Towards social inclusion in Europe The European Commission has set ambitious targets to fight poverty, reduce inequality, and create more and better jobs. An EU initiative has facilitated and improved comparative research in order to boost inclusive growth. Society Fundamental Research © Rawpixel, Thinkstock A high-employment economy that delivers economic, social and territorial cohesion is one of the key priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy – the EU’s growth strategy for the decade. To tackle these challenges, the social science community relies on research infrastructure such as facilities, resources and services that support European scientists in performing leading research. With EU funding, the INGRID (Inclusive growth research infrastructure diffusion) project supported the social science community by enhancing and further developing research infrastructure. Focusing on issues such as poverty, working conditions and vulnerability, as well as related labour and social policies, the project helped social scientists access and cross-compare data to support policymaking. It enabled them to identify and understand problematic trends in social situations and workplaces at European level using indicator-building tools. This also facilitated understanding of policy impacts and moving towards harmonisation of standards. Importantly, the project team integrated European research infrastructures in social science and provided access to hundreds of scientists and early-stage researchers through exchange visits, workshops and training events. Project achievements include a new indicator framework for the integrated poverty and living conditions indicator system, aimed at vulnerable groups such as children, youth and the elderly. It advanced data collection guidelines for groups that are difficult to identify and reach, in addition to using new methods to map and identify poverty and vulnerability at work. The team also worked on better online tools to survey new jobs and skills on the internet, as well as improved tools to generate comparative social policy indicators. An enhanced tax benefit simulation model and important statistical improvements in data analysis were all achieved to help researchers in the field. Lastly, the project examined current tools that measure occupations in EU Member States with different survey methods. It prepared an inventory on existing working conditions, occupational safety and health surveys for individuals. By improving the state of the art in research infrastructure, INGRID outcomes will help Europe to deliver growth that is inclusive, particularly with respect to job creation and poverty reduction. Keywords Social inclusion, poverty, inequality, inclusive growth, INGRID, living conditions
