As the end of HomeLab draws near, National Policy Workshops were organised in the four Visegrad countries to disseminate results, and share policy challenges and proposals with key actors and decision makers. The workshops organised in June 2019 in Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw attracted 50-100 participants each, including ministry officials and other public sector representatives from local and national scales. Pilot implementers involved key project partners from the civil society and private sectors.
The workshops helped draw professional and media attention on the project, and on the issues it addresses. It also gave opportunity to present the multi-stakeholder networks that the complex integrated service provision pilots necessitated, involving private employers and public bodies, as well as NGOs and church based charity organisations across a territory. Presenters also called for policy changes. The four Visegrad countries – Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – are all post-socialist EU member states, with some shared heritage, and post-transition welfare provision systems, in which numerous issues must be addressed. The workshops allowed to initiate discussion among national stakeholders, and foster the dialogue between national level decision makers on the one hand, and providers and other practitioners on the other.
Finally, the events served prepare for HomeLab’s closing conference, foreseen for late September 2019 in Budapest. On this event, refined and further elaborated recommendations and proposed policy modifications are planned to be presented before an international audience, among which EU representatives.
A summary of the four workshops was distributed among interested parties, especially the Advisory Board members of HomeLab, to support dissemination among professionals, practitioners, and decision makers. The Newsletter is also available for the general public – click here to download.
