Information Management in Social Welfare Goes International
Social welfare and its information management face similar challenges across Europe. In Finland, it is important to learn about international innovations and share experiences with experts from other countries. The European Social Network (ESN) and its annual European Social Services Conference (ESSC) provide an excellent framework for the internationalization of social welfare information management.
Technology Supporting People and Communities
The European Social Network (ESN) was originally established to support the exchange of information among public social service leaders to improve the quality and efficiency of social services. This year, ESN celebrates its 25th anniversary. The ESSC 2025 conference held in Aarhus, Denmark in June hosted representatives from public authorities, third-sector organizations, social service providers, and technology solution providers an opportunity to share and exchange knowledge with colleagues from across Europe and the world.
The June conference explored how relational welfare approach and welfare technology act as key drivers of social service reform in the 2020s.
ESN CEO Alfonso Lara-Montero describes the direction of reform: "The relational welfare approach should be underpinned by technology because, when they are used thoughtfully, digital tools can enhance human relationships by making support more accessible, personalized, and responsive."
"Welfare technology can improve service efficiency and accessibility. It is vital that this technology is inclusive and human-centered," Lara-Montero emphasizes.
Insights into the State of Social Services in Europe
ESN closely follows the progress and challenges of Finland’s health and social welfare integration. It also informs the European Parliament and Commission about the state of national social services across Europe to support the development of recommendations. "Information exchange and peer learning are of utmost importance," said Chief Specialist Erja Ailio.
"We gained many new ideas for developing Finland’s social welfare information management from the conference. We even got to test documenting a fictional client meeting with an AI application. We established new contacts with our European colleagues. It was great to hear that they are following our development work with interest and that many are already familiar with the Kanta services," Ailio summarizes the conference highlights.
The National Social Welfare Data Register will further enhance our ability to contribute data to ESN’s Social Services Index (ESSI). "Finland will continue to have much to offer in the development of social welfare information management in Europe," Ailio concludes.
The purpose of the European Social Services Index is to assess key social services across Europe, focusing on legislation, investment, and service coverage. The 2024 report analyzes data from 13 European countries: Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. The data has been collected from social welfare service professionals, authorities, and experts.
ESN Social Services Index 2024 (esn-eu.org)
THL’s Strong Presence at the Conference
Structured documentation is a core skill for social welfare professionals. Hanna Lohijoki, Development Manager at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, presented the long-term development work and implementation support for structured documentation in social welfare. Hanna also participated in the panel discussion “Data Dynamics in Social Services.”
In her presentation, Lohijoki emphasized the professional skill requirements for documenting client information, client-centeredness, and the importance of data in developing social welfare. The goal of structured data is to improve citizen well-being through better services. The audience was particularly interested in the interpretations made by documenting professionals and their impact on data utilization.
More information
- Presentation Unification of Documentation Promotes Quality in Social Services (julkari.fi)
- Information management in social welfare and health care
- European Social Network (esn-eu.org)
- European Social Services Conference (essc-eu.org)
Erja Ailio
Chief Specialist
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
firstname.lastname(at)thl.fi
