The OSE has started a new research project, together with the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), which is in charge of the overall coordination. Funded by the European Commission, the European Minimum Income Network (EMIN) project will first build a network of national experts (social and anti-poverty NGOs and people experiencing poverty) with the aim to review and compare national situations as regards minimum income schemes.
Poverty
The Centre for Social Policy (CSB) and the Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City (OASES) at the University of Antwerp successfully proposed a research project funded under the 7th Framework Programme that will address key questions such as: how can social innovation complement, reinforce and modify macro level policies, and vice versa? How can the conditions be improved to move towards the Europe 2020 objectives?
The OSE, along with the Research Institute for Work and Society (HIVA, KULeuven), conducted a research project aimed at exploring the practices of Belgian Public Centres for Social Action (PCSA), whose work is related to the social integration of first and second-generation migrants. The research investigated the practices of PCSAs, the partnerships that are mobilised and the interaction with other (social) policy strands. The project combined the findings of a web survey of the 587 Belgian PCSAs with more in-depth case studies.
Discovering methods to effectively combat poverty and social exclusion has become a major political challenge in Europe, especially in the context of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Danai Konstantinidou joined OSE as a Researcher in October 2025. Her research focuses on social protection, poverty, welfare states, and comparative social policy and policy evaluation, with deep expertise in both qualitative and quantitative methods. She is in the final stage of her PhD in Social Policy at the University of York, funded by the ESRC White Rose Scholarship, where she examines the impact of social transfers on income poverty and deprivation in EU member states.
Team OSE
With a Master's degree in Social Sciences obtained in 1986 and in-depth expertise in applied socio-economic analysis acquired during his career, Ramón Peña-Casas joined the OSE in 2000. Since then, he has been involved in numerous projects examining the complex interactions between employment, social and social protection in the context of flexible governance methods implemented at European level.
Team OSE