GHK has long-standing, recognised expertise in the fields of employment and social affairs, spanning both European and national clients, and framed by the European Employment Strategy (EES), Structural Funds and other initiatives such as PROGRESS. We have particular expertise in restructuring, age management, lifelong learning, social dialogue, asylum and migration, gender issues, the European Social Fund (ESF), as well as cross-cutting areas such as transnational and inter-regional cooperation, dissemination and mutual learning. Our work ranges from in-depth studies and evaluations on specific or technical aspects of policy, through to assignments requiring the establishment of European networks of experts and the organisation of consultations, workshops and events. Examples of these assignments include:

European Employment Observatory – DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

We are currently responsible for the management of the European Employment Observatory. This involves the coordination of two networks of experts, namely:

• Mutual Information System on Employment Policies in Europe (MISEP) network, which is composed of representatives of the labour ministries and employment service administrations of each Member State, candidate country, Iceland and Norway. We support the network in providing up-to-date information on the latest labour market policy developments at national level.
• Community System of Documentation on Employment (SYSDEM) network that consists of independent labour market experts from each Member State, candidate country and Norway. We oversee the tasks of this network, which are to provide information on thematic issues to feed into a joint publication; to provide advice on the National Action Plans for Employment and Social Inclusion; and to provide ad-hoc advice to country desks, primarily on EES and ESF related-issues.

Mutual Learning Programme – DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

The objective of the Mutual Learning Programme (MLP) is to “encourage:

• Mutual learning at all levels and enhance the transferability of the most effective policies within key areas of the European Employment Strategy (EES); and
• Stakeholders to promote the wider and more effective dissemination of information about the EES.”

The MLP covers the 27 EU Member States as well as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

GHK is responsible for overall coordination and support of the MLP, in consortium with the Economics Institute of the AS CR, v.v.i, the Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Education of Charles University (CERGE-EI) and a network of policy experts. GHK’s work entails designing and organising a series of European Thematic Review Seminars and Peer Reviews in cooperation with the European Commission, preparing thematic papers on a range of employment topics, developing the MLP website, and inputting to other dissemination and exchange activities.

Expert services for the ESF EQUAL Community Initiative – DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

We are currently responsible for the provision of expert services to the ESF EQUAL programme in relation to the themes of Adaptation to Change and Asylum Seekers. This involves the identification, analysis and dissemination of the results of the transnational, innovative projects funded under EQUAL via:

• The preparation of policy and background papers, and website articles
• Project visits and case studies
• In-depth project research and analysis based on specific sub-themes
• The provision of expert advice, and contributions to national and European events

Long term social trends – DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

We produced a baseline scenario on the long-term social trends in Europe by 2020 using in-depth analysis of the interaction of the major driving forces of change for European social reality. Using this research, we explored related future societal needs in Europe and potential social policy responses to them. The study involved inputs from a range of independent experts, design and facilitation of a ‘scenario-building seminar’ and a policy gathering with the Director-General and Directors of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.

Verification of collective redundancy notification – European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

The overall aim of the assignment was to test the feasibility of using the legal requirement in European Directive 98/59/EC for employers to notify public authorities of impending collective dismissals as a means of complementing and verifying data held by the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM). It also involved testing the reliability of the ERM data via a sample of 100 cases of company restructuring.

New Deal for Lone Parents – UK Department for Work and Pensions

We undertook a qualitative assessment of the New Deal Plus for Lone Parent package offer in the UK. The main objective of the pilot was to test a new intervention regime based on a more 'persuasive' effort to draw out lone parents’ aspirations and provide the capabilities and support they needed to return to work. Our role was to assess the extent to which the 'package' of interventions worked effectively towards these goals, and to identify and highlight synergies and barriers.