New BI publication: a Czech solution to promoting social inclusion

02/06/2015

The problem of social exclusion is not unique to Hungary. Budapest Institute experts discuss the success of a remarkable Czech policy response to the problem in the ’Esély’ Journal of Social Policy. 

One of the several initiatives that have been taken to halt the severe segregation processes in the Czech Republic brings valuable experience to the Visegrad countries. Adrienn Győry and Anna Orosz, junior analysts of the Budapest Institute discuss the birth, the working model and the impact of the activities of the Czech Agency for Social Inclusion (Agentura pro Sociální Začleňování – SA) in a recently published article in the Hungarian Esély Journal of Social Policy.

The Agency helps municipalities of socially excluded localities to promote social inclusion. The complex, tailor-made and long-term approach to problem-solving is central to the success of the initiative. The main goal of the Agency is to empower municipalities to sustain and manage the projects improving social inclusion after the direct support of the Agency ends. The case of the Agency can serve as a valuable experience in the Hungarian context because it demonstrates how an extensive and diverse system of state institutions with capacity problems and weak patterns of institutional cooperation patterns can be made more successful in a cost-effective way.

The Budapest Institute had the chance to interview Alena Zieglerová, the programme director of the SA, about their experiences at the SA during our Policy Workshop Series on the problem of long-term unemployment in the Visegrad countries.