Involvement of Civil Society in Prevention

Summary

Sweden's welfare system faces increasing pressure from demographic changes, including an ageing population and limited resources. At the same time, many needs, such as social inclusion and preventive health, cannot be addressed by public services alone, which have traditionally driven care in Sweden. Härryda commune in the Gothenburg Region is exploring how to better involve civil society and volunteers in low-threshold preventive services that can relieve future pressure on social services through prevention, especially for older people.

Organisation

Härryda Municipality as part of the Gothenburg Region (GR) - Sweden

Context/ Social issues addressed

Sweden's welfare system faces increasing pressure from demographic changes, including an ageing population and limited resources. At the same time, public services alone cannot meet many needs, such as social inclusion and preventive health. Despite its potential, municipalities and civil society currently lack structured, long-term collaboration. This limits the ability to work preventively and to build resilient systems. To address this challenge, the Härryda municipality has established a cross-sectoral collaboration group, including representatives from social services, culture and leisure, and civil society organisations. The initiative tests and adapts a national collaboration model for working with the third sector, developed by the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF), in a municipal context.

Objectives

1. Strengthen structured collaboration between social services and civil society.  
2. Develop and test preventive, low-threshold activities for older adults.
3. Build sustainable models for long-term cooperation and system resilience.

Activities

The municipality has set up a cross-sectoral collaboration group which jointly defines goals, roles and working methods for better collaboration. The group's work follows four activities:

1. First, the establishment of a structured collaboration platform that ensures continuous dialogue and shared responsibility.  
2. Second, the co-creation and testing of low-threshold activities promoting physical and social health among older adults. These activities are designed based on local needs analysis and implemented in collaboration with civil society actors.
3. Third, the development of volunteer structures, including recruitment, training and coordination of volunteers, to strengthen long-term engagement.
4. Fourth, continuous monitoring and reflection to identify what works and how the model can be adapted and scaled. The work is closely linked to national actors such as SKR and MUCF, ensuring alignment with policy development and enabling broader dissemination.

Outcomes

The Härryda commune does not yet have any results, but the aim is increased availability of accessible activities for older adults and improved collaboration between the municipality and civil society. The initiative will contribute to clearer structures for cooperation and increased capacity to work preventively. Evaluation will be based on participation data, feedback from participants and stakeholders, and analysis of how the collaboration model functions in practice.

Principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights

1. Education, training, life-long learning	2. Gender equality
3. Equal opportunities	4. Active support to employment
5. Secure and adaptable employment	6. Fair Wages
7. Transparent employment conditions	8. Social dialogue
9. Work-life balance	10. Healthy, safe work environment
11. Childcare and child support	12. Social protection
13. Unemployment benefits	14. Minimum income
15. Old age income and pensions	16. Health care
17. Inclusion of people with disabilities	18. Long-term care
19. Housing and assistance to the homeless	20. Access to essential services

Funding Source

Local Government Funds

Links to supporting documents

Äldre - Härryda kommun

Senior i kommunen - Härryda kommun

Comments and tips

Key enabling factors include strong leadership, clear structures for collaboration and shared ownership between actors. Barriers include differences in organisational cultures, unclear roles and limited long-term funding structures. A key lesson is that collaboration with civil society must be formalised and integrated into regular governance to be sustainable.