The project aims at studying the developments that have taken place in recent years in the field of global social policy and global social governance. Several regional integration bodies, regional agreements and international organisations have identified the need to develop regional social policies to balance economy driven integration processes with a social policy dimension.

The UN reform and several projects led by UNDP have also focused on these issues with the aim of improving the effectiveness of UN interventions in countries and regions in the world, to secure the comprehensiveness of social and employment policies, including stronger social protection and poverty alleviation policies and better provision of health and education services at national and regional levels. The project is designed to contribute to these objectives, by increasing knowledge about these processes in order to strengthen the regional dimension of social policy and governance considering the relationship of this to the ongoing reform of the UN.

(1)  A High-level meeting symposium on the “Social Dimensions of Regional Integration” was organised in Montevideo (20 to 23 February 2006). Major papers and policy conclusions are published on the UNU-CRIS website. A special issue of Global Social Policy (Sage) was published in 2007 with the Montevideo Symposium papers and other relevant material.

(2)  In 2007, UNU-CRIS jointly organised with GASPP and the Open University Centre for Citizenship, Identity and Governance (C-CIG) a workshop on Regional Social Policy at its premises. The purpose of the workshop was two-fold. Firstly, it intended to enable the authors of a proposed volume on Regional Social Policy to receive feedback on draft chapters. Secondly, it aimed to develop and bid for funds to undertake a collaborative three year (2007-2010) programme of research and policy dialogue on Regional Social Policy in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

(3)  As a follow-up to the workshop, the book World-Regional Social Policy and Global Governance. New research and policy agendas in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America was published at the end of 2009. The Routledge  volume is edited by Bob Deacon, Maria Cristina Macovei, Luk Van Langenhove and Nicola Yeates. This volume explores the case for and the prospects of the development of world-regional social policies as integral elements of a pluralistic, equitable and effective system of global governance. Combining the perspectives and collective expertise of a team of international scholars and activists, we bring together in one place for the first time (i) the theoretical and policy cases for a focus on regionalism and social policy; (ii) a mapping and analysis of social policy dimensions of regional integration processes and formations in four continents; (iii) an assessment of the regional dimensions of global agencies, in particular of the  United Nations (UN) system, including the approach to regional social policy of the UN Regional Economic Commissions and Development Banks; and (iv) an articulation of a multi-levelled conceptualization of global social governance within which regional associations of countries plays a significant part.

(4)  In 2008, the International Labour Organization (ILO) commissioned UNU-CRIS to convey a report on “Deepening the Social Dimension of Regional Integration. An Overview of Recent Trends and Future Challenges in Light of the Recommendations of the Report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation”, which has been converted into ILO Discussion Paper 188. By addressing recent trends and future challenges regarding the deepening of the social dimensions of regional integration, the paper also touches upon the role of regions in building a regulatory framework for international migration. Furthermore, it assesses intra-regional portability of skills and labour qualifications.

(5)  During 2007-2009 UNU-CRIS and ITC-ILO implemented an awareness and capacity development project focusing on "Regional integration, economic partnerships and their impact on employment and labour market policies". The project has been conceived and is focusing mainly on ILO constituents training needs in the wake of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization report. The project specifically addresses the impact of regional integration processes and open trading regimes on employment and labor market policies within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

At the end of 2008, UNU-CRIS submitted to the ITC-ILO a Report on “Regional Integration, Decent Work, and Labour and Social Policies in West and Southern Africa” by: Bob Deacon, Karel Van Hoestenberghe, Philippe De Lombaerde and Maria Cristina Macovei. The final report in combination with other relevant literature was used as input for the designing of the training activities under the Project. UNU-CRIS took the lead in the preparation of teaching materials and delivered specific sessions during the trainings in its key areas of expertise. A number of seminars, for example on impact assessment methodologies, were co-facilitated by ITC-ILO staff and UNU-CRIS consultants. 

(6)  Since 2008, UNU-CRIS is carrying out a research project on the Free Movement of People within Regional Organizations, which is conducted in cooperation with and financed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The overall objective is to address the role of human mobility within regional integration processes throughout the world. In order to gain insight into the regional organizations’ approach to free movement of people, a combination of desk research and surveys is being applied. During the first phase of the project, a background paper and questionnaire have been drafted serving as a starting point for the subsequent in-depth research. The questionnaire has been sent to around 30 regional organizations worldwide including, among others, inquiries related to the legal mandate of the organizations, specific free movement policies as well as their implementation. During the second phase a more in-depth analysis will focus on some particular organizations.

Through the collection of factual information (treaties, protocols etc.) as well as the analysis of policy instruments and their implementation in the field of free movement, this project aims at presenting a clear overview of the current trends in the regional organizations’ approach to free movement of people.

Contact persons: Luk Van Langenhove, Philippe De Lombaerde, Bob Deacon, Eric Maertens and Maria Cristina Macovei

Contact person for the UNESCO project: Sonja Schröder