ISSN EaSI performance in Executive summary of EaSI Performance Monitoring Report Social Europe

Transcription

1 ISSN EaSI performance in 2014 Executive summary of EaSI Performance Monitoring Report 2014 Social Europe

2 The European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) aims to contribute to promoting a high level of quality and sustainable employment, guaranteeing adequate and decent social protection, combating social exclusion and poverty and improving working conditions. In the long term, EaSI also aims to: 1. Strengthen ownership of EU objectives among policy-makers; 2. Facilitate policy reforms, convergence and capacities for social innovation and mutual learning; 3. Contribute to modernising and effective application of EU law; 4. Support the development of high quality and inclusive EU labour markets that are open and accessible to all; 5. Increase access to finance for vulnerable persons, micro- and social enterprises. The programme is structured into three axes: Progress axis focuses on providing support to policy-making and implementation process through production of policy evidence, organisation of information sharing and mutual learning activities, funding social policy experimentation projects and providing capacity-building support to EU and national organisations. EURES axis aims to improve geographical mobility in the EU through making information on placements more transparent and accessible, as well as funding the actual services for jobseekers and employers. Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship axis aims to improve access to finance for vulnerable people, micro- and social enterprises through provision of funding and guarantees to financial intermediaries, as well as capacity building of relevant actors is the first year of the implementation of the EaSI programme. The Commission reports on the performance of the implementation of the programme and publishes a report to respond to a need of accountability and visibility. Among other things, this monitoring report incorporates stakeholders views on the programme s operations in 2014.

3 EASI PERFORMANCE IN 2014 Figure 1 shows the share of funding used per axis in 2014 in comparison to the plans provided in the EaSI Regulation and the Work Programme. While planned commitments for 2014 amounted to EUR million, around EUR 52 million were actually used (44 %). Lower commitments can be explained by the fact that 2014 was the first year for the implementation of EaSI and many activities (worth about 63 million) were postponed to the beginning of This means that 97 % of the expenditure planned in 2014 will actually be used. As provided in the EaSI Regulation, the Commission will regularly monitor the results achieved by the programme. In 2014, this process covered the definition of EaSI logical framework, establishment of the system to measure EaSI performance, including qualitative and quantitative key performance indicators, description of the baseline situation and development of the first performance monitoring report. The key results achieved by the programme in 2014 are summarised below. Figure 1. Share of planned and actual commitments per axis EaSI regulation EaSI Work Programme 2014 Actual commitments in % Progress EURES MF/SE Source: European Commission, DG EMPL.

4 PROGRESS AXIS IN 2014, EASI SUPPORTED THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF HIGH-QUALITY COMPARATIVE ANALYTICAL KNOWLEDGE IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT EU POLICIES IN THE FIELD OF EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS ARE BASED ON SOUND EVIDENCE AND ARE RELEVANT TO THE NEEDS, CHALLENGES AND CONDITIONS IN INDIVIDUAL MEMBER STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAMME. 25 % of overall budget of the Progress axis was used in 2014 to produce different types of analytical outputs, such as studies, periodicals, databases, methodologies and classifications, and various other ad-hoc outputs. The largest amount of funding in 2014 was used to develop the Classification of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO). Evidence generated by the EaSI programme made an actual contribution to EU policy initiatives launched in the field of employment and social affairs In the area of employment, EaSI-funded analytical outputs were instrumental in preparing country-specific recommendations 2014/2015 and contributed to the implementation of the Employment Package, Youth Employment Package and the Youth Guarantee. In the area of social protection and social inclusion, EaSI-funded policy evidence was mostly useful to support the implementation of the Social Investment Package. In the area of working conditions, the analytical outputs produced mainly contributed to strengthening the knowledge base in the area of occupational health and safety. 71 % of stakeholders responding to the survey, which aimed at gathering opinions of stakeholders on the usefulness of EaSI-funded activities, supported the view that EU employment and social policy and legislation is based on evidence. EaSI-funded analytical outputs were deemed relevant (and used) for policy-making and advocacy purposes by national, regional and local policy-makers as well as other stakeholders 84 % of stakeholders were of the opinion that evidence produced with EaSI support in the area of employment and social affairs is useful and reliable. Furthermore, 80 % of stakeholders declared that they themselves have already used or intend to use EaSIfunded analytical outputs for policy-making or advocacy. Labour Market Policy database, ESCO classification, Mutual Information System on Social Protection (MISSOC) database, studies on adequate social protection for long-term care needs in ageing society and coping strategies for the unemployed persons, and Flash Eurobarometer on working conditions were among the most useful analytical outputs as acknowledged by the stakeholders. IN 2014, EASI FACILITATED EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE INFORMATION SHARING, MUTUAL LEARNING AND DIALOGUE ON EU POLICIES IN THE FIELDS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS AT THE EU, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL IN ORDER TO ASSIST MEMBER STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAMME IN DEVELOPING THEIR POLICIES AND MEMBER STATES IN IMPLEMENTING EU LAW.

5 38 % of the overall budget under the Progress axis (EUR 13.9 million) was used in 2014 to fund various information sharing and mutual learning activities, such as networks of experts, peer reviews, learning exchanges, trainings, Council Presidency and other conferences, seminars and high-level events, communication campaigns, meetings of policy-related bodies, good practice guides and educational material, and development and maintenance of information systems. The largest amount of funding in this area in 2014 was used to set up the European Network of Public Employment Services and to establish key networks of independent experts: the European Employment Policy Observatory, the European Social Policy Network and the European Labour Law Network. Information and communication activities were funded in order to raise awareness on priority policy issues. Conferences and seminars focusing on growth and jobs aimed to promote debate on these issues among key decision makers and other stakeholders at national, European and international level with a view to creating necessary support to meet EU objectives and priorities. EaSI-supported debate on EU employment and social policy and law aimed to include all relevant stakeholders and to meet other minimum standards for consultation The type of actors participating in EaSIfunded activities were officials from national, regional or local government institutions (around one third), whereas other notable target audiences included representatives of civil society and social partners (around 20 %), researchers, university teachers and independent experts (around 15 %), as well as officials of EU institutions (14 %). According to respondents to the EaSI Stakeholder Survey, decision-makers were the main targeted audience in the policy debate. While almost all participants of EaSI-funded events were content with the clarity of the discussed issues, they were somewhat more concerned with the adequate dissemination of the results achieved during events. Information acquired during EaSIfunded events was actually used by participants for policy-making or advocacy Around 89 % of stakeholders who participated in EaSI-funded events declared that they have already used (32 %) or intend to use information acquired during the events for policy-making or advocacy purposes. Nine in ten stakeholders agreed that they have gained a better understanding of EU policies and objectives by participating in EaSIfunded events. Efforts were made to disseminate the results of EaSI-funded activities and to ensure that all interested parties are aware of their availability According to EaSI stakeholders, EaSI EUROPA website (56 %) is among the most consulted sources for learning about EaSI-funded activities.

6 Figure 2. Share of stakeholders claiming that in order to learn about the information and knowledge produced by EaSI they have mostly relied on Referrals from colleagues, partners, etc. European Commission website Conferences, seminars and other events related to the topic European Commission newsletters Annual Performance Monitoring Reports of the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity % Very often Often Sometimes Never Source: EaSI stakeholder survey EASI PROVIDES FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO TEST SOCIAL AND LABOUR MARKET POLICY INNOVATIONS AND CONTRIBUTES TO BUILDING UP THE MAIN ACTORS CAPACITY TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT SOCIAL POLICY EXPERIMENTATIONS, AND TO MAKE THE RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE AVAILABLE. The call for proposals for social policy innovations was published in April 2014 (total amount EUR 11 million). It has two objectives: to use social policy innovations in the area of social services for undertaking structural reforms in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy; and to strengthen partnerships between public, private and civil society sector in awareness raising activities on the use and benefits of social policy innovations. In addition, training of relevant officials involved in social policy experimentation and a methodology for calculating financial and societal return on investment of social policies were also funded. IN 2014, EASI PROVIDED EU AND NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO INCREASE THEIR CAPACITY TO DEVELOP, PROMOTE AND SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES AND LAW IN THE AREA OF EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS.

7 In 2014, 35 % of the overall budget under the Progress axis (EUR 12.6 million) was used to improve capacities of EU and national organisations. The key EU-level NGO networks, some of which are very well-established actors in EU social affairs, benefited from funding. This enabled them to provide useful policy inputs: Caritas Europa published a Crisis Monitoring Report 2015 called Poverty and Inequalities on the Rise, providing concrete examples and testimonies of Caritas member organisations in Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain on the lasting impact of the crisis on individuals in these countries. Eurocities established a Task Force on the Social Investment Package (SIP) to work specifically on the implementation of SIP priorities at the local level. ERGO (Roma inclusion NGO) has published a study which formulated recommendations for LEADER and Housing interventions for based on 5 EU Member States case studies with focus on Roma inclusion at rural level. Eurodiaconia has published a policy brief outlining the main challenges for ensuring that older people have access to quality long term care as well as recommendations for national and EU authorities regarding how to meet those challenges. European Venture Philanthropy Association launched the EU Webinar Series, dedicated to addressing European topics of interest to the Venture philanthropy/social investment community. These EU webinars offer learning and sharing opportunities and foster a community of practitioners interested or active in EU-related policies. Stakeholders responding to EaSI Stakeholder Survey acknowledged that EaSI-supported key EU-level NGO networks are a source of useful information on EU employment and social policy. EURES AXIS IN 2014, EASI AIMED TO ENSURE THAT JOB VACANCIES AND APPLICATIONS AND CORRESPONDING INFORMATION AND ADVICE, AS WELL AS ANY RELATED INFORMATION SUCH AS CONCERNING LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS, ARE MADE TRANSPARENT FOR POTENTIAL APPLICANTS AND EMPLOYERS. In 2014, EUR 5.2 million or 33 % of the overall budget under the EURES axis was used to improving transparency of labour market information. Transparency of labour market information is being achieved through exchange and dissemination of available vacancies and applications at transnational, interregional and cross-border level. An important instrument to achieve this goal is the EURES Job Mobility Portal. Also, trainings on services to be offered to both jobseekers and employers were organised for EURES advisers (897 of them attended in 2014). It is estimated that the EURES Job Mobility Portal attracts 0.85 million visitors every month. By March 2015, CVs of jobseekers were available on the portal. Jobseekers from Italy and Spain were the most active. These two countries have three times more registered jobseekers than Croatia, which is the third most active country. In terms of the desired occupation, waiter/ waitress, language teacher, hotel receptionist and administrative assistant were the most selected choices.

8 KE-EY EN-N A total of companies were searching for employees through the EURES portal. In terms of available vacancies, Germany is a clear leader ( ) followed by the United Kingdom ( ) and Finland ( ). 85 % of portal s users say that they are satisfied with its quality. IN 2014, EASI SUPPORTED THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR RECRUITMENT AND PLACING OF WORKERS IN QUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT THROUGH THE CLEARANCE OF JOB VACANCIES AND APPLICATIONS. In 2014, EaSI supported services ranging from pre-recruitment preparation to post-placement assistance with a view to the jobseeker s successful integration into the labour market. In 2014, EUR 10.6 million or 67 % of the overall budget under the EURES axis was used to contribute to this goal. The main actions funded in 2014 included maintenance of EURES advisers network to provide information, counselling, placement and recruitment services for jobseekers and employers (EUR 1 million) and development of targeted mobility schemes to fill job vacancies where labour market shortcomings have been identified (EUR 7.4 million). In 2014, EURES advisers across Europe had personal contacts, (90 %) of which were with workers/jobseekers, while (10 %) of them were with employers. Most of these consultations were on transnational issues (88 %), while in 12 % of cases cross-border issues were discussed. The following topics were mostly discussed during these consultations: job search (38 % of cases), general information on EURES (22 %), recruitment (12 %), living and working conditions (9 %), social security (8 %), as well as education and training (5 %). Altogether placements resulted from the consultations with jobseekers; this means that around 3 % of personal contacts resulted in actual placements in MICROFINANCE AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AXIS EaSI also aims to promote employment and social inclusion by increasing the availability and accessibility of finance for vulnerable people who wish to start up a micro-enterprise, as well as for existing micro- and social enterprises. Activities under this axis have not started in 2014, one of the reasons for this being the fact that the predecessor programme European Progress Microfinance Facility (Progress Microfinance) is still ongoing and will continue its activities until Therefore EaSI monitoring report for 2014 presents information on the performance of Progress Microfinance. In 2014, the Commission was negotiating the design of the new funding instruments with the European Investment Fund. More than EUR 28.4 million were set aside for the implementation of these instruments in the coming year. Financial instruments under EaSI will be modelled upon the previous experience with Progress Microfinance: guarantees and funding will be provided to financial intermediaries in order to foster their incentives to on-lend the money to final beneficiaries. ISBN: doi: / This leaflet is available in printed format in English, French and German. The full text of the report in English can be downloaded at (Performance monitoring reports). This report was financed by and prepared for the use of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. It does not necessarily represent the Commission s official position. European Union, 2015 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Luxembourg Printed on elemental chlorine-free bleached paper (ECF)