ENCON - Enhancing CSOs Contribution to Evidence-Based Policy Making for Vulnerable Groups

Project description / General background

The current Belarusian social policy is focused mainly on the provision of non-means-tested benefits backed up by the state monopoly on punishment and not included civil rights protection and social inclusion. The social policy remains a serious financial burden in Belarus. Generally, an opinion-based policy is based on the official political line and ideology. Families at risks are obliged to pay monthly fees for alternative care for kids if they are taken away. The penitentiary system is expensive and ineffective at the same time, e.g. 40% convicts were recidivists in 2014. Young people with disabilities have limited access to inclusive education, labor market, public transport and medical/social care. According to statistical data, only 17% of young people with multiple disabilities are employed.

Objectives of the project

The main objective of the project is to enhance Belorussian CSOs capacities in conceptualizing and introducing projects aiming at supporting vulnerable groups. It will be achieved through strengthening capacity of CSOs to participate in and contribute to policy dialogue and accountability processes at local and national levels; providing CSOs with methodology and case-studies from other countries and promoting new innovative experiences and trends in social service delivery.

The project will target three vulnerable groups: i) families at risk, ii) children and youth with disabilities and their families, iii) prisoners. Preselected Belorussian CSOs are involved in vulnerable group support; other CSOs and local authorities are indirectly involved through communication policy and dissemination events. The methodology and case studies from other countries will be provided by specialists from participating V4 countries, i.e. Slovakia, Check Republic and Poland, who work together with Belorussian experts. In this project CASE is involved is a research concerning children and youth with disabilities.

Outputs

• Three State-of-the-Art reports of the V4 countries on the situation of three preselected vulnerable groups in the region including statistical data and description of current public policy measures, statistical data, V4 and international experience, benchmarks, as well as results of stakeholder interviews in Belarus;
• Three Cost-and-Benefit reports of the V4 countries on policy recommendations for the introduction and effective use of social policy evaluation tools, utilizing case studies and best practices from the Project, as well as V4 and international evidence.
• Policy papers “How to make social policy better in Belarus” will contain policy recommendations for the introduction and effective use of social policy evaluation tools, utilizing case studies and best practices from the Project, as well as V4 and international evidence.
• Publications in Belarus on the findings and results of the project unveiling the situation with chosen VGs in Belarus

Project funding: International Visegrad Fund, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Project leader: CASE Belarus

Project Partners: CASE Poland, Institute of Economic Research of Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia), The Faculty of Economics and Administration of Masaryk University (Czech Republic), ACT (Belarus).