Evaluation of the implementation and selected impacts of the introduction of the Housing Support Act
The project focuses on the analysis of the implementation of new legislation in the area of housing support at the level of municipalities with extended powers (ORP) and non-profit organisations (NPO). The research is linked to the specific research requirements of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) and concerns the areas of social work, social services and social inclusion. The main objective is to determine the strategies and organisational patterns selected by individual ORPs for the implementation of the new legislation and the extent to which these approaches impact the performance of social work in municipalities with extended powers and in the non-profit sector, especially with concern to the area of housing assistance.
While the project builds upon previous research conducted by the MoLSA, the Platform for Social Housing and other organisations, it covers a previously unexplored field since no legislation that specifically focuses on access to housing has yet been introduced in the Czech Republic. The project employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, in particular qualitative interviews, longitudinal case studies of selected ORPs, repeated questionnaire surveys involving social workers and their managers, the statistical analysis of administrative data and a participatory approach with the involvement of the various actors in the field. The project will analyse data obtained from applications for subsidies from the MoLSA recorded in the registration system.
The research will analyse in particular the capacities and qualifications of housing contact point personnel, the various relationships between the key actors, requirements for the development and methodological support of housing assistance and the impacts on the staffing of the social work agenda. The project time schedule will allow for the study of the preparations for, and the first phase of, the introduction of the legislation and the monitoring of emerging organisational patterns and their impact on the settings of the services provided, especially housing assistance, and propose recommendations concerning the documentation required for the in-time revision of the methodological materials and the legislative measures themselves.
The research results will serve as the basis for decision-making by the MoLSA, the compilation of methodological materials and the amendment of legal regulations related to the introduction of the social housing agenda, including interlinkages with other legislative and strategic documentation, including the Social Services Act, the social housing concept and the social inclusion strategy. The project outputs will also serve to expand the existing knowledge base on the functioning of social work in municipalities and contribute to the professional debate on the role of social workers in the social reform process.