Programming the Structural Funds for Roma Inclusion in 201420

The new 2014–20 EU budget period is the first to start with Roma inclusion high on the European agenda. The regulations on EU funds, adopted in December last year, create favorable conditions for launching ambitious policy reforms benefiting equality and Roma inclusion with support from EU funds.The relevant national level operational programs, to be finalized and adopted in the coming months, should take advantage of these favorable conditions and commit to policy reforms, such as investing in early childhood development; providing quality, desegregated education services that equip disadvantaged children for labor market participation; providing personalized employment services that are able to address multiple disadvantages; and strengthening access to primary health care services for marginalized communities in remote areas.Operational programs should also commit to changes in structures and procedures allocating EU funds, e.g., by setting up strong equality policy units, using simplified cost options, and launching global grants and capacity-building services.The Making the Most of EU Funds for Roma program of the Open Society Foundations contributes to the programming of Structural Funds for Roma Inclusion with this toolkit. The aim of the toolkit is to assist public authorities involved in the programming by describing not just what should be done but also how these can be don

Financing Homelessness Services in Europe

This comparative report is the eleventh in a series of studies led by the European Observatory on Homelessness. This research looks at how municipal, regional, and national governments provide financial support to preventing and ending homelessness, highlighting both challenges and good practice. The report considers current funding systems in relation to the goals of the Lisbon Declaration to end homelessness by 2030 and argues that funding systems are often not well synchronised with recent thinking about the best strategies and service models to prevent and reduce homelessness

The Private Sector and Emergency and Temporary Accommodation in Europe

This comparative report is the twelfth in a series of studies led by the European Observatory on Homelessness. This research looks at how private sector activity in supplying emergency and temporary accommodation in Europe is expanding and changing. There are serious concerns about the standard and pricing of the temporary accommodation being provided by the private sector and with the possibility of predatory finance taking an interest in homelessness systems. The implications and ways forward in the context of the European Platform to Combat Homelessness are considered