Building Local Ecosystems for Social Services: Key Drivers of Deinstitutionalisation in Poland

Aldona Frączkiewicz-Wronka; Anna Kozak

doi:10.18290/rns2025.0038

Published : 2025-09-26

Vol. 53 No. 3 (2025)

Building Local Ecosystems for Social Services: Key Drivers of Deinstitutionalisation in Poland

Aldona Frączkiewicz-Wronka

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7077-1068

Anna Kozak

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8903-444X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rns2025.0038

Abstract

Social services – including healthcare, education, child protection, elderly care, and housing – are key investments in human capital and sustainable development, not just welfare. In line with Agenda 2030, they are crucial for poverty reduction, improving health and education, and addressing inequalities. This paper proposes an ecosystem-based perspective on social service delivery, focusing on deinstitutionalisation and community-based provision. Addressing the gap in Poland’s research on ecosystem evaluations, we explore local drivers and barriers to effective service delivery, with a focus on CUS-led network governance and co-production. The study provides a policy framework linking ecosystem design to SDG outcomes and offers evidence to guide implementation in similar contexts. Based on literature review and PESTEL analysis the key factors shaping Poland’s deinstitutionalisation ecosystem have been identified. Service provision is shifting towards community-based models, supported by local service ecosystems integrating public institutions and civil society organizations.

Keywords:

social services, SDG, deinstitutionalisation, PESTEL, Poland

Details

References

Statistics

Authors

Download files

pdf

Altmetric indicators

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Andersson M. and Larsson T. (2015), Welfare Hubs in Sweden: Integrating Social Services and Health Care, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 43, no. 3, pp. 289-298.

Ansell C. and Gash A. (2008), Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 18, no. 4, pp. 543-571.

Bitner M., Gałązka A., and Sierak J. (2020), Usługi społeczne na poziomie lokalnym – funkcje, zasady, finansowanie, Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Uczelni Łazarskiego.

Ciepielewska-Kowalik A. (2018), Co-Production in Poland: From Recognition to Research? Some Preliminary Evidence, Problemy Polityki Społecznej 40, no. 1, pp. 53-54.

Ćwiklicki M. (2019), Metody zarządzania wartością publiczną, Warszawa: Scholar.

European Commission (2019), Reflection Paper: Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2019-02/rp_sustainable_europe_30-01_en_web.pdf

European Expert Group on Transition From Institutional to Community-based Care (2012), Common European Guidelines on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care, Brussels.

Evers E. (2009), Civicness and Civility: Their Meanings for Social Services, Voluntas 20, no. 3, pp. 239-259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-009-9095-4

Frączkiewicz-Wronka A. (2024), Wyzwania zarządzania publicznego w kontekście deinstytucjonalizacji usług publicznych (społecznych). [in:] M. Grewiński (ed.), Deinstytucjonalizacja usług społecznych – stan i perspektywy rozwoju (pp. xx–xx), Warszawa: Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA.

Frączkiewicz-Wronka A. and Ćwiklicki M. (eds.) (2022), Zarządzanie publiczne. Perspektywa teorii i praktyki, Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Katowicach.

Frączkiewicz-Wronka A. and Kozak A. (2024), Sustainable Social Services – A Co-Production Perspective, Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology – Organization and Management Series, no. 202, pp. 75-93. https://doi.org/ 10.29119/1641-3466.2024.202.5

Frączkiewicz-Wronka A., Kelm H., and Kozak A. (2024), Deinstytucjonalizacja usług społecznych w gminach – uwarunkowania strategiczne, Warszawa: ELIPSA.

Gawron G. (2022), Social Services Co-Production as a Source of the Personal and Social Productivity Among the Older People – A Conceptual Model Proposal, Studia Socjologiczne 4, no. 247, pp. 129-152. https://doi.org/10.24425/sts.2022.143585

Golinowska S. (2023), On the Possibilities and Conditions for Effective Deinstitionalization of Care Services, Polityka Społeczna 25T, no. 2, pp. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0054.1740

Grabowska I., Skrzypczak B., and Kelm H. (2025), Deinstitutionalisation of support for people with disabilities in Poland: Genuine or superficial change?, British Journal of Social Work, Article bcaf162. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaf162

Grewiński M. (2021), Usługi społeczne we współczesnej polityce społecznej. Przegląd problemów i wizja przyszłości, Warszawa: Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA.

Grewiński M. (ed.) (2024), Deinstytucjonalizacja usług społecznych – stan i perspektywy rozwoju, Warszawa: Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA.

Janoś-Kresło M. (2002), Usługi społeczne w procesie przemian systemowych w Polsce, Warszawa: Szkoła Główna Handlowa.

Johansson P. and Nygren E. (2018), From Institution to Integration: Lessons from Swedish Community Care, European Journal of Social Work 21, no. 5, pp. 654-667.

McMullin C. (2023), Expectations Versus Reality: The Sustainability of Co-Production Approaches Over Time, Public Management Review, April, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2023.2173659

Moore M. (1995), Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Nabatchi T., Sicilia M., and Sancino A. (2017), Varieties of Participation in Public Services: The Who, When, and What of Coproduction, Public Administration Review 77, no. 5, pp. 766-776. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12765

Nemec J., Svidronova M. M., and Kovacs A. (2019), Welfare Co-Production: Hungarian and Slovak Reality, The NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy 12, no. 2, pp. 195-215. https://doi.org/10.2478/nispa-2019-0019

Novák J., Svoboda P., and Čermák V. (2011), Deinstitutionalisation in the Czech Republic: Family Support Centers as a Model, Central European Journal of Social Policy 17, no. 2, pp. 45-62.

Osborne S. P., Radnor Z., Kinder T., and Martinez I. V. (2015), The SERVICE Framework: A Public-Service-Dominant Approach to Sustainable Public Services, British Journal of Management 26, no. 3, pp. 424-438. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12094

Provan, K. G. and Kenis P. (2008). Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and Effectiveness. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 18, no. 2, pp. 229-252.

Rymsza M. and Karwacki A. (ed.) (2025), Centra Usług Społecznych. Potencjał intencjonalnie wywołanej zmiany w lokalnej polityce społecznej w Polsce, Warszawa: Instytut Pracy i Spraw Socjalnych.

Sen A. (1999), Rozwój i wolność, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka.

Šiška J. and Beadle-Brown J. (2020), Transition From Institutional Care to Community-Based Services in 27 EU Member States: Final Report, European Expert Group on Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care.

Sønderskov M. and Rønning R. (2021), Public Service Logic: An Appropriate Recipe for Improving Serviceness in the Public Sector? Administrative Sciences 11, no. 64, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11020064

Svoboda P. and Čermák V. (2013), Czech Approaches to Social Service Reform, Social Inclusion Review 5, no. 1, pp. 78-94.

Szarfenberg R. (2024), Deinstytucjonalizacja: definicja oraz jej teoretyczne uzasadnienia i wyjaśnienia, [in:] M. Grewiński (ed.), Deinstytucjonalizacja usług społecznych – stan i perspektywy rozwoju, Warszawa: Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA, pp. xx-xx.

Török Z. (2017), Decentralization and Deinstitutionalisation in Hungary’s Social Services, Hungarian Journal of Social Work 14, no. 1, pp. 33-52.

Voorberg W., Bekkers V., and Tummers L. G. (2015), A Systematic Review of Co-Creation and Co-Production: Embarking on the Social Innovation Journey, Public Management Review 17, no. 9, pp. 1333-1357. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2014.930505