(26 February 2013) – Marjorie Jouen, an external advisor for the think tank, Notre Europe-Jacques Delors Institute, and frequent contributor to AEIDL has published an article on social experimentation in EU programmes.
In their search for new tools to address the economic crisis and with renewed interest in social innovation, European countries are taking ownership of the Anglo-Saxon concept of social experimentation and adapting it to their own situations. These efforts are supported by the EU, whose programmes against social exclusion are financing an increasing number of transnational social experiments, initiated at local, regional and national levels.
Conducted in 2008, the first study on social experimentation aimed to identify the optimal conditions for ‘acclimatising’ Europe to the concept derived from the Anglo-Saxon culture, taking into account the diversity of existing social models and the need to renew social policies.
For four years, the Progress programme has helped lead a range of communication and support activities for local projects. With this experience, the European Commission is considering extending the programme till after 2013 and to all Member States at national and regional levels.