The working group „Social Policy” deals with issues regarding the traditional scope of social policy, namely social security systems. The working group’s aim is to develop the theoretical and practical issues associated with four areas of social security: social insurance, public health, long-term care, and social care. The group assembles in plenary sessions and also within subgroups dealing with particular subjects. Independent approach towards long-term care is highly innovative in Polish context as this field was analysed only in terms of public health or social care systems. Disembedding of this area seems particularly interesting in terms of emergent needs of growing part of population and as a systemic approach in Polish social policy. 

The group’s aim is to analyse the situation of social provisions in Poland in four areas of social security, especially regarding production and delivery of social services. The group will create a catalogue of social services and then scrutinise their quality, financing methods, legal aspects, infrastructure and service delivering entities. 

In result they will present the institutional pluralism in social service delivery in all these four areas, as well as try to assess efficacy of undertaken actions and assess the management and coordination system of social policy in these areas. 

During analytical research special attention will be directed towards marketisation of social services, including process of privatization and socialization of services. This seems to be an important issue as for the past several years there has been a tendency in Poland to direct social tasks from national and public sector level towards private and social entities. The academics and practitioners will diagnose the situation regarding contracting and delegating social services to other entities, process of monitoring and control of these services by the institutions that finance social provisions, and availability of diverse social services to the citizens.  

The work group’s research will effect in publication of a scientific book presenting current state of knowledge on social security systems in Poland. The focus of analytical research on social services is highly important as many social services still need to be developed in Poland and the services themselves have to be integrated within professional management system and properly coordinated. The book will include recommendations for decisionmakers regarding need to introduce systemic changes into social security policy in order to improve quality and availability of social services.