Since 2018, EASNIE has been a technical provider for several actions under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), previously known as the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP). The European Commission’s Reform and Investment Taskforce (SG REFORM) co-ordinates and provides tailor-made technical support to EU Member States via TSI actions, in co-operation with the relevant Commission services. The goal is to support EU Member States’ efforts to design and implement resilience-enhancing reforms.
As a technical provider, EASNIE helps the ministries of education in the participating countries to plan, design or implement reforms that make their education policy and provision more equitable and inclusive. This work is based on the countries’ requirements, so each activity is tailor-made for the individual country. Accordingly, for each activity, EASNIE sets up a dedicated team with relevant expertise and experience.
Two of the actions that EASNIE has participated in to date are flagship TSI projects:
- Combatting Disparities in Access to Inclusive Education in Italy, Portugal and Spain (Implementation of the Child Guarantee flagship project)
- Fostering Inclusive Quality Education in Finland and Ireland (Youth First flagship project).
These projects involved multiple countries, and EASNIE worked with the countries both individually and as a group to promote cross-country practice exchange, common solutions for addressing similar challenges and future collaboration.
Activity framework
Each TSI/SRSP activity is tailored to the individual country. However, in all cases, the principles of inclusive education underpin the work. This is in line with EASNIE’s ultimate vision for inclusive education systems, which is to ensure that all learners of any age are provided with meaningful, high-quality educational opportunities in their local community, alongside their friends and peers. It is also in keeping with EU and international stated priorities on education.
EASNIE has used structured policy analysis frameworks, such as Country Policy Development Support and the Analysis Framework for Mapping Inclusive Education Policies, in several of the activities. These frameworks have been developed to systematically record available documentary evidence on country policies for inclusive education.
TSI activities to date
More information about the TSI/SRSP projects to date and their outputs is available through the links below:
-
Fostering Inclusive Quality Education in Finland and Ireland (2023–2026)
-
Combatting Disparities in Access to Inclusive Education in Portugal, Italy and Spain (2022–2025)
-
Implementation of the European Child Guarantee – Promoting Inclusive Education in Greece, Phase II (2022–2024)
-
Enhance the French App for inclusive education (Livret de Parcours Inclusif) (2022–2024)
-
Design a System to Monitor the Implementation of the Law on Inclusive Education in Portugal (2020–2022)
-
Addressing Regional Disparities in the Czech Education System (2019–2021)
-
Completion of the Special Education Reform in Cyprus (2019–2021)
-
Special Education Reform in Cyprus (2018–2019)
-
Supporting the Improvement of Quality in Inclusive Education in Poland – Phase II (2019–2021)
-
Supporting the Improvement of Quality in Inclusive Education in Poland (2018–2019).
Aims and benefits
The TSI offers EU Member States a unique service to help them tackle reform challenges. Each TSI action has country-specific aims and objectives.
Through the TSI activities, countries benefit from EASNIE’s recommendations and identification of priority areas. These are based on legislation and policy analysis, through stakeholder consultations. EASNIE also provides support for implementation of recommendations through capacity building activities and co-development of concrete action plans.
In addition to the countries where the actions have taken place, other EASNIE member countries contribute to and learn from shared policy development experiences. Many EASNIE member countries have been involved in peer-learning activities associated with TSI/SRSP actions: Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden, United Kingdom (Scotland).
The TSI work benefits EASNIE and all its member countries, as the lessons learnt and experience gained interlink and create synergies with other EASNIE activities. Similarly, EASNIE’s knowledge in other areas feeds into its TSI activities.