Suchergebnisse

Even as the 2013-2017 "migration crisis" is increasingly in the past, EU countries still struggle to come up with alternative solutions to foster safe, orderly, and regular migration pathways, Europeans continue to look in the rear-view mirror. This Report is an attempt to reverse the perspective, by taking a glimpse into the future of migration to Europe. What are the structural trends underlying migration flows to Europe, and how are they going to change over the next two decades? How does migration interact with specific policy fields, such as development, border management, and integration? And what are the policies and best practicies to manage migration in a more coherent and evidence-based way?

In the great challenge for integration, European cities are at the forefront. The foreign population in the cities is constantly increasing and today already exceeds 30% in Berlin, Vienna and London. Local administrations therefore play an increasingly important role in managing increasingly complex integration. Integrating foreigners in fact requires the commitment to coordinate policies that regard very different areas: first reception, education, the labor market, health services, combating segregation. This volume deals with the topic of growing urban diversity, trying to answer some crucial questions: what problems do cities face in facing the challenge of integration? How can successful experiences be enhanced? And how can dialogue between cities, regions, national governments and European institutions be improved?

Nella grande sfida per l'integrazione, le città europee sono in prima fila. La popolazione straniera nelle città è in costante aumento e già oggi supera il 30% a Berlino, Vienna e Londra. Le amministrazioni locali giocano dunque un ruolo sempre più importante nel gestire un'integrazione sempre più complessa. Integrare gli stranieri richiede infatti l'impegno di coordinamento di politiche che riguardano ambiti molto diversi: prima accoglienza, istruzione, mercato del lavoro, servizi sanitari, contrasto alla segregazione. Questo volume affronta il tema della crescente diversità urbana tentando di dare una risposta ad alcune questioni cruciali: a quali problemi vanno incontro le città nell'affrontare la sfida dell'integrazione? Come si possono valorizzare le esperienze di successo? E in che modo è possibile migliorare il dialogo tra le città, le regioni, i governi nazionali e le istituzioni europee?

The role of voluntarism has become ever more important in the Italian and European discussions on the crisis and transformation of welfare administration. Unfortunately in many cases it is taken for granted in its forms, meanings, roles and procedures. The risk is that the institutional system may choose to face a crisis by following development strategies on the basis of its own needs and preformed visions. This could lead to greatly distorted effects that force some realities to adapt in contradictory ways and drive others that do not follow such paradigms towards extinction. The essay shows pivotal aspects and possible perspectives of the relationship between the variety of voluntarism forms and the welfare system, focusing on assumptions and points of view that will help comprehend some of the recent developments and diverse experiences.

- The various types of resources mobilised by European social enterprises The objective of this paper is to analyse, on the basis of the substantive definition of the economy (elaborated in the footsteps of Polanyi), the various types of resources mobilised by European social enterprises. European social enterprises use a complex mix of resources based on four types of economic relations: the market, redistribution, the socio-politically embedded market, and the reciprocity. A European typology of Work Integration Social Enterprise (WISEs) is put forward, in order to understand these enterprises' dynamic across national borders.

This paper analyzes the complexity of social-ecological transition policies and processes, focusing on trade-offs and emerging conflicts engendered by combined environmental-social-technological programmes and innovations. To date, there has been only limited focus in the literature on empirical cases, analyzing the ecological transition, distributive effects, social risks and policies to counter them. To help fill this gap, the paper discusses three qualitative case studies as part of a research project on social cohesion in ecological transitions in Tuscany, Italy. In particular, it examines the ongoing transition strategies and practices, bringing out several aspects that highlight the sources of controversies among actors and the contextual variability and complexity of their 'playgrounds', namely: (1) the role of time, space and relational patterns, and ensuing problems of governance, coordination and synchronization; (2) the way in which institutional and technological transformations are embedded in trans-contextual relations and conflicts; (3) the role of different sources and kinds of knowledge in supporting or hampering the ecological transitions; and (4) the shifting balances between top-down strategies and regulation, and bottom-up processes of civic associations and social movements. The paper then analyzes the attempts to provide social security by means of more or less explicitly designed eco-social policies and practices, highlighting some relevant lessons learned and methodological recommendations for future sustainable welfare design.

Purpose
– The dote system is the most recent and only way to finance and deliver services in the training and labour policy field in Lombardy (Italy), strengthening the regional quasi-market approach. The purpose of this paper is to analyse its logic and highlight the implications for the policy system.


Design/methodology/approach
– Qualitative case-study including preliminary documentation, analysis of administrative data, in-depth interviews with stakeholders and practitioners.


Findings
– The dote system is based on a strongly pre-structured and pure performance logic. It predefines forms, ways and steps towards people's "autonomy", further categorising the policy system and establishing a combination of individualisation without personalisation. The strict regulation makes it difficult to design accessible, high-quality and tailor-made interventions. Dote could represent an interesting innovation for high-profile measures, but as a universal equivalent it often fails to match the needs of people and the labour market.


Research limitations/implications
– The self-funded research is limited to a regional context, analysed against the background of European welfare transformations. Greater effort in qualitative research could improve the knowledge about the implications of NPM and quasi-markets.


Practical implications
– Regional centralism is strengthened; local authorities and private bodies are excluded from planning; freedom of choice is limited. A marriage of convenience between providers and users increases the level of stress and the dispersion of resources.


Originality/value
– Dote is a particular experiment in the panorama of activation. It works in a unique way, impacting on governance and activation modes. The paper is addressed to researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in gaining better understanding of the implications of quasi-markets and NPM.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of trans-contextual processes of implementation and governance in the transformation of social and labor inclusion policies in Norway and Italy, including research and practical implications.Design/methodology/approachIt combines qualitative case studies with a framework that makes them comparable, namely, the Logics of Welfare.FindingsDifferences and similarities are related to regimes' path dependencies as well as interactions between bottom-up and top-down dynamics of implementation. Their shifting logics and patterns enhance or hinder the local actors' agency and enactment, and the systems' capability to reduce the risks of exclusion. Results and the ways in which they are achieved are different, although in both cases the inclusion in the labor market remains a contended issue.Research limitations/implicationsThe comparison is based on two case studies. A further development of in-depth comparative analysis may improve our understanding of the role of contexts in the implementation of policy reforms.Practical implicationsReforms have limited capacity to achieve the expected outcomes, including due to a limited understanding of context-based factors. Practitioners and policy makers should take greater account of the latter and their active role in modifying them.Social implicationsThis paper provides a deeper comprehension on how policy practices affect citizens' hard pathways toward inclusion.Originality/valueThrough a comparative context-based analysis, the paper shows important differences, similarities and shifting modes of operation in activation policy as well as the role of socio-organizational contexts and bottom-up mobilizations. It looks forward to the possible added value derived from a wider testing of such approaches.