The road to better government
Restructuring government institutions is a priority for modernisation, especially in younger EU states, many of which still carry the vestige of older autocratic systems or bureaucratic socialist regimes. The EU-funded project Profknow gathered research on restructuring in the welfare fields of education and healthcare. The project conducted research in several EU countries, studying both founding states and more recent nations, to gather expertise on institutional change, social cohesion and European integration. The team examined policy changes and different measures related to education, investigating the issue of work life under restructuring as well. Profknow organised 17 international conferences on the subject and its research was unveiled during many seminars. It supported the development of global networks such as the European Educational Research Association network on Politics of Education and Education Policy Analysis, as well as the European Education Policy Network. In effect, the project brought together researchers from eastern, southern and western Europe together, fostering strong exchanges on education and healthcare policies in the new Europe. This will enrich the European Research Area (ERA) in many ways and instigate positive restructuring in older welfare systems.
