POLITICHE SOCIALI E SERVIZI - 2014 - 1

The survey presents 4 stages of the development and the crisis of the welfare state, conventionally: 1. from 1880 to 1945; 2. from 1946 to 1970; 3. from 1971 to 2000; 4. from 2000 to today. These stages are analyzed with to interpretatives paradigms, relates to two correspondings trade off: 1. a pragmatic-reformer paradigm, typical of the tradition of the Social Administration (from Beveridge to Giddens), who focuses on the political-institutional trade off between equality on principle and un-equality as a matter of fact; 2. a critical-existential paradigm (from Tocqueville to Rosanvallon), who focuses on the historical-anthropological trade off between equality-as-levelling and meaningfulness. It is hightlighed particularly the deficit both of rationality and meaning, typical of the lates stages of the history of the welfare state, and, with reference to today condition of welfare state, the growing iniquity between the present and the future generations.

This paper analyzes the concept of “social innovation” based on a perspective that considers the centrality of relationship among people, organizations, services etc. This concept is used to realize some case studies about three areas of welfare: the community, the municipality and the corporate welfare. These case studies highlight some good practices realized in different countries in Italy for different targets and a different levels of intervention. However, it is possible to find some common caracteristics: relationship among actors involved, empowerment of users, reflexivity, governance, evaluation.

The paper reports the results of a case study conducted on the project “Albinea Insieme Casa Cervi Luigi”, a multi-purpose center for the elders in Emilia-Romagna. It is an interesting experience, created in partnership between the Municipality and the Parish of Albinea, which sees the direct involvement of citizens through a specific type of popular shareholding. Thanks to the shares of money invested, citizens can finally have a home for the elderly in their city. The study was aimed to analyze the dimensions of relational quality of service in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, integration between the different actors and ethical quality of the purposes, focusing on innovative aspects for the welfare of the city. It is an excellent example of civil economy based on the development of community social capital, social generativity and the continuous creation of networks of networks through the actions and the events held in the Center.

This study analyzes the local welfare policies that, in a city like Naples, aimed the redevelopment of the economic structure of the city, humiliated from the spread of the undeclared activities, the black market productions and the illegal economies. This redevelopment goes through the rules and actions design in the economy that promotes transparency, efficiency, integrity and normal market society growth. Special Sportelli di Prossimità have been created with the aim of supporting the productive activities development and in order to analyze and identify the economic operator requirements. These Sportelli are also able to offer qualified help through an expert team who provides information, opportunities and assistance not only to those who wish to enhance its business but also helping those who are interested in setting a new business up. However everything is based on promoting legality in the business and labour world as a main condition for the territory development.

The paper identifies the sources of innovation of the company welfare project promoted by Diesel, by highlighting how these can influence the company’s ability to generate value both inside and outside the company itself. Openness to change, which has always distinguished the brand, has become in fact a worthy ally to answer to the ever more complex needs of employees and their families, which have increased due to the recent financial and economic crisis. The case study analyses the main characteristics of the company welfare plan, by laying emphasis on how its contents reflect creativity and the countertrend of company philosophy and favours the socio-economic development of the territory. The study also shows how the company welfare proposal: is built like a closed-circuit process, that is, how it generates synergy the between the corporate welfare programs and the company’s main activity; uses circular subsidiarity by incentivising the exchange of knowledge, information and resources with public bodies, social enterprises and citizens, thereby laying the foundation for continuous improvement.

The case study deals with Luxottica, an Italian company world leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and sale of eyeglasses. Developed by a process of negotiation and coordination with the trade unions and employees in 2009, Luxottica’s corporate welfare aims to develop both corporate social responsibility, providing services for employees to cope with the “old” e “new” needs, and corporate citizenship, promoting services and facilities for the communities where the factories are located and building sustainable strategies for addressing large societal issues.

This essay is focused on a interesting case of social innovation for an ancient charity institution of the city of Brescia, Lombardia, Italy. The Congrega della Carità Apostolica, in fact, while it is a traditional religiously inspirited catholic congregation, nevertheless in the last years has changed its way of to be present in the local context as a social resource. In this new perspective, the Congrega is now a new actor of an innovative welfare system. The path of social innovation ensues from three major issues: first of all, the ability to renovate its leadership involving a new generation of professional, without waste its traditional inspiration. Furthermore, the “social housing” represents the new perspective to meet the growing demand of house from people of different social background. Finally, the Congrega has found the way to turn the traditional personal relationships into a system of network solidarity. For all these reasons, the case of the Congrega could be a suitable way to explain what may achieve a renovated social welfare system.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze mutualism as a way to offer potential solutions to growing social needs often not adequately satisfied by the public policies through a process that could be subsidiary and plural. We will describe the case of Mutua Ligure, a mutual benefit society (MBS) carrying out its activities in health and healthcare fields. Mutua Ligure has been created in 2013 thanks to the efforts of some national and local Third Sector organizations that wanted to constitute a legal entity which could operate as a supplementary health fund open to all citizens residing in Liguria territory. Indeed the openness to territory would have given the MBS great influence in order to empower its users when it is time to negotiate rates with health facilities. Moreover, mutualism allows the maximization of social resources invested since the focus of all services must be on people and their needs and this foster the development of solidaristic relations. All this in a subsidiary and supplementary way to already existing welfare policies.

Subject of this paper is the analysis of an innovative method of response to the needs of “fragile” children, that is, those children/young people (Italians and foreigners) without reference adults that are able to take responsibility for the children themselves: this method is represented by the figure of the volunteer legal guardian. It is a figure whose commitment, is realised in synergy with other actors present in society and in the specific environment of the child (natural family, the social reality of the home and host of the minor, social services institutions), promoting, in a subsidiary perspective, the individual well-being of those individuals involved, in addition to those in the social community. It is this figure that has been put in place in Lombardy thanks to the activity of the NGO “The Voice of the Child”, created in 2002, that this paper aims to analyze in its theoretical premises and in its practical results.