Across Europe, social services play a critical role in supporting social inclusion, health, employment, independent living, and community participation. From mental health and disability support to housing, youth inclusion, and employment services, these interventions are central to achieving the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights and building resilient communities.
Despite their importance, it is often difficult to assess the full value and long-term impact of social services. Traditional evaluation approaches frequently focus on short-term financial outputs, while overlooking broader social, economic, and societal value and impact. Inconsistent evaluation practices, limited institutional capacity, and fragmented data further complicate evidence-based decision-making.
To respond to these challenges, the BENEFITS (Building Economic, Needs-Based and Environmental evaluation Frameworks for Inclusive Transformation of Social services in Europe) Project has published the European Green Book for Social Services.
A framework for effective social policy evaluation and appraisal
The Green Book is specifically designed to address key policy challenges in social impact assessment, including:
- Capturing the broader social, economic, and health outcomes generated by services.
- Measuring long-term impacts that extend beyond annual budgeting and reporting cycles.
- Understanding complex causal pathways within interconnected social systems.
- Supporting more transparent and evidence-based allocation of public resources.
Adapted from the UK Treasury’s Green Book, the framework aligns with European regulatory requirements, including the EU Better Regulation Guidelines, the European Pillar of Social Rights, the GDPR, HORIZON Europe deliverable standards and ESF+ performance requirements.
By strengthening the measurement of impact, the Green Book aims to help policymakers, authorities, and social services better identify the impact and long-term value that services bring to the communities they operate in.
Offering a three-tier approach to evaluation
Recognising that limited capacity is a major barrier to consistent evaluation, the Green Book introduces a flexible, three-tier evaluation system. This approach allows organisations and funders to select methods that are both appropriate and feasible.
By offering this approach, the BENEFITS Green Book aims to provide a structured yet adaptable framework to increase evidence-based decision-making, support more efficient and strategic public investment and enhance the long-term sustainability of social services.
Read the European Green Book for Social Services in full here.
This publication has been produced as part of the BENEFITS project, which is coordinated by KMOP and implemented in partnership with the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, Headway, webLyzard technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, EASPD – European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities, Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, OXFAM Italia, Support Group Network, and Ethos Lab.