Stakeholders join us at the helm Belgium Julien Van Geertsom May 16th 2017

FPS for Social Integration OUR OBJECTIVES: Defend the right to social integration Fight against all aspects of poverty and social exclusion Act to ensure social cohesion and development in large cities Ensure integration, prioritising social welfare Set up continuous dialogue

FPS for Social Integration KEY FIGURES Number of employees: 175 Budget: € 1,2 billion € 900 million goes to minimum income Belgium's at risk poverty rate: 15 % Number of minimum income beneficiaries: 125.000 / month 30 % is younger than 25 yo

Our key stakeholders 589 public centers for social welfare (PCSW) Democratically elected They decide whether a minimum income is granted 3 federations representing the PCSWs Anti-poverty networks Our minister and secretary of state, and their policy cells Our employees

… and their role in our strategic process Environmental analysis preceding the 3-yearly management cycle, that is used as input for the strategic plan Employee satisfaction survey Stakeholder satisfaction survey Internal CAF-exercice Context analysis, to identify changes in society Various SWOT-exercices, both with employees and with the key stakeholders and networks

Forms of stakeholder consultation Monthly consultative meetings with the federations representing the PCSWs Bi-weekly consultative meetings with the policy cells of the minister and secretary of state Semi-annual round of provincial meetings Belgian Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion Introductory workshops for PCSW employees, to improve work processes and relations between the FPS SI and the PCSWs

Co-design For every new project that affect our clients User groups that are assembled by the partners involved Objective: Make sure the result meets their needs

Participation of the employees Open dialogue - various participation platforms (both formal and informal) Quarterly general personnel meetings Bi-weekly service meetings Bi-weekly staff meetings Bi-weekly meetings of the management committee “Captain’s table” Suggestion box Transparent communication and information All information is made available through different channels (knowledge sharing platform, newsletters, meeting reports…) Employees are stimulated to share and consult information Decisions are preferably made by consensus Staff and management committee

Experts by experience in poverty and social exclusion Why ? Deep rift that separates persons living in poverty from the rest of society In different areas of society, usually in several areas at once (education, health, housing, income, social network…) Persons who have experienced poverty are best placed to bridge this rift What ? “experts by experience in poverty and social exclusion within the federal public services” method set in motion the changes that are necessary, from the perspective of persons living in poverty, at every level of the federal public services in order to safeguard the fundamental social rights of all citizens Good practice at 7th Quality Conference (2013, Vilnius)

In conclusion Thanks to the extensive participation from both the internal and external stakeholders, and the concept of co-design that are structurally embedded in our activities, we succeed in helping our partners to complete their missions so that citizens who slip through the gaps of the social safety net can still have a dignified existence

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” Henry Ford

Thank You Julien Van Geertsom FPS for Social Integration WTC II - Tower 2 Boulevard Roi Albert II 30 1000 Brussels +32 2 508 85 85 julien.vangeertsom@mi-is.be