The challenges facing social care & support and for which solutions are needed, demand the development of a new breed of decision makers who have the skills and confidence to secure financing for these changes from both public and private sources. However, social care & support providers and private investors are not natural bedfellows.a4i became possible, in large part, because members of the a4i consortium were actively involved in the recent High-Level Task Force on investing in social infrastructure. A key challenge accepted by HLTF members and working group experts is to create a new investment culture towards longer-term investment with sustainable returns. For investors this is a new market opportunity but one that requires a change in investor behaviour. Specifically, the ability to develop funding arrangements for social investment that will support the necessary transitions driving changes in social care & support. For social care & support providers, it is about the ability to know when private investment is the right path to go down and to better understand how to secure investors’ confidence with such arrangements over the long-term.a4i takes the results of the HLTF needs analysis and related evidence and translates them into a specifically designed professional development programme. The general aim of a4i is to develop and put in place a Knowledge Alliance that provides professional development opportunities that create more informed intersectoral working between investors and social care providers. In this, Higher Education Institutions offer a neutral platform for care & support providers and private investors engagement and exchange. The a4i training course, together with the Knowledge Centre and MOOC, will contribute to enhancing the mutual understanding, trust and ability to work together in securing more sustainable and diversified funding for integrated, flexible and individualised services.
The main project objective is to boost social investment in Europe by establishing a Knowledge Alliance that provides professional development opportunities to create more informed intersectoral working between investors and social care providers.
There is a significant social investment gap in Europe, in particular with regard to social care and support. The situation has only worsened with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many social care providers traditionally rely on public forms of investment and have more limited understanding of private investment. Similarly, private investors tend to not have a good understanding of social care and support. Universities do not have strong training programmes on social investment.
<< Background >> There is a significant social investment gap in Europe, in particular with regard to social care and support. The situation has only worsened with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many social care providers traditionally rely on public forms of investment and have more limited understanding of private investment. Similarly, private investors tend to not have a good understanding of social care and support. Universities do not have strong training programmes on social investment. << Objectives >> The main project objective is to boost social investment in Europe by establishing a Knowledge Alliance that provides professional development opportunities to create more informed intersectoral working between investors and social care providers. << Implementation >> By the end of the project, the a4i project has helped social care providers, private investors and higher education institutions to form a common understanding on social investment and develop training material; both online and face-to-face. << Results >> The main results of the a4i project are - State of Play report on Social Investment, European Guidance on Social Investment- a universal professional development programme on social investment & transpositions in BE, CZ, ES; following pilots in the three countries involved- An online knowledge centre with a Massive Open Online Course (Universal & BE, CZ, ES), a list of promising practices, a mentor database and much more.