This project is supported under the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS 2007-2013).

Local Practice Workshop

Workshop Theme: Social Economy

City context

LAO BOLOGNA

8th July 2010

• The City of Bologna is located in a strategic position in the heart of Italy. In 2009 Bologna had about 377.220 inhabitants with a steady growing of foreigners residents (43.664; + 16% on 2008) representing more than the 10% of the total of the residents (especially young people under 24 – 18% of young people under 24 residents in Bologna are foreigners; foreigners children in childcare and primary schools are also growing and with an increasing of Italian elderly people (26% of the population) especially women. This means an increasing of families composed by one people.

• Bologna has one of the lowest unemployment rate in Italy (3.4%) and one of the highest per capita GDPs in Europe (€35.156). Over the last ten years, the number of businesses has grown by 83% and the number of employees by 33%; it is also the Italian town with the highest rate of employed women (65%). The education level has reached significant figures both as for percentage of total citizens with school graduation (60%), and university degree (26,2%).

Bologna: City’s characteristics (1)

•According to the European Regional Economic Growth Index (E-REGI) of 2009, Bologna in 2008 was the first italian city for economic grow rate.•Economy is mainly trained by service sector, industrial and agricultural sectors are also wide represented (packaging valley and several industrial districts).•There is a wide presence of Associations to testify the strong and effective active participation of citizens (1400 associations; 400 of them are related to social and health issues). They are directly and/or indirectly supported by the Municipality and represent a relevant resource for social policies).•Great importance of social economy and of social cooperatives which represent a great asset for social services delivering in the city: the experience of Piazza Grande – that will be presented later - is an example of it.•The University is the oldest in the world (founded in the year 1089) and is attended by over 87.000 students. Alongside its cultural tradition, Bologna is one of the most important business cities in Northern Italy, mainly because it is a crossroads of goods and people, thanks to its role as a "mobility hub".

Bologna: City’s characteristics (2)

• Nevertheless, in the last year there is a decreasing of the employment rate (-1,2%), with a strong increase of the unemployed share especially for those aging from 45-54 years (+6,4%) and over 55 years (+44,2%) and among those with low educational attainments (37%);

• Being the capital city of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Bologna attracts a great number of people in disadvantaged situations looking for job or for social assistance testified by a steady increasing of the disadvantaged people assisted by the Public Housing System (ERP in the Italian acronym).

Main social challenge/ social problem/ social development of the city

• Exclusive competences of the Regions in the social services field (Constitutional Law n° 3);

• the function of managing and providing social services is headed up by the Municipalities that may directly managing them or delegate their management and the provision to other bodies (such as Public utilities, Foundations, Cooperatives, Associations, etc.). Social cooperatives have a special role both in delivering and in employ disadvantages people;

• even when delegating social service management and provision to other bodies, Municipalities do not loose the effective ownership of their competences;

• the funds that Municipalities have at disposal come from the National Fund for Social Policies even if, technically, they come from the Regional Fund for Social Interventions on which national financial resources arrive. There is a also growing use of Municipality resources.

Organisation and governance: main actors

• The Municipalities are the public bodies in charge of the administrative functions which assure the service provisions, the expenditures and the relationship with the citizens. They have among their duties those of: 1. programming, designing and implementing the local integrated

social services system; 2. allocating services and financial supports;3. authorising and super-visioning social services and residential and

semi-residential structures; 4. identifying, together with the Regions, the territorial areas for the

Zone Plans; 5. defining the assessment criteria for the access to services.;6. assess services efficiency and efficacy in order to plan

programmes and guarantee that citizens can judge services quality.

Organisation and governance: role of city in social services provision

Organisation and governance: internal organisation/1

The city of Bologna is actually in a phase of strong development – started at the end of 2006 - that is concretised by a strong process of decentralization and subsidiarity in which the districts are acquiring more and more autonomy having achieved specific functions on social and educational services within the framework of regulations approved by the Municipality Council.

1. arrange meetings with professional social workers; 2. give information on the requirements to obtain financial

support; 3. set up procedures for obtaining fiscal and financial

exemptions, financial contributions, home assistance.

These functions are assured by Social Front Offices displaced in the 9 Bologna Districts and operating since October 2008. The Social front Offices are addressed to all citizens that are in need of help or simply want to receive information on social service provisions. They provide to:

Organisation and governance: internal organisation/2

1. the Emilia Romagna Region constituted three Public Utilities for Services to People (ASP) that will provide the social and educative services identified by the Districts to adults, minors, disabled, elderly persons. They signed a specific contract of nine years with the Municipality that, on yearly basis, are defined according to intervention priorities and financial resources.

2. social and health integrated services specialised for certain problematics (such as mental illness, drugs addictions) are also present at the district level on behalf of Local Health Institutions.

3. Following an Agreement between Municipality of Bologna and Province of Bologna, Employment Front Offices have been displaced in 3 out of the 9 Districts with the aim of being “closer” to people. These Offices are connected with the Public Employment Services Network and are able to favour the labour demand-supply matching, to support people in finding a job, and to provide individualised consultancies for vocational training.

At the same time:

Legal Framework: social services provision

• Legislative Decree 31st of March 1998, n° 112 “Conferimento di funzioni e compiti amministrativi dello Stato alle regioni ed agli enti locali, in attuazione del capo I della legge 15 marzo 1997, n. 59", Capo II “Servizi Sociali” (attribution of functions and administrative tasks from the State to Regions and Local Government in the social service field);

• National Law 8th of November 2000, n. 328 “Legge quadro per la realizzazione del sistema integrato di interventi e servizi sociali” (systemic Law for the implementation of an integrated system on social services and interventions);

• Constitutional Law 18th of October 2001, n. 3 “Modifiche al titolo V della parte seconda della Costituzione” (changes in the Title V of the second part of the Italian Constitution);

• Regional Law 12th of March 2003, n. 2 "Norme per la promozione della cittadinanza sociale e per la realizzazione del sistema integrato di interventi e servizi sociali" (Regulations for the promotion of a social citizenship and for the implementation of an integrated system on social services and interventions).

• One of the main current issues of social service provision in Italy is explicitly related to LEA (basic levels of assistance) because they have been defined with regard to health services (Decree of the President of the Ministries 22th of November 2001), but not yet with regard to social services.

• This delay has negative consequences also in economic terms: the State allocates yearly the National Fund for Social Policies trough Budget Law and until the LEA for social services will be not well defined, the Fund extent can be extremely variable causing problems to Regions in programming their interventions.

• Necessity to increase monitoring and to better coordinated different interventions and actors involved (both at a public and private level).

• Necessity of creating a protection system for disadvantaged adults.

Main current issues of social service provision in your country