Intervensions in Income Support that Increase the Chances of Self-sufficiency

External project members
Daniel Lindberg, FD, Örebro university

About the project

Disclosure of success factors in income support

Are you curious about how society can better support individuals in need? Let us introduce you to the co-production project: Interventions in Income Support that Increase the Chances of Self-sufficiency. An initiative that aims to improve method development and learning in income support through a systematic approach to evaluation.

What is the goal?

The project's overall goal is to promote method development and learning by using performance evaluation with formative elements. But what does that really mean? This means that we aim to continuously improve the way we support individuals in need by learning from our efforts and adapting along the way.

How does it work?

The project is based on a mixed method, an approach that combines qualitative and quantitative research methods to gain new insights. It comprises three main parts, each consisting of several sub-studies. Separately, these sub-studies can say a lot about the efforts of income support and its effect, but together, they lay the foundation for a step-by-step, sequential process for improvement.

Feedback is key

Regular feedback is essential to the research process. For each stage of implementation, feedback seminars are held with managers and staff. These quarterly gatherings serve as a platform to summarize insights and findings from the studies and discuss their implications for future measures in the field of income support.

Explore the journey

Let's take a closer look at what each study focuses on:

1. Understanding of market expectations and requirements: Through interviews, we delve into employers' perspectives on municipal employment initiatives and the labour market demands. What expectations do employers have of their employees? What are the market's requirements?
2. Mapping of interventions: We thoroughly review ongoing and previous interventions within income support. This includes examining the methods and tools used in the assessment processes, analysing interventions aimed at employing and activating unemployed individuals, as well as exploring what research says about these subjects.
3. Test and evaluate methods: We test promising methods. By evaluating interventions used in Eskilstuna municipality, we aim to identify what works, what needs to be improved and how we can achieve it. We compare results across different studies and consider the clients' backgrounds and the nature of the intervention.
   
   

A continuous improvement journey

Our work doesn't end here. Through continuous performance evaluation, we are committed to perfecting our approach based on both qualitative and quantitative data. This process, guided by evolving principles, ensures that our findings are continuously fed back into our practices and drives meaningful change in income support. Join us on this journey of discovery and improvement as we strive to create a more supportive and empowering community for all.

Project objectives

The co-production project aims to contribute to method development and learning through outcome evaluation with systematically recurring feedback (formative elements). The project employs an overarching Mixed-Method approach, consisting of 3 main components with a total of 5 sub-studies, each constituting separate efforts but all to some extent laying the groundwork for the subsequent phase in a stepwise, sequential process. Feedback seminars with managers and staff are held for each individual component during implementation. These quarterly seminars summarise the knowledge gained from the project's studies and discuss their implications for ongoing work within social welfare support.

The project's primary purpose is to support method development and learning through outcome evaluation with formative elements.