On 13 April a conference was organised by IMPact (Improving Measurement of Public Support to Personal and Household Services), an EU project co-funded by the PROGRESS programme of the EU.
The focus of the conference was the comprehensive implementation and monitoring EU Guide to help Member States improve assessing and monitoring the macro-economic effects of their measures to support Personal and Household Services (PHS).
During the conference, project partners illustrated the different aspects of the Guide and, through constant interlocution with participants, how it can help public authorities in solving problems they encounter when designing, implementing and monitoring PHS policies.
It was followed by the 7th European Conference on Personal and Household Services on 14 April 2016.
IMPact project
The creation of the guide was the ambitious goal of the IMPact project when it was launched in 2014, but the long-term objective is to help public authorities shape policies that best fit their needs and objectives when dealing with PHS-related issues.
IMPact addressed for example
- (net) job creation
- transfer from the shadow economy to the formal economy
- sustainability/optimal level of public investment and return on investments
Background
The current societal evolutions such as changes in family structures, population ageing and a decrease in family carers mean that PHS are increasingly essential.
They improve the quality of life of elderly and dependent people and enable workers (mainly women) to balance their professional and personal lives. There are 7.3 million people in the EU working in PHS. These services should therefore be a political priority from an economic and societal point of view.
Nevertheless, public authorities face several problems and challenges when trying to address PHS-related issues. The abovementioned guide strives to tackle these problems and challenges.