SCSPN The Social Capital and the Social Policy Network

As part of the new European Social Situation Observatory (SSO) aimed at informing the social policy debate and providing analytical input for the Report on the Social Situation in the EU (SSR), the project involved the establishment of a network on Social Capital (social cohesion, trust and participation). Under the leadership of the Social Capital Research Network of the Economic and Social Cohesion Laboratory of the London School of Economics, the Social Capital and Social Policy Network (SCSPN) was created, involving researchers from 12 participating countries. CLS was the partner from Bulgaria.
In 2006, the project was developed within the Time-Use in a Life-Cycle Perspective, identified as the cross-cutting theme for the 2006 Social Situation Report (SSR). The SCSPN focused its research on 5 specific policy areas (childcare, education, time use and work-life balance, retirement and social policy, social capital and dependency in old age) providing a rich panorama of the state of social policy in the various groupings of welfare regimes. Country specific reports analysed the state of social capital research in the participating countries and how social capital assets are being used to buttress social policies for the young, the marginalized and the elderly.
During the year 2007, the research was focused on: Monitoring developments and trends in social capital in the participating countries; Look at social innovation and good practices regarding the interaction between social policy and civil society; And convey new research results in the area of social capital relevant for social policy.
Thematically, the special contributions were concentrated on migration policy in the participating countries, particularly addressing the relationship between social capital and the integration of minorities and migrant groups. In addition, the research incorporated a particular deliverable regarding the “European Year of Equal Opportunities”.
For detailed project information, please visit http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/ESOCLab/researchActivitiesAndProjects/scspn/

Period: January 2006 - December 2007

Coordinators: Georgy Ganev, Yana Papazova

Financing Organisations: Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission

Partners: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), ESOCLAB, European Institute, London, UK; Charles University in Prague; University of Warsaw, Poland; Institute of Sociology of the; Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic; Center for Policy Studies, Budapest; IGOP, Universidad; Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain; Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Ersta Sköndal University College; University of Tartu, Estonia; Centro Studi Investimenti Sociali -CENSIS, Italy; University of Macedonia, Greece