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Social
Policy Financing/ Social
Policy Design (SPF/SPD)*
* The programme in Social Policy
Financing/ Social Policy Design is
currently under revision and will be
offered as a specialised track
within the MPP programme in the next
academic year ( 2008/2009). More
information on the consequences of
this, will be available on the
master's section of this website
soon. For questions, please contact
us via
info-gov@governance.unimaas.nl
Social protection is all around us
and touches the lives of people from
childhood to old age. It is a
powerful tool world-wide that aims
at providing a safety net for the
poor and vulnerable as well as
protecting individuals and societies
from risks. The one-year programme
in Social Policy Financing/ Social
Policy Design trains professionals
to contribute to the development and
sustainability of social policy
design in a globalizing and a
rapidly evolving world. Individuals,
families and societies are affected
by many different kinds of risks,
ranging from environmental
disasters, like earthquakes, to
health risks, like HIV/Aids. The
design of viable social protection
strategies to reduce poverty and to
offer the residents of developing
and developed countries an
acceptable level of protection
against shocks and risks is of
utmost importance for economic
growth and stability. Effective
policymaking is simultaneously
hindered and helped by on-going
international processes, for example
labour migration. The SPF/SPD
programme fills the gaps in standard
academic teaching and goes beyond.
It places special emphasis on the
economic and social situations and
interactions, both on a nation-wide
and international level. During the
second semester students will be
able to put more emphasis either on
Social Policy Financing or Social
Policy Design.
This was set up by the International
Labour Office and Maastricht
University in 2001 and is endorsed
by the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund. This
means that actual case studies and
policies are an essential part of
teaching, while the students are
also given a solid theoretical
background in social protection.
Objective
Our objective is to train
professionals who are a pivotal
element in social governance and
contribute to formulating public
policies that are essential,
effective and socially more
sustainable. Our graduates are able
to scrutinize the problems at hand,
as well as finding potential
solutions by having a sound
quantitative and empirical
foundation. Graduates in social
security institutions, insurance
companies, governments, research
institutes and international
organizations will start by
improving the design,
implementation, management and
monitoring of national social
protection systems. Ultimately
through improved design and
governance - prerequisites for the
sustainability of social protection
systems - whole societies will
benefit from the project.
Student profile
Students and alumni of the SPF/SPD
programme originate from a wide
array of countries. Many of these
students have already been working
in the field of social protection
prior to their studies in Maastricht
while others pursue a career in this
field. This diversity results in a
stimulating mix of mid-career
students who bring their
work-related experiences into the
classroom and young graduates who
are often well-equipped with modern
theoretical insights. This
combination ensures that students
not only learn from teachers or case
studies but also from each other.
Students are motivated, hard working
and open to discussion.
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