| Objectives |
Welfare systems in the EU and in the Accession Countries attempt to reduce, avoid, or at least ameliorate social exclusion. Yet, welfare systems in the EU and the Accession Countries are currently in the process of fundamental transformation. The changing social, political, and demographic realities of the past decades provide formidable challenges to existing welfare systems. As a result, policy-makers are looking for new models and approaches to social protection that can withstand these challenges. Pension systems are the central feature of any welfare protection scheme. For these reasons, pension reform has been on high on the policy agenda of most EU and Accession Countries. Although pension reform experiences in different countries have been quite diverse, they all lack substantive input from stakeholders, in this case the public. The proposed project aims to provide the experience with public involvement in the field of policy reform which is missing in the field of pension and more generally welfare reform. It will test focus groups as a means for more direct participation by the citizenry in the pension reform process. Focus groups in conjunction with a series of expert interviews, will also be used as a method for identifying and analysing those factors that are necessary for re-shaping welfare systems and rendering them capable for adjustment against the structural and demographic challenges faced. |
| Project Partners |
 Birbeck College, London, United Kingdom
Institut Symlog de France, Cachan, France
LOS-Centre, Bergen, Norway
IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria
IRiDiSS, Penta di Fiscicano, Italy
Warsaw School of Economics, Poland |
