Celebrating Innovation and Excellence in Social Services

At the forefront of providing support to individuals, families and communities, particularly during times of crisis, social services are central to creating caring, inclusive, and productive societies.

The annual European Social Services Awards (ESSA) acknowledges outstanding achievements in social services. Organised by the European Social Network, the Awards shine a spotlight on successful new approaches and the extraordinary ongoing work of public social services managers, funders, planners, providers, and deliverers of social services, as well as providing opportunities for exchange and mutual learning to improve social work policies and practice.

 

Social Services: Creating Lasting Change

Delivering future-proofed social services is key to breaking cycles of disadvantage. The 2025 Awards recognised the organisations and people that are rethinking their services to provide impactful, long-term solutions for the people and communities they support.

Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the European Social Network, this year's edition of the Awards was particularly meaningful as we commemorate 25 years of promoting lasting change in social services.

 

Congratulations to all the Winners and Finalists!

A big congratulations to all the 2025 nominees and the winners of the ten award categories listed below: 

Ageing and Long-Term Care Excellence Award
Connecting Generations through Fairy Tales - Vilnius City Council, Lithuania

Children, Families, and Youth Support Award
The Miriam Project - The City of Brussels, Belgium

Digital Transformation and Technology Social Services Award     
Bağ-Kart: A Digital Model for Efficient and Inclusive Social Assistance - Bağcılar Municipality and Istanbul Bakers' Association, Türkiye

Disability and Accessibility in Social Services Award  
Active Every Day - Warsaw City Council, Poland

Leadership in Social Services Award
Oliver Scicluna - Agenzija Sapport, Malta

Public Sector Collaboration in Social Services Award
Local Care Ecosystem - Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Spain

Public-Private Partnership in Social Services Award
Empowering Social Workers with AI at Dumfries and Galloway Council - Beam with Dumfries and Galloway Council, United Kingdom

Research for Social Services Award
NUSO – National Follow-up of the Social Services Transition - The Swedish Association of Social Services Directors (FSS), The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) and Karlstad University (KAU), Sweden

Social Services Delivery Innovation Award
Elevating Standards: A Journey through Care in Practice - Northern Ireland Social Care Council, United Kingdom

Strengthening Communities and Social Inclusion Award
Bucharest's 6th District Local Food Bank - Bucharest 6th District City Council - General Directorate for Social Care and Child Protection, Romania

Learn more about this year's categories, and all of the projects nominated for this year's awards, below.

See you in Rome for the next edition!

We are thrilled to announce that the City of Rome will host the 8th edition of the European Social Services Awards in 2026! Stay tuned for more information!

 

The Impact of ESSA: Key Stats

The 2025 European Social Services Awards received 135 applications from 28 countries, with 72 projects from 24 countries selected. The event also attracted over 350 delegates, including EU officials and industry leaders, which was double last year's attendance.

Digital engagement was also strong, with over 27,000 online votes for this year's Awards. As a result, ESSA continues to be a powerful platform for recognising excellence and fostering collaboration in social services.

 

Partner with us

Are you developing solutions for public authorities with responsibility for social services? Why not be part of the European Social Services Awards?

Partner with the European Social Network and be part of our annual event celebration celebrating outstanding achievements in social services.