various countries

Various countries: Service Contract to Improve the Knowledge on the Socio-Economic Impact of Social Protection Reforms in the EU Member States, EFTA/EEA, Candidate and Pre-Candidate Countries

Health, Pension

European Commission, DG Employment

June 2008

June 2010

24 months

none

The general objective of the project is to improve the knowledge on the socio-economic impact of social protection reforms in the EU member states, EFTA/EEA, Candidate and Pre-Candidate countries and thereby to provide up-to-date information on social protection developments and to give an assessment of the impact of social protection policies in each of the 34 participating countries.

The project provides an overview on research and policy developments in the fields of pensions, health, and long-term care in the 34 countries (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom) and assesses internationally comparative and national studies and data.

The contract includes

• Annual national reports containing a commented review of reforms initiated during the previous 12 months period, as well as an overview of political debates and relevant academic research. In addition, they provide a structured list of publications and relevant institutions of each participating country.
• A synthesis report summarising main trends and developments with regard to social protection research.
• Reviews of the National Strategy Reports (NSR) on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, and of relevant accession documents as for the Candidate Countries respectively. These reports give an assessment of the developments in each country in relation to primary indicators adopted under the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) as well as of country-specific challenges to social protection.
• Reviews of the National Reform Programmes (NRP) and Implementation Reports.
• Ad-hoc short reports dealing with horizontal issues or with country-specific developments.
• Annual network meetings as well as regional meetings to encourage information exchange among network members.

• Managing a network of experts
• Concept development for a comparative analysis
• Literature review and data collection
• Elaboration of country profiles
• Synthesis on country experiences
• Drafting annual national reports
• Review of the National Strategy Reports (NSR)
• Reviews of the National Reform Programmes (NRP)
• Ad-hoc-short reports
• A Website and a forum