Restructuring social services in Europe: COST Action workshop, open seminar and 2nd MC meeting Oslo 2012

In the last 20 years social services have experienced significant restructuring throughout Europe, involving cuts in public funding, devolution (from central to local governments), and externalisation (from public to private providers). Reasons for such c hanges may include public austerity and the need to ensure greater efficiency, wider consumer choice and more democratic governance. Although relevant research is available on such processes, the recent global financial crisis and the growing awareness th at, among services of general interest, social services are a major vehicle of social and territorial cohesion have brought social services back on the EU agenda. The COST Action IS1102 'Social services, welfare state and places' seeks to involve institut ions that are already carrying out research on these themes, in different nations, from different disciplinary points of view, and with different emphases, to jointly assess the effects of the restructuring processes, from five interrelated perspectives: efficiency (cost/quality); democratic governance; social and territorial cohesion; the labour market and working conditions for the service professions; and gender equality. In its first year, the task to be completed is a systematic comparison of regul atory frameworks and organisational trajectories in social services. This proposal applies for support for the hosting of a series of events: a workshop to facilitate the presentation and discussion of regional/national profiles on 'Regulatory trajectorie s and organizational geometries in social services', a MC meeting, a WG1 SC meeting and an open seminar on the current restructuring of social services and its impact on the service professions. Being the largest educational instituion in Norway within t he field of social service professions, the COST Action is of strong strategic importance to the OAUC. The proposed Oslo events will strenghten important national and international networks.