Including 15 transnational projects with 250 researchers from 25 European countries, the programme analyzes the societal, economic, political and legal aspects of welfare state development and suggests pathways of its evolution in the future.
The final conference including projects of all clusters, policymakers and industry experts was held at the European University Institute (EUI) on May 24–25, 2018.
After the end of the cold war, many Eastern European post-Soviet states started to privatize their state-run health systems.
At the same time, many Western, Southern and Northern European countries started experimenting with New Public Management and other market-oriented health reforms.
The research investigates political determinants of health policy reforms, particularly those that privatize healthcare systems, and consequently focuses on the issue of social risks.
[6] Migration patterns depend, among other things, on the state of welfare systems in the origin and destination countries.
Furthermore, they engage in research on how EU member states have responded to the transnationalization of welfare rights and the judicialization of politics.
Escalating costs, immigration, increasing inequality, international competition as well as populist politics are major challenges that need to be addressed.
Lastly, the research addresses questions on fairness and preferences regarding personal responsibility for welfare policies.
Lastly, the projects address the questions about fairness, the transnationalization of citizenships and the effects of technological innovations and their interaction with welfare institutions.
A Comparative Study of Family-based Welfare Work in Different Welfare Regimes (FACSK) FACSK analyzes how social workers in eight countries (Norway, Sweden, England, Ireland, Chile, Mexico, Lithuania and Bulgaria) understand different notions of family and how they describe their own practices and outcomes with families.
Prof Karl Ove Moene led the team of ten researchers from Austria, Norway and the UK.
[17] Policies and Responses with Regard to Child Abuse and Neglect in England, Germany and the Netherlands: A Comparative Multi-Site Study (HESTIA) HESTIA aims to discover the nature and impact of variations in child protection systems through a comparison of three quite different welfare states (England, Germany, the Netherlands).
[23] Understanding the Practice and Developing the Concept of Welfare Bricolage (UPWEB) UPWEB responds to the question of how all residents living in super diverse neighborhoods in different national welfare states (UK, Portugal, Germany, and Sweden) put together their health care using wide-ranging resources to meet their health needs.
Prof. Peter Taylor-Gooby led the team consisting of 20 researchers from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and the UK.
The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life, and Welfare (Forte) has made an additional contribution to the programme.