A one-day workshop for representatives of CSOs from the thematic network "Fourth shift - invisible work" called "Creating a methodology for analyzing the social impact of interventions” was held on March 30th via the Zoom application. The workshop had 15 participants, and the workshop leader was Suzana Kunac (Fifth Discipline).
The workshop began with the introduction of the participants and the presentation of the goals and content of the workshop. As an introduction to the topic, the measurement of social impact in Croatia was discussed, the challenges of implementing social impact analysis were outlined, and the results of the research on civil society organizations conducted by ACT Group were presented. Social impact was then defined and the ways in which it can be measured. The session continued with the topic of the values behind the implementation of social impact studies.
After introducing the basic terms and concepts, the workshop continued with the analysis of two examples of social impact analysis. The first example dealt with the Fund for Pluralism and Diversity of Electronic Media, where the social impact research was focused on assessing the effects of programs (shows) co-financed by the Fund on the audio/audiovisual sector (radio and television media), audience/viewing, information and culture at the local and regional level, and assessing the recognizability of programs (shows), as well as detecting trends in the reception of media content co-financed by the Fund by citizens at the regional and local level, and detecting the assumptions of the publishers themselves about the benefits of co-financing public program content by the Fund, production and broadcasting experiences, and perceptions of the effects on the target audience and the sustainability of their own media production aimed at the public interest. The research methods used were presented, as well as the problems and challenges that arose during the implementation of the analysis and the publication of the results. Another example related to the National Plan for Roma Inclusion, where the research method included a preliminary survey in order to determine the current state of affairs. The objectives of the preliminary survey were to identify locations on the territory of the Republic of Croatia where 30 or more members of the RNM live, describe the population in each community (location, number of Roma households, language, names of key people in the community, etc.), describe the communities (distance from public services – hospitals, schools, kindergartens, etc.; communal infrastructure, transport connections), collect data for sampling in the research (where and how many Roma to include in the survey research so that the sample would be representative), after which it was possible to conduct the research itself. The research itself used the method of surveys, interviews and focus groups.
The second part of the workshop was dedicated to the joint creation of a social impact analysis methodology for policy guidelines, using the example of the policy guidelines for improving the public policy framework for balancing family and professional obligations of men and women, developed as part of the project, which concern paternity and parental leave and the use of sick leave to care for a sick child.
At the end of the training, there was an oral evaluation, which summarized the lessons learned, presented the participants' impressions, and left room for questions and additional explanations.
A one-day workshop, led by Suzana Kunac, is part of the project “The impact of public policies on the quality of family and working life and on the demographic picture of Croatia – spaces of change” whose implementation began on 28.10.2020. and lasts 36 months. The value of the project is 3,599,941.69 HRK, of which 15% is financed from the state budget of the Republic of Croatia, and 85% from the European Social Fund. The project aims to strengthen civil society organizations included in the Thematic Network through partnerships, cross-sectoral cooperation with higher education institutions, and local and regional self-government units in order to achieve effective social dialogue with the purpose of developing and proposing adequate public policies, adapted to the cultural specificities of each region, in order to contribute to the harmonization of the private and business lives of citizens of the Republic of Croatia.
