7 Annual ESPAnet Conference 2009
The future of the welfare state
PATHS OF SOCIAL POLICY INNOVATION BETWEEN CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Urbino (Italy), 17-19 September 2009
DiSSPI Department • Faculty of Sociology • University of Urbino “Carlo
Bo” • Italy
17. PARTICIPATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN SOCIAL AND EMPLOYMENT POLICIES
http://www.espanet-italia.net/conference2009/call-for-abstracts/17.php
During the recent years, in many European countries two aspects of
governance have acquired a particular importance for social and
employment policies. The first is the spread of participation
practices in different sectors (activation measures, interventions
against unemployment, social services, health care, etc.). Although
these practices are different as for the actors involved, the degree
of formalisation, openness and inclusiveness, and the relationship
with the political sphere, the public discourse generally tends to
emphasize their positive effects, particularly with regard to citizens
empowerment. The second aspect concerns the development of procedures
for accountability depending on the application of New Public
Management to the public sector. These procedures, which are
articulated in quite diversified techniques, stress the responsibility
that the public and private actors involved in governance have towards
beneficiaries, citizens, communities.
As for the theoretical and analytical framework, on the one hand is
now well known that participation is both an ambiguous concept and a
heterogeneous phenomenon. On the other hand, different approaches are
attempting to understand the way policy techniques and procedures
incorporate ideas, values and categorizations, thereby affecting
policies outcomes themselves.
The main aim of the stream is to highlight the ways in which logics
and practices of participation influence accountability practices and
techniques, and vice versa.
We particularly look for papers addressing:
• the regulatory, cognitive and normative aspects of the
accountability instruments in the field of social and employment
policies (such as assessment procedures);
• the effects of any standard of quality certification; the role of
beneficiaries, citizens and communities in the construction and use of
these instruments;
• the implications for different types of participation and
empowerment.
Papers that focus on these issues either from a conceptual or an
empirical perspective (or both) or from different disciplinary
backgrounds and with a comparative view are particularly encouraged.
IMPORTANT DATES
15 March 2009 = deadline for abstract submission
27 April 2009 = Notification of selected abstracts
2 Mai 2009 = registrations open
31 Mai 2009 = Early bird registration and deadline for (some) hotel
options
15 August 2009 = Deadline for paper submission
1 September 2009 = Papers online
17-19 September 2009 = Conference
Lavinia Bifulco
Department of Sociology and Social Research
University of Milano-Bicocca
20136 Milano – Italy
Tel. +39 02 64487548.
lavinia.bifulco@???
Vando Borghi
Department of Sociology
University of Bologna
40125 Bologna – Italy
Tel. +39 051 2092866.
vando.borghi@???
