Journal of Education & Social Policy

The Emergence of Inter-Agency to Address Social Needs amid Economic Crisis in Greece. An Irresolute Transformation
Christoforos Skamnakis, Konstantinos Petrogiannis

Abstract
The economic crisis in Greece has acted as a catalyst for changes, and has promoted the participation of a plethora of organizations, state and non-state actors, in local interventions forming the recognition of a new welfare-mix with local governments which keep the central role. Local collaboration schemes, however, were based on a fragile background and face significant difficulties that hinder, if not cancel, their development and contribution to social protection. The barriers indicate the divisive central policy, the cautiousness of state actors but also the weakness of non-state actors. The paper aims to highlight the necessary conditions for the development of inter-agency schemes and, in turn, to examine the degree in which these conditions are met in a range of cases from the broader region of the capital city, Athens. Through the case study, the barriers regarding the operation and development of inter-agency schemes are shed light on as they are identified in the discourse of a number of key-informants from both the municipalities and local NGOs. It turns out that despite the need to develop broad schemes of collaboration, the conditions are far from ideal, while the future perspective is uncertain.

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