Families, key to a resilient Europe: the rEUsilience project transforms research into action
Europe faces major challenges: an aging population, financial insecurity, increasing inequalities, and the evolving labor market. However, the political debate often focuses on individuals and overlooks a fundamental factor: families.
An international consortium for a better future
The rEUsilience project, launched in 2022 and with a budget of €2.3 million, is made up of a consortium of research teams from six European countries: Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. These teams are co-led by Stockholm University (Sweden) and the University of Oxford (United Kingdom).
Specifically, the IGOP-UAB team is made up of Margarita León (principal investigator), Ivan Cerrillo, Aina Roca, and Charlotte Fernández.
Families at the center of social policy
“The vast majority of people live within a family, which means that their capabilities and resources depend largely on these close networks,” explains Rense Nieuwenhuis, senior lecturer in Sociology at Stockholm University and one of the project’s researchers.
rEUsilience has identified the main obstacles that limit family resilience, highlighting the lack of access to resources and the “double disadvantage” faced by many families: those most vulnerable in the new labor market are often those least able to adapt to changes. “When multiple risks, such as unemployment and the need for caregiving, converge, many families struggle to cope,” notes Mary Daly, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Oxford.
From Research to Policy Solutions
The project has gone a step beyond academic research to transform its findings into concrete actions. To this end, it has created an innovative policy lab that brings together families, family organizations, and policymakers. Its goal is to design strategies and solutions to ensure that all European families have the support they need to thrive in a constantly changing world.
Among its initiatives, rEUsilience is developing policies to facilitate family life transitions and creating a comprehensive model of family support services. In addition, researchers have analyzed demographic databases to improve household classification and designed a new survey that could be incorporated into European Union analysis tools.
A more inclusive future for all families
rEUsilience’s impact goes beyond research: its work seeks to consolidate social policies and the work of public and non-profit organizations to ensure that no family is left behind. “If our recommendations are taken into account, we can improve the work-life balance for many families, allowing their members to actively participate in European society and the economy,” Nieuwenhuis concludes.
The project, which began in 2022, has a budget of €2.3 million and ends in August 2025.
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