PLN 80 million will go to social organizations and enterprises across Poland as part of the “Social Premium” project. “We need a new approach to social services,” say the participants of the “Social Premium – A New Look at Social Services” conference. “The social premium can become a driving force supporting the development of the social economy in our country,” said Tomasz Jegier, President of the Management Board of the Cooperation Fund Foundation. Under the project, any local government unit that decides to commission a social service to a social economy entity through a public procurement procedure or a public task entrustment can apply for a grant covering up to 25-70% of the value of the contracted services. The maximum grant amount is PLN 350,000.
The “social premium” mechanism, firstly, provides much better access to social services at the local and regional levels, and secondly, it provides access to employment for people with disabilities. Finally, it responds to the trend of social services development, which is moving towards deinstitutionalization. “There is no better way to improve the quality of social services than by transferring them through local governments to social economy entities,” said Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy.
Conference participants agreed that bold changes are needed in the social services system in Poland. We finally need to move from hard to soft modernization. “It’s high time to show that it’s not just bridges that matter, but people,” said Professor Mirosław Grewiński, Rector of Korczak University – Academy of Applied Sciences and President of the Polish Society for Social Policy, assessing the approach to social services in many Polish local governments. “Currently, over 100,000 social entities operate in Poland, employing 200,000 people. These are modern companies that thrive in the demanding services market,” added Daniel Prędkopowicz, Director of the Cooperation Fund Foundation.
Thanks to the “Social Premium,” local governments can provide residents with more accessible and professional social services, and social economy entities will gain stable funding. The conference “Social Premium – A New Perspective on Social Services” brought together local government leaders, representatives of the social economy community, and experts in the field of social services.
Learn more about how to benefit from the “Social Premium”: https://premiaspoleczna.pl/
