National Action Plans on Social Inclusion

What is a National Action Plan?

How does GenderWorks aim to influence the National Action Plans?

How can I influence the National Action Plan in my country?

What is a National Action Plan on Social Inclusion (NAP)?

All European Union (EU) member governments must produce a document every few years that outlines the challenges they face and sets out their strategy for tackling poverty. This is known as a National Action Plan on Social Inclusion (NAP).

To produce a NAP, a government should consult those involved with the issues it aims to tackle: individuals, local and community groups, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working to overcome poverty. It should also exchange policies and share mutual learning with other EU member states.

After all the NAPs have been received, the European Commission prepares a report reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of each government’s strategy and highlighting common lessons and themes.

To read the UK’s NAP 2006-2008, click here.

To find the NAP of another EU country, click here.

How does GenderWorks aim to influence the NAPs?

Oxfam has long-term experience of working with women living in poverty, in the UK and all over the world. We know that people’s experiences of being disadvantaged differ according to their gender, and that their needs, assets, and the barriers they face to overcoming poverty are also gendered.

We’ve learned that designing and delivering services based on an accurate understanding of the different needs of women and men benefits the whole community, because a fairer and more effective targeting of resources results in services that are more accessible and appropriate for everyone.

Sharing our learning

By running GenderWorks in the UK and through partners in Austria and Italy, we aim to share our learning on how and why women experience poverty, in order to better influence decision makers throughout the EU.

We want governments all over Europe to listen to women, and to think about women’s needs and experiences as well as men’s, when they design and deliver their strategies to tackle poverty, so that a gender perspective is integrated into every aspect of their NAPs.

Submissions to the NAPs

Oxfam submitted a policy paper with our recommendations, entitled Women and Social Exclusion (PDF), to the UK government's NAP 2008, while our partner, the WAVE Network, made a submission to the Austrian government's NAP. Oxfam is also represented on the Social Policy Task Force, which was established by a range of UK networks and organisations to influence the process and content of the NAP.

The Social Policy Task Force produced a Shadow NAP 2008-2011 (Word doc), with contributions from eight networks - including the Poverty Alliance, the Migrants' Resource Centre and the Single Parent Action Network - and 12 organisations, including the Fawcett Society, the National Group on Homeworking and the Child Poverty Action Group.

A final report setting out GenderWorks’ shared learning and recommendations will be submitted to the governments of the UK, Austria, and Italy in time to have an impact on their NAPs for 2010. It will also be sent to the European Commission, and will, we hope, have a wider impact on the NAPs of all 27 EU member states.

How can I influence the NAP in my country?

Local and community groups working to overcome poverty should be consulted by the government as part of the NAP process.

If you would like to get involved and help to influence the NAP in your country, either as an individual or as a member of an organisation, get in touch with your national contact point for social inclusion issues, letting them know that you would like to be consulted and asking them how you can have your say.

You might want to mention a specific issue that you would like addressed; for example, domestic violence, childcare availability, or the gender pay gap.

Get involved

For a template email to send to your national contact point that you can either adapt or simply sign, click here.

To get in touch with the national contact point in the UK, Tricia Griffiths, email tricia.griffiths@dwp.gsi.gov.uk or karen.deeming@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.

To find the national contact point for another EU country, click here.

To see a toolkit produced by the European Anti-Poverty Network on how to get involved in the NAPs process, click here.

Final conference

At the end of the two-year GenderWorks project, we will be holding a final conference, at which women experiencing poverty will be given a chance to meet with politicians at national and European levels and tell them what they think decision makers should be doing to help them overcome the problems in their area.

If you’d like the chance to have your say, email genderworks@oxfam.org.uk or call Steph Kendrick-Jones on 0161 860 2813

The GenderWorks project is supported by the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (2007-2013). The information contained in it does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission.