On 20th April 2022 , the Center for Social Policy (CSP) organized an induction course and workshop in Belgrade for representatives of Local Social Coordination Bodies. The induction course was held as part of the project “New partnerships and opportunities for innovative and sustainable approaches to the social integration of vulnerable groups on the labor market (NoVA)” implemented by the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs of the Republic of Serbia (MoLEVSA), together with project partners from Serbia and Slovenia. The project is financed by the European Union within the Program for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).
The induction course served as a basis for familiarizing local partners from Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad with the project, its goals and the planned activities that will be implemented in the next 30 months during the project’s duration. After MoLEVSA and CSP presented the project activities in detail, IPSOS presented the Questionnaire on the attitudes and opinions of beneficiaries of financial social assistance (NSP). The questionnaire is intended for the purposes of conducting a survey that will be conducted at the beginning and at the end of the project and which should provide relevant information about the users of the NSP, their attitudes and needs regarding inclusion in the labor market. Representatives of the Local Coordinating Bodies for Social Protection of Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš then discussed specific issues for the implementation of the project in their communities in the coming period.
The “NoVA” project aims to establish effective partnerships between national and local institutions and implement integrated services in order to respond to the needs of vulnerable groups of the population of beneficiaries of the right to cash social assistance. The project should test various support measures for NSP users in order 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 labor market. The general goal of the project is to contribute to the improvement of the position of vulnerable groups in Serbia, their greater employability and inclusion in society. The specific goal of the project is to reduce barriers to access to social services and access to the labor market of the most vulnerable groups in Serbia, through integrative approaches and new partnerships of different actors.
