Social Inclusion    The OSE's work in the development of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the field of social inclusion can be sub-divided into two main themes: firstly, contributing to knowledge about, and the analysis of, poverty and social exclusion (including the use of indicators) in the context of the OMC, and, secondly, analysing the OMC as a tool of flexible governance (including the evaluation of its "participatory" dimension and its "effectiveness" at national level).

 

Knowledge and indicators    The OSE was active in the creation of the social inclusion OMC in 2001, contributing to reflection on and the definition of the indicators to be used. In 2001, as part of the project "A concerted strategy in social protection: social issues of EMU, enlargement, benchmarking, poverty, and the fight against social exclusion", two reports on indicators were produced:  Les indicateurs monétaires et non monétaires de pauvreté et d'exclusion sociale dans une perspective européenne Ramón Peña-Casas, Philippe Pochet Ministère des Affaires sociales, de la santé publique et de l'environnement. January 2001   Les indicateurs des plans d'action nationaux de lutte contre la pauvreté et l'exclusion sociale : approche comparative Ramón Peña-Casas Ministère des Affaires sociales, de la santé publique et de l'environnement. September 2001. The OSE also contributed to reflection on a more participative approach to knowledge on poverty and social exclusion, particularly in the framework of the Belgian project "Another approach to poverty indicators – research-action-training", under the aegis of the Centre for Equal Opportunities and the fight against Racism / the fight against Poverty, Job Insecurity and Social Exclusion Unit. Final report ( FR and NL ) + summaries in FR, NL, EN, DE  Downloadable from the website Fight Poverty The OSE has participated in several European projects on social inclusion. In 2005 and 2006 the OSE contributed to the project "Setting Minimum Social Standards across Europe" and published two scientific documents:  Setting Minimum Social Standards at EU level: Main Issues Ramón Peña-Casas Background Paper for the EU Project "Setting Minimum Social Standards across Europe", 2006   Minimum Income Standards in an Enlarged EU: the Case of Guaranteed Minimum Income Schemes Ramón Peña-Casas Background Paper for the EU Project "Setting Minimum Social Standards across Europe", 2006   Final report & summary Downloadable from the website EAPN.ie From 2005 to 2007, the OSE also participated in the project "OASI - Observation, analysis, supporting inclusion" which examined the role of local social observation in the fight against poverty and social exclusion and its relation with the social inclusion OMC. Project OASI  Description (objectives, actions, publications and partners) on OASI-EU.org From 2004 to 2007 the OSE provided technical and scientific support for the action programme of the Transregional Network for Social Inclusion (RETIS) which is a political institution composed of European local and regional authorities that wish to reflect on and act together in the field of social policy, in particular where it concerns social inclusion policies as well as in the promotion of local and regional (subsidiarity and complementarity), citizen and democratic principles, values and identities. One of the objectives was in particular to transpose the social inclusion OMC to the regional and local levels. The OSE has produced several documents on indicators and policies in this context.

 

Analysis of the OMC as a flexible governance tool A second research area in the field of social inclusion deals with the social inclusion OMC in a more general way as a flexible governance tool. The first publications concentrated on the emergence of a social inclusion OMC: why did it arise in the first place and how did the political decision-makers create the OMC as a policy tool at European level. Research was also devoted to the "participative" dimension of the OMC, considered by some as essential. Several academic papers and reports have been devoted to these subjects. In 2001, within the framework of a project with the European Social Network (ESN) and the Association of Secretaries of CPAS, the OSE held a conference (November 2001) on the European strategy on poverty and social exclusion under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the European Union. This conference resulted in the publication: European Strategy in the Field of Poverty and Social Exclusion Ramón Peña-Casas, Christophe Degryse, Philippe Pochet Observatoire social européen, European Social Network and the Belgian Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and the Environment Administration of Social Integration, 2002 (also in FR and NL), 47 p. | EN | FR | NL  (PDF, 200K)  The first monograph on the OMC (which includes social inclusion) was the result of cooperation between the OSE and SALTSA.  Building Social Europe through the Open Method of Co-ordination Caroline de la Porte and Philippe Pochet (eds.) P.I.E.-Peter Lang, Work & Society No. 34, Brussels, 313 p, 2002 | More info on Peter Lang website   SALTSA (Joint Programme for Working Life Research in Europe) SALTSA website Research programme run by the former Swedish National Institute for Working Life, in cooperation with the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), The Swedish Confederation for Professional Employees (TCO) and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (SACO). Based on several workshops and seminars at which academic and governmental players from all over Europe met, and organised in cooperation with the "European Union Center of Excellence of the University of Madison-Wisconsin" and the European Studies Institute (IEE) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, several publications have been issued generating wider reflection on the governance of the OMC in the fields of employment and social inclusion, with a particular focus on participation in the OMC. Is the Open Method of Co-ordination Appropriate for Organising Activities at European Level in Sensitive Policy Areas? Caroline de la Porte 2002. European Law Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2002, pp.38-58. | More info   Social Benchmarking, Policy-Making and New Governance in the EU Caroline de la Porte, Philippe Pochet, Graham Room 2001. Journal of European Social Policy, Vol.11, No.4, pp.291-307. 2001. | More info   Participation in the OMC – the Cases of Employment and Social Inclusion Caroline de la Porte, Philippe Pochet 2005.  In Zeitlin, J. Pochet, P. and Magnusson, L. (eds.), The Open Method of Co-ordination in Action: The European Employment and Social Inclusion Strategies, P.I.E-Peter Lang, Brussels, pp. 353-390. | More info In 2005, the OSE and the European Union Center of Excellence of the University of Madison-Wisconsin coordinated a publication compiling a series of contributions describing the state of affairs in the open method of coordination “in action” in different EU countries.  The Open Method of Co-ordination in Action: European Employment and Social Inclusion Strategies Zeitlin, J. Pochet, P. and Magnusson, L. (eds.) P.I.E-Peter Lang, Brussels, 511 p. | More info The OSE also participated in the INTUNE project on the role of experts in the development of social policy in the EU, which involved 30 questionnaires for national experts in the committees and European working groups, which resulted in the following publications:  Self-Governance in EU Employment and Social Policy through the Open Method of Co-ordination de la Porte, C., Natali, D., and Pochet, P., (forthcoming 2008) In Sørensen, E. and Triantafillou, P. (eds), The Politics of Self-Governance, Sage.   INTUNE website (Participating institutions, project goals and objectives, research materials, etc.) Another area of research which has developed since 2006 is based on a review of the academic literature as well as other evaluations that make distinct assessments of “the effectiveness” of the OMC. This confusion makes up the empirical puzzle that underlies this line of research: “How can the effectiveness of modes of soft governance be measured?”. This question is key given that the large number of contrasting interpretations of the influence of OMC at national level is due to the lack of agreement on the analytical tools to be used. The research of the Observatory indeed shows that if the OMC is not only concerned with purely legislative change, it has a real influence on the social inclusion policy of certain Member States, in particular through a process of reciprocal – and not unidirectional – influence between the EU and the national sphere. Since February 2006, research activities on the Social Inclusion OMC as a governance tool have been undertaken in the context of an inter-university research project entitled “European Tools for Social Policy in Belgium” (ETOS.BE), which is part of the “Society and Future” research programme of the Federal Scientific Policy Office. The ETOS.be project resulted in numerous publications, some dealing with social inclusion: Politique nationale et coopération européenne: la méthode ouverte de coordination est-elle devenue plus contraignante? Hamel, M.P., Vanhercke, B. (2008) Revue Belge de Sécurité Sociale, Nb 1, 2008, p 73 - 111. | FR (PDF)   Harde’ nationale politiek en ‘zachte’ Europese samenwerking. Heeft Open Coördinatie (dan toch) tanden gekregen? Hamel, M.P., Vanhercke, B. (2008) Belgisch Tijdschrift Voor Sociale Zekerheid, Nr. 1, 2008, p 75 - 114. | NL (PDF)   Projet de recherche « Outils européens et politique sociale belge »  (which ran until 2009) brought together 6 research teams: the Amsterdam institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS, University of Amsterdam), le Centre de Recherches Politiques de Sciences Po (CEVIPOF, Paris), l’Observatoire social européen, the Centre for Sociological Research (CeSO) of the University of Leuven, le Centre de recherches en science politique (CReSPo) des Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis (FUSL), et l’Université catholique de Louvain (UCL).     Further information  ETOS on the European Projects page of the OSE website   ETOS.BE Federal Scientific Policy Website   "Society and Future" research programme Finally, the OSE is involved in a new book compiling all the empirical evidence of the domestic impact of the open method of coordination (OMC), including in the field of pensions.  The Open Method of Coordination and domestic social policymaking in Belgium and France: window dressing, one-way impact, or reciprocal influence? Hamel, M.P., Vanhercke, B. (2009) In Heidenreich, M., Zeitlin, J. (eds.), Changing European Employment and Welfare Regimes: the Influence of the Open Method of Coordination on National Labour Market and Social Welfare Reforms, Routledge, London. | More info