Social Policy and Social Innovation
The aim of the Social Policy and Social Innovation area is to investigate the evolution of welfare services in relation to new trends and social phenomena, innovative service models, and different governance arrangements leading to public-private partnership. With an interdisciplinary approach, we analyze and evaluate social policies with particular attention to implementation processes and support the stakeholders involved in designing innovative and effective interventions and services. We adopt a managerial perspective in the study of public, private and hybrid organizations dealing with welfare, aiming to support organizational processes and service delivery in this field.
Our research is oriented towards social innovation, analyzing new intervention models, the impact of technology and digital solutions, and the mechanisms of co-design and co-production. Special attention is given to the integration of different policy fields and the construction of collaborative governance models among entities, such as between welfare and healthcare, housing policies, labour policies, and social inclusion. For these reasons, our research is supported by commercial partners, national, regional and local governments, and third sector organizations, including Foundations.
With our research, we embrace the paradigm of impact evaluation to question the contribution that policies, organizations, and services make to society. We conduct rigorous evalutions through the implementation of mixed methods that can grasp societal impact and public value created by welfare services.
The research conducted in this area is closely linked with the activities of the Observatory on Long Term Care.
