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Last week an interesting conference on collaboration between the public sector and civil society organisations (CSOs) in supplying social services took place at the European Economic and Social Committee.

Different speakers presented how this cooperation is shaped in Poland, Germany and France. The Polish government recently adopted a law that institutionalises the creation of public social partnerships. Some initiatives had spontaneously been initiated by citizens. Most social services have been organised in a non-economic way with limited competition among providers, except for elderly care and services for young people. The government also launched two programmes: one on social economy and another aimed at fighting poverty, which is being developed by CSOs.

In Germany, since 1880 the welfare model has been characterised by a long history of partnerships between the public sector and private non-profit welfare organisations.  The German model is shaped by the so-called triangular relationship, between the public administration, service providers and users. It is based on the user’s free choice of the services. The system has recently been opened to for-profit providers. It has to face new challenges, such as financial constraints, the need for innovation and increased competition. However, the partnership model still remains vital. It is efficient, the public sector benefits from the expertise of CSOs and the added value of its voluntary work, a larger variety of services as well as a high level of quality are ensured.

In France, the partnership between public authorities and CSOs has been institutionalised with the creation of Social Action Community Services (CCAS) where representatives of CSOs and decision-makers stand on equal footing. A fund of 50 million euros was set up to help CSOs facing financial difficulties. The public sector has realised that if CSOs are not supported, social needs will drastically expand and municipalities will have to deal with them.

These three experiences testify how important is to shape cooperation among the different actors. Different models of service provision exist in member states and they are conditioned by European Union policies: for example, public procurement, trade agreements and the European Semester. One major challenge social services are facing everywhere is long-term investment and sustainability of finances. I fully support Heather Roy, who spoke on behalf of Social Services Europe, who said that if social investment is applied in social services (e.g. a preventative approach and early investment in the life cycle) it will contribute to sustainability and long-term investment in the sector. Partnership and dialogue among the different actors are also essential in this respect.