66.1. Short description The project for young mothers is a pilot project aiming to improve the employability of women between 16 and 25 years with young children, no professional training and dependent on social assistance. Although it is a typical case of a management programme aiming to motivate, this project has some innovative features. These…
Local background of the social innovations In Switzerland, there is not only a large sharing of competencies between the communal, cantonal and the federal levels, but also local authorities (and in particular city governments) and cantons develop their own social policies in many areas. For instance, social assistance is a compulsory task, imposed by the…
67.1. Short description The Unités d’Action Communautaire are structures created by the Municipality of Geneva and they were implemented 10 years ago. Located in four neighbourhoods, they are managed by the social services of the city of Geneva. Their goals are diverse: UAC are in charge of collecting information about the four areas where they…
68.1. Short description The ORIF (non-profit private organisation for integration into employment and professional training) addresses the reintegration into employment of people suffering from health problems. Marginalised young adults are part of the target group: due to medical conditions, some of them cannot get back to the labour market with the job they previously had,…
69.1. Short description This municipal service offers temporary subsidised housing to vulnerable populations: foreign households in a challenging housing situation, people who become homeless and sometimes those who are seriously depressed following a separation, households with massive employment and debts problems. The project aims to counterbalance the effects of the Geneva very limited housing market…
The three innovations we studied have grown and stabilised. A first critical factor explaining this stabilisation is certainly the significant public funds invested in social policy in Geneva. They enable innovations to stabilise on time. For instance, the UAC were created 10 years ago and they have progressively grown to 40 workers: wages represent a…
Social service research: Innovations as illustrative examples for a new generation of social services These innovation examples are time-specific and came about as a result of particular circumstances in Birmingham and more general problems caused by the current financial climate. However, there were some overall key approaches and instruments adopted by the innovations. In terms…
70.1. Short description Birmingham developed an approach to tackling unemployment for those living in the most deprived areas, which could be characterised in two ways. Firstly, it was locality driven in that it focused on areas with high levels of unemployment (25 per cent or more) and detailed consultation took place with local welfare partners,…
71.1. Short description In 2010 The Future Melting Pot (TFMP) set up the YEER pilot project (for 1 year) to provide business support to black and minority ethnic individuals who were not in employment, education or training (NEET) with the main aim of participants being able to set up their own enterprises. YEER was designed…
72.1. Short description The lone parent support project was delivered by Employment Needs Training Agency (ENTA) and partners, and offered a holistic approach to addressing barriers to work for lone parents. Once contacted people were assessed, agreed an action plan and then received on-going support and mentoring from the project team (this continued once they…