Social planning

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Social planning moves in the field of tension between politics, science and practice, it is social research , planning and coordination activity at the same time. It sees itself as an important part of communal social policy . It offers the possibility of influencing or helping to shape socio-political processes or decisions at the local level. While the character of social policy has historically been more caring and reactive, social planning takes an active and forward-looking approach. Social planning develops social support systems with foresight and checks them for their effects.

Tasks and goals of social planning

The aim of social planning is to improve local living conditions and to increase equal opportunities. In its social function it aims at social justice and the reduction of regional inequality. In this form, social planning represents the perspective from below and deliberately operates in a partial manner. It aims at structures in which those affected can express themselves and take their fate into their own hands. It is control support for politics and administration in the needs-based, socio-spatial further development of the social infrastructure. Social planning supports management in the social area through the development of data-supported objectives, through valid needs assessments and the ongoing evaluation of existing service offers. It thus makes a contribution to a needs-based, efficient and economical range of social services and facilities. Its core element is small-scale social reporting . Strategic social planning requires a cross-departmental and cross-institutional, participation-oriented, transparent and communicative approach. It is not the sum of the technical planning, but a separate planning unit. It is about the exchange within the local administration as well as outside the administration with free and private providers of social offers and with people in the neighborhood. The participation of political bodies and the preparation of resolutions are also important tasks.

Social planning sees itself as an integrated planning approach and should take into account connections and interactions with important political fields of action. As a result, social planning is also able to initiate and accompany processes of organizational development and quality management. Central cooperation partners within the administration include the youth welfare office , the social welfare office , the education office , the health office , the municipal integration center, the residents' registration office and the job center . A connection to the areas of urban planning and the environment will become increasingly important in the future, as more and more interfaces are identified in a joint small-scale view.

Development in Germany

The understanding of social planning was significantly shaped by the Association for Social Planning eV (VSOP) and the "Modern Social Planning Manual" published by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia. The manual describes the history of social planning and its fields of activity in detail.

In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, municipalities that want to implement strategic social planning in the administration were supported by the state's own specialist agency for social space-oriented poverty reduction (FSA). The agency was the NRW.ProjektSoziales GmbH, based in Gelsenkirchen. The FSA advised municipalities as well as other public and non-profit actors in North Rhine-Westphalia on the establishment and further development of strategic social planning as well as on the development of specific solutions that were suitable for combating poverty and social exclusion. The company was dissolved by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs NRW on December 31, 2018. Tasks previously performed by the FSA were taken over by the Society for Innovative Employment Promotion mbH (GIB NRW), based in Bottrop.

In Thuringia, municipalities can get advice from the Institute for Municipal Planning and Development eV on questions about integrated planning. The association is financed from state and European funds. In Thuringia, there is also a strategic social planning competence center, a support and advisory structure for independent welfare organizations.

Job description of the social planner

Social planners are active wherever social problems have to be dealt with: with governments, with associations of voluntary welfare , in independent institutes or individually, working on a freelance basis. First and foremost, however, social planning takes place at the local level: in cities , municipalities and districts . Social planners often have a degree in the field of social sciences, sometimes also in human geography or spatial planning. Due to the wide range of tasks, social planners are expected not only to have knowledge of methods and statistics, but also a high level of communication skills, an understanding of overall communal contexts and a basic understanding of the work of all departments in the commune, as well as an understanding of the different sponsorships in the provision of communal services.

There is no regulated training path for the occupation as a social planner. In addition to the specialist knowledge acquired during the course, further training may be useful. The Verein für Sozialplanung eV, for example, offers a comprehensive training opportunity to become a social planner.

Legal basis of social planning in Germany

The legal bases for municipal planning tasks are different. While youth welfare planning already has a long tradition, care needs planning is quite new as a mandatory task for municipalities. In contrast, there is no direct legal obligation for social planning. It is one of the voluntary self-administration tasks in local social policy. In principle, however, a planning mandate or at least the need for social planning can be derived from the Social Security Code in Section 1 of Book One . It says here that the Social Security Code should design social benefits that contribute to the realization of social justice and security. Furthermore, the prerequisites for the free development of the personality as well as the acquisition of a living through a freely chosen activity should be created. Section 17 describes the implementation of social benefits. Social services and institutions must be available in good time and in sufficient quantities to perform their tasks and the service providers are obliged to work towards this.

See also

literature

  • Veronika Hammer (Hrsg.): Municipal educational landscape of the city of Coburg. Strengths, signs, own cultures, transitions . PF-Verlag, Oldenburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-86585-551-0 (social planning edition).
  • Silke Mardorf: Concepts and methods of social reporting. An empirical analysis of communal poverty and social reports . Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 978-3-531-90372-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfred Reichwein, Annette Berg, Dirk Glasen, Andreas Junker, Janine Rottler-Nourbakhsch, Stephanie Vogel, with the assistance of Martina Trauth-Koschnick: Modern social planning. A handbook for local authorities. Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf 2011 ( Download [PDF; 6.0 MB ; accessed on January 23, 2018]).
  2. ↑ Homepage of the FSA, viewed January 10, 2018 .