Study visit to Italy within the project "Improvement of the social protection system and preparation for the ESF" - IPA 2020

The delegation, which included representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, the Republic Institute for Social Protection, the Provincial Secretariat for Social Policy, Demography and Gender Equality and the Provincial Institute for Social Protection, in the period from September 24 to 28 was on a study visit to the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in Italy. The aim of the visit was to get acquainted with the integrated system of social and health care in Italy, as well as research on the possibility of applying their good practices in the Republic of Serbia. During the visit, the delegation got acquainted with the legal framework and the specifics of the functioning of the system in Italy, which includes close cooperation of the health and social sectors, with the participation of the civil sector and local self-governments. Special attention was paid to innovative models of service provision, such as the "money follows the user" concept, which enables a more flexible and efficient distribution of funds and services according to the individual needs of users.

One of the key conclusions of the study visit is that the integration of the social and health care system is extremely important for users, especially for vulnerable categories of the population, because it enables a comprehensive approach to their needs.

 - Legal frameworks in Italy are based on practical experiences, which enables their constant adaptation to the needs of users. The common conclusion of all representatives of our delegation is that there is a great possibility of applying good practices in Serbia, especially in the areas of improving reporting on community services, regulating standards for the provision of social services and better inclusion of local self-governments in the process of providing support. We would like to thank our colleagues from Italy for their hospitality, valuable insights and solutions that we will try to implement in our country as well - the representatives of the Serbian delegation agree.

The visit was realized within the project "Improvement of the social protection system and preparation for the ESF" - worth 2.3 million euros, financed by the EU (IPA 2020) and co-financed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia. The goal of this important project is to improve the effectiveness of social inclusion policies, in order to encourage equal opportunities and active participation of people from the most vulnerable and marginalized groups. The specific goal is to modernize the social protection system in order to improve non-institutional protection and timely access to quality and sustainable social protection services provided in the community.

The project "Improving the social protection system and preparation for the ESF" aims to support the improvement of the effectiveness of social inclusion policies through the modernization of the social protection system in order to improve non-institutional care and timely access to quality and sustainable social protection services in the community for the most vulnerable population groups. The project holder is the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, and the contracting authority is the Ministry of Finance, Departmentfor Contracting and Funding of Programs from the European Union.