The Center for Social Policy (CSP) organized an introductory course and workshop on 20 April in Belgrade for representatives of Local Coordination Bodies for Social Welfare. The introductory course was held as part of the “New partnerships and opportunities for innovative and sustainable approaches to social and labour market integration of vulnerable groups (NoVA)” project implemented by the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs of the Republic of Serbia (MoLEVSA), with project partners from Serbia and Slovenia. The project is funded by the European Union as part of its programme for Employment and Social Initiatives (EaSI).

The introductory course served as a basis to familiarize local partners from Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad with the project, its objectives and envisaged activities to be implemented during the next 30 months of project duration. After MoLEVSA and CSP presented the project activities in detail, IPSOS presented the Questionnaire on the views and opinions of beneficiaries of financial social assistance (FSA). The questionnaire is designed for a survey that will be implemented at the beginning and end of the project, to provide relevant information on FSA beneficiaries, their views and needs regarding inclusion in the labour market. Representatives of Local Coordination Bodies for Social Welfare from Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš then discussed specific issues related to project implementation in their communities during the forthcoming period.

The “NoVA” project aims to establish effective partnerships between national and local institutions and to implement integrated services to respond to the needs of vulnerable population groups, beneficiaries of the right to financial social assistance. The project should test various support measures to FSA beneficiaries to prepare a plan for the development of inter-institutional models and accompanying support measures and services for the active inclusion of vulnerable individuals in the labour market. The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the improvement of the status of vulnerable groups in Serbia, to raise their employability and inclusion in society. A specific objective of the project is to reduce barriers to access to social services and access to the labour market for the most vulnerable groups in Serbia, through integrative approaches and new partnerships of various stakeholders.

More information on the project can be found here.