Welfare in action

With the Welfare in Action programme, launched in 2014, Fondazione Cariplo has experimented with new forms of local welfare based on the strengthening of the community dimension and therefore on the engagement of society and citizens in participatory processes to respond more effectively and efficiently to existing and emerging social needs. 

Thirty-seven projects, currently all completed, have been supported in the four editions of the call for proposals, with a total of 352 public and private social partners involved (as well as hundreds of other entities in the connected networks), €36.5 million of grants approved against a total cost of €82.7 million.

In line with the methodological choice of leaving the identification of the issue for focus to the project networks, in recent years a cross-sectoral process of rethinking local welfare in many funded areas has been launched in the communities. Many topics have been addressed with transformation and innovation in mind: from vulnerability to care and conciliation services, from local policies for young people to how to meet the needs of people with disabilities, from mental health and corporate welfare with connections to local care services to the widespread integration of asylum seekers and restorative justice. The projects were supported at various stages in their monitoring, communication and fundraising activities, including by encouraging practical meetings in the community, as well as encounters and in-depth analysis.

The project and the various actions supported have been reported in articles on the website WelfareinAction and at several public events, including ones held on 22 September 2017 at the Teatro Elfo Puccini and on 28 March 2019 at the Palazzo delle Stelline. Fondazione Cariplo also believes in the importance of conducting in-depth analyses of the learning and outcomes arising from the projects, made possible by the collaboration of research institutions, resulting in publications and articles on relevant websites.      

Link for further information