Transcript Workability Europe Annual Conference Amsterdam, The

“A sector-specific quality approach
to reconcile
sustainability, quality & accessibility
of social services”
CZ PRES Ministerial Conference on Social Services
Panel I
Prague, 22 April 2009
Jan Spooren, General Secretary, EPR
The social services paradox
QUALITY
UNIVERSALITY
SUSTAINABILITY
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Reconciling basic concepts of social services
QUALITY FRAMEWORK
UNIVERSALITY
QUALITY
SUSTAINABILITY
sector-specific and multi-perspective
Offer the highest possible quality of services for all within given financial constraints 3
Context of ‘modernisation’
• Ageing
• Gender equality
• Social integration
• Labour market flexibility
Increasing and diversifying
demand
Adapt
to changing needs
Modernisation
Social economic
challenges
• Understand needs
• Flexible responses
• New target groups
• New services
Sophisticated and complex
services
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Modernisation as a rationale for quality
Paradigm shift in health and social services
From public programming regulation to market-based regulation
Modernisation
• Mainstreaming/partnerships
• Inclusion / maximise potential
• Empowerment
• User-centeredness
Elements of quality
• Outcome
measurement
• Cost effectiveness / efficiency
• Informed choice for clients
• Competition
Certification of Quality
Paradigm shift in disability field
From medical model to social model
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Social services differ from other services
Based on solidarity
Asymmetric relationship
providers-beneficiaries
Comprehensive &
personalised
Not-for-profit
Characteristics
of
social services
Rooted in (local) cultural
traditions
Involvement of
voluntary workers
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Quality perspectives
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Quality principles for social services
Rights
Person focus
Ethics
Partnership
Leadership
Input
Enhancers
Participation
Output
Results
Continuous
Review
improvement
Person centred
Service focus
Comprehensiveness
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The need for a European approach to quality
Transnational services
Increased competition
 Different national standards
 Unknown service providers
 Tendering mechanisms
 More service-providers on market
 Emphasis on quantitative outputs
 Clients need guarantees
 Low price prevails on quality
Rationale for a
European
Quality Framework
Ongoing initiatives
Enlargement of EU
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 Different approaches and levels
 Intensive exchange of best practice
Disability HLG paper on quality
9 golden principles of Social Platform
Progress Call for Proposals
CEN workshop
Social Protection Committee
 Common reference framework for
innovation & continuous improvement
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Essentials of a European quality framework
Sectoral stakeholder involvement
Principles and indicators
 Multi-perspective approach
 Flexibility: cross-national application
 Cross-European bottom-up approach
 Continuous improvement
 Credibility
 Systematic and coherent framework
Key assets of a
European
Quality Framework
Realistic
Local implementation
 Feasible threshold
 Respect subsidiarity principle
 Transition period
 Use of local language
 Acceptable cost
 Local auditors
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EQUASS: Benefits for all stakeholders
Service users
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Guaranteed minimum quality
Informed choice
Tailor-made and personalised service
Focus on results for service-user
Service providers
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Proof of quality of services
Strengthen market position
Benchmarking
Continuous improvement
Public Authorities
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Not re-invent the wheel
Accountability for allocation of resources
Conformity with European key documents
Credibility and feasibility
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Thank you for your attention!
Jan Spooren
General Secretary
E-mail: [email protected]
European Platform for Rehabilitation (EPR)
www.epr.eu
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