement projects under five themes, all of which support innovation, collaborative processes, local governance and entrepreneurial ideas. Specifically, they aim to:

1. develop community welfare services based on needs-analyses operated by local communities;
2. develop a system of innovative social entrepreneurs and the grow the third sector;
3. involve entrepreneurs in the design of corporate welfare, with a focus on work-life balance and gender equality;
4. systemically boost stakeholder cooperation to promote sustainability;
5. train and provide customised support to the organisations involved.

Key results and benefits

WE.CA.RE is currently funding and supporting 22 projects across the region, which were selected through public calls. Examples of these projects include Ben Essere in Valle (Well-being in the Valley), which aims to counter the depopulation of mountain villages by tackling unemployment and social exclusion through resource-sharing apps and workshops and a WE.CA.RE Verbano, Cusio and Ossola  project, which targets older people, aiming to support their autonomy, dignity and well-being by making it possible for them to receive care at home instead of in residential homes.

WE.CA.RE has generated a series of direct and indirect benefits for citizens, thus contributing to decreasing social exclusion. Each project has its own indicators in terms of recorded outcomes and its own specific beneficiaries. What is common across the projects supported by the strategy are the processes aimed at reducing the fragmentation of services thanks to effective, well-integrated and sustainable private-public partnerships. This approach has reduced the gap between local needs and existing solutions, increasing the availability and quality of services provided to citizens.

Potential for mainstreaming

Overall, the ESF provides EUR 15 million for four of the five objectives while the ERDF provides EUR 5 million for the remaining one. By applying for additional European funding from the ESF and ERDF, the Piedmont regional authority hopes to continue implementing this strategy after the first two years.

A key condition for the success of such a strategy in another context is political support. As reported by the managing authority of the ESF Operational Programme Piedmont, political will has been crucial in making different departments work together closely in reshaping the way welfare services are designed and delivered in the region. This would be key for the transfer of the strategy to another context.