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Europe is facing a range of challenges, from an ageing population to increasing financial insecurity, growing inequalities and evolving work practices. While policymakers know that adapting to these changes is key to a resilient European economy, this is usually only discussed in relation to individuals.
What’s left out of these conversations is the family. “The vast majority of people live within some form of a family, so their resources and capacities are fundamentally shaped by the close relationships formed within this setting,” says Rense Nieuwenhuis, an associate professor of Sociology at Stockholm University.
rEUsilience is working to position families as a driving force for building a more resilient Europe.
“Our goal is to design policies that ensure all European families have the resources, skills and support they need to flourish in a rapidly evolving world,” notes Mary Daly, a professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Oxford, who also worked on the project.
A double disadvantage for many families
The project started with a deep dive into family life, studying not only how families operate but, more importantly, how they cope with the many challenges they face. Using a range of methodologies, including focus groups and analyses of large data sets, the researchers identified several important limitations to families’ capacities for resilience. At the top of this list is poor access to resources, which can restrict a family’s ability to take risks or adapt to change.
“When multiple risks converge, such as unemployment and poor health or the need for caregiving, the situation tends to become too difficult for many families to overcome,” explains Daly.
“In Europe, many families also face a double disadvantage in that those who are most exposed to the risks of the new world of work are less capable of overcoming those risks,” adds Nieuwenhuis.
Turning research into action
With this research in hand, the project turned its attention to translating the findings into actionable recommendations. “Europe’s welfare states do not work equally well for every family, with the cracks being rooted in policies that are insufficiently inclusive, flexible and complementary to the needs of different families,” notes Nieuwenhuis.
To help fill some of these cracks, the project set up an innovative Policy Lab. By bringing together families, family organisations and policymakers, the Lab aims to provide policymakers with a portfolio of services and solutions – and a roadmap for implementing them – that will ensure no family is left behind. For example, the project is developing policies that smooth the transitions of family life. It is also creating a comprehensive model of family support services.
“The Policy Lab was designed with impact in mind and will leverage our research to drive evidence-based decision-making in relation to family support and family caregiving at both the EU and Member State levels,” says Daly.
The project also helped improve how families are understood in some of Europe’s leading demographic databases. This includes classifying households based on people’s family relations, an approach that better identifies households that are normally clumped together as ‘multigenerational households’. Furthermore, researchers are developing a bespoke survey that can be added to the current EU survey portfolio to better understand what actually happens in families in terms of resource accrual, sharing and resilience.
Shared benefits
By consolidating social policies and the work of public and non-profit organisations, the rEUsilience project represents a big step towards ensuring policy decisions provide families with the support they need to navigate an often challenging world.
“If our recommendations are taken into account, then our work will indeed have an impact in enabling a work-life balance for more families, which in turn would boost the capacity of family members to actively engage in and contribute to a resilient European society and economy,” concludes Nieuwenhuis.