Arbeitstagung „Zukunft der Arbeitsförderung nach der Instrumentenreform‟Arbeiterwohlfahrt Bundesverband e.V., Berlin, 15.-16. März 2012

Soziale Aktivierung in den Niederlanden und Deutschland

Dr. Henk Vinkenwww.henkvinken.nl

hvinken@gmail.com

Proceed in English !

Report for IAB, Institut für Arbeits und Berufsforschung, Nuremberg

Social activation policy in the NetherlandsPractices, problems, and promises

Henk Vinken & Peter Ester

Pyrrhula, social research networkTilburg, September 2011

Outline presentation

Social activation policy The philosophy of Full Engagement

The Participation Ladder

A Dutch study in a German contextQuestions and approach

The financial crisis and budget cuts

Key resultsUse biographical logic and reciprocity

Build trust and social networksDefine success and engage ‘real’ employers

Monitor

Preliminary comparison with German results

Social activation policy The philosophy of Full Engagement

- Participation is the rule: paid work, training or voluntary work- Offer opportunities to participate, do not allow inactiveness

- Minimum 20 hours engagement- Participation facillitated by debt assistance, child care, etc.

- Personal client manager- Situated in neighborhoods (close to client; connect to officials there)

- Two-way benefit: for client and city/neighborhood- New Deal = new balance rights and obligations

WhoWork uncommited, socially isolated, health problems, psychological problems, debts, unspported single mothers, immigrants with no language skills, alcoholics, drug addicts, illiterates

WhatProviding basic sense of biographical self-direction by voluntary work, work trial placements, training courses, language courses, sports, time management, cultural activities

Usually a mix from social and work-oriented activities

Social activation policy The Participation Ladder

HowConcentration activation policies (and budgets) aimed at (paid) work, education/training and social participation into Ladder. Paid work (6) highest priority, if that is not feasible then 5, if that is not working then 4, etc. Ladder provides a simple and common framework/language. Key is assessing clients on steps, assessing growth potential, and making steps

A Dutch study in a German contextQuestions and approach

- IAB Interested in activation philosophy and models- In NL and Germany distance to labor market for some people too large

- Purely job oriented policies have limited power for these people- How about Dutch social activation policies ?

- What are the main experiences?- What are best practices?

- What lessons can be learned?

Qualitative approach in NL and Germany- Indepth interviews with local decision makers

- In NL at least the big 4 cities, young/older clients- Plus example cities mentioned by interviewees- Same ‘Leitfaden’ used in NL and German study

A Dutch study in a German contextThe financial crisis and budget cuts

- Interviews December 2010 – July 2011- Scepsis about purely social activities while budgets decline?

- Is Social Activation a luxury good?- What will be priority in Social Activation policies in the crisis?

- What are the worries, what the opportunities?(“Never waste a good crisis”)

Key resultsBiographical logic and reciprocity

Participation Ladder calls for biographical logic- What instruments best at what phase and what transition?

- Use programs/activities that follow up on each other: focus on making steps?- Think in trajectories and biographical developmental needs

- Offering programs for one phase only is useless

“Voor wat, hoort wat”- Turnaround among policy makers and case managers (and clients?)

- If you get a benefit, you will do something back for it- If you can pour coffee at home, you can do that for others too

- Matches with broad rethinking on welfare state- Matching individual and societal benefits

Biopgraphy and ActivationLearn to get up, get dressed, eat well, use transportation, talk to other people, read/write, basic (professional) skills, build a social network, make transitions (from one school/job/home to another), earn an income, maintain meaningful relationships

Key resultsBuilding trust and social networks

- These clients are very sceptic, distrustful- Share what they can do best/how they can develop in late phase

- Even after ‘low profile’ activation, pride to participate again grows- Direct programs at building social capital and (local) social networks

- ‘Big society’ with more self-responsibility only possible with strong networks- Only with strong network they can take next initiatives

Key results Define success and engage ‘real’ employers

- Define the central aim of activation: work or social participation- If the first, success is limited with ‘Ladder 1’-group

- Involve ‘real’ employers early-on- Check what skills are needed in the real labor market

- Make ‘smart deals’ with health insurance companies and employer groups

Key results Monitor

- Systematic insight in what works and what not is still to be build- Monitor making steps on the Ladder

- Develop a cost-benefit analysis model- With individual and societal costs and benefits

Preliminary comparison with German resultsQualitative Explorationsstudie zur Sozialen Aktivierung in der BRD

- Draft report IAB, February 2012- 45 Expert Interviews across Germany December 2010-January 2012

Remarkable results according to a Dutch researcher- Social activation programs separate (Sozialarbeit) from workrelated measures- Dominance workrelated mediation even for clients very far from labor market

- Social activation in “erheblicher Formenvielfalt… ohne – wie in den Niederlanden – expliziter Bestandteil der Massnahmen der grundsicherung zu sein”

- Many separate measures/programs, no biographical logic (linked order of measures)- No thinking in terms of benefits for soeicty

- Strong legalistic focus on who pays what programs (or: who is not allowed to pay)

IAB Report, Seite 5: Soziale Aktiviering wird… bei meist langzeitarbeitslosen Hilfebedürftigen mit multiplen Vermittlungshemmnissen auf folgende Problemlage zu reagieren, bzw. folgende Bereiche zu entwickeln: Physische Konstitution – Gesundheitsbezogenes Verhalten; Psychische Erkrankung und Verhaltensstörung; Fehlende Árbeitstugenden’ und Defizite im alltagshandeln; Sozialer Kontext und familiäre Problemlagen; Mangelnde Basiskompetenzen