The work of SPRINT comes at a timely moment, with the current focus on delivering the aspirations of the European Pillar of Social Rights which includes a right to affordable long-term care services of good quality. The contribution of SPRINT has been to further develop the analytical methods and practical tools required for implementation of a social investment approach in LTC.
However, at the same time it clearly emerges from the work of SPRINT that adopting a social investment perspective in long-term care involves particular challenges. SPRINT has identified a set of measures that should be taken at EU and national levels to further develop the necessary conditions for effective implementation of the social investment approach, as outlined below:
• establish a stronger evidence base, especially with a view to achieving a better understanding of the relationship between long-term care services and their outcomes;
• adapt legal and regulatory LTC frameworks, reducing rigidities in the system to maximise the potential benefits of the social investment approach;
• engage with stakeholders so that their input plays a central role in determining the value of social investment;
• build a dedicated social investment infrastructure – a shared resource of assessment methodologies for cost-effective investment in LTC; exploiting innovative mechanisms for mobilising resources for investment that complement public spending; training in necessary analytical skills use of social investment principles and where these are less developed; finally,
• apply and develop existing operational tools that would help facilitate implementation - one example developed by SPRINT researchers is a tool for assessing social investment in LTC, which can be accessed at:
http://sprint-project.eu/impact_tool/(öffnet in neuem Fenster).
Outputs from SPRINT and further information can be found at:
http://sprint-project.eu/(öffnet in neuem Fenster).
