PPMI has recently completed a study on the dynamics and impacts of social policy innovation on the resilience of social systems, commissioned by the JRC. This is one of very few existing studies that connect and analyses the two phenomena together. We started with an extensive literature review, resulting in a new conceptual and analytical framework for better understanding of interdependencies and causal relationships between social policy innovation initiatives and the resilience of societies at various levels.
At the second stage of the project, we conducted in-depth case studies, applying the new conceptual and analytical framework in empirical micro-level analysis. These covered innovations in the Netherlands (use of social impact bonds), Italy (active labour market policy measures) and Lithuania (integrated home care). Finally, we performed a cross-case analysis aimed at validating the proposed conceptual and analytical framework in a meso-level analysis. The results of this study support the new research direction of the JRC, specifically research on the contribution that social policy innovation initiatives are able to offer in terms of resilience.
