Finland has been giving 2,000 of its citizens an unconditional income for the last five months and some are already seeing the benefits, reporting decreased stress, greater incentives to find work and more time to pursue business ideas. The scheme is the first of its kind in Europe and sees participants receive €560 (£473) every month for two years. Recipients do not have to demonstrate that they are seeking employment and they are not required to regularly report to authorities to prove they still need the payment, as is the case with standard unemployment benefits. They can spend the money however they like. Under the pilot, if a participant finds work, they will continue to receive the stipend, removing one of the limitations of current welfare systems - the disincentive to find work. The trial is one measure introduced by the centre-right government to tackle Finland's unemployment problem.

The objective of this Directive is to harmonise the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies, which requires the harmonisation of different rules currently existing in their respective legal systems.

Half of citizens in million-people cities will benefit from smart city programs by voluntarily sharing their personal data by 2019, according to new research from Gartner Inc., an information technology research and advisory company based in Stamford, Conn.

The “democratization” of analytics illustrated by the transition to self-service business intelligence and foolproof BI platforms promises to boost to global analytics market to new heights in 2016 and beyond, market researcher forecast.

Gartner Inc. (NYSE: IT) predicted the worldwide BI and analytics market would reach $16.9 billion this year, up 5.2 percent over 2015. Last month, it projected the “advanced analytics” market would grow at a 14-percent clip this year to $1.5 billion as more data is shared on secure platforms.

In 2016, a wave of self-service analytics swept across the enterprise. Governments began embracing the modern approach to business analytics, with IT and public sector leadership partnering to derive maximum value from their data.

Here’s a preview of our predictions for 2017:

• Modern BI becomes the new normal
• The era of open data in government arrives
• Collaborative analytics goes from the fringe to the core
• Data-driven decision-making explodes in government
• IT becomes the data hero
• The transition to the cloud accelerates
• Advanced analytics becomes more accessible

Forbes (26.01.2016)  There are 53 million freelancers in America today. By 2020, 50% of the U.S. workforce will be freelancers (this does not mean they are all full-time freelancers, but one of every two workers will be freelancers in some capacity). This on-demand work, instant gig economy is moving more and more into independent professionals that are using mobile and technology to create ecosystems of work they enjoy. Who says you can’t drive an Uber in the morning, design websites all afternoon, and cater your own food company at night? The old economy would lead you to believe that you should pick one job, work hard for the next 40 years at that company, and then retire. Not the new economy. The more diverse your skill set, the more opportunities come your way.

A promise of equal opportunity

“Basic income” would be an amount sufficient to secure basic needs as a permanent earnings floor no one could fall beneath, and would replace many of today’s temporary benefits, which are given only in case of emergency, and/or only to those who successfully pass the applied qualification tests. UBI would be a promise of equal opportunity, not equal outcome, a new starting line set above the poverty line.

The article discusses economic models that have calculated UBI scenarios in the U.S. It argues that UBI  is entirely affordable.

Radio Prague (13.06.2017) Environ 40 000 employés ont été blessés et 104 personnes ont perdu la vie dans des accidents du travail en 2016. Une situation que décrit un article du journal en ligne Denik Referendum. Selon l’auteur de ce texte, le nouvel amendement au Code du travail, actuellement discuté par les parlementaires, pourrait permettre de mieux garantir la santé des travailleurs.

drees.social-sante (28.05.2017) En 2015, 16 millions de personnes perçoivent une pension de droit direct des régimes de retraite français, soit des effectifs en hausse de 1 % par rapport à 2014. Tous régimes confondus, ces retraités reçoivent une pension moyenne de 1 376 euros (+0,7 % en euros courants par rapport à 2014).

Süddeutsche (29.05.2017) Wenn die tägliche Arbeit zu einem Gesundheitsrisiko wird, dann ist er Staat gefragt. Arbeitsschutz-Verordnungen regeln, wie laut es auf Baustellen werden darf, welche chemischen Stoffe Fabrikarbeiter einatmen dürfen oder ob sie sich Laserstrahlen aussetzen müssen. In einer Gefährdungsbeurteilung müssen Arbeitgeber all dies niederlegen, sonst droht ein Bußgeld von 3000 Euro. Die Behörden der Bundesländer kommen zur Kontrolle vorbei.

FAZ (28.05.2017) Es ist das letzte große sozialpolitische Projekt von Union und SPD: der Ausbau der Betriebsrente. Was bedeutet das für Arbeitnehmer und Arbeitgeber? Jetzt sind die Details bekannt.

Radio Poland (23.05.2017) The European Commission has said that Poland should take steps to increase the effective retirement age and encourage women and elderly people to participate in the workforce.

The Guardian (02.06.2017) If current EU healthcare scheme for retired UK citizens ends, NHS costs will climb, with nurse and care worker shortages set to have a further impact

irishtimes.com (03.06.2017) Reports made to the Department of Social Protection have increased by 66 per cent in the aftermath of the recently launched ‘Welfare Cheats Us All’ publicity campaign.

RFI (19.05.2017) Après la crise de subprimes immobilières, les Etats-Unis vont-ils connaitre une crise des retraites des fonctionnaires ? Les fonds de pension des collectivités locales états-uniens seraient sous financées de plusieurs milliers de milliards de dollars. Une situation explosive qui pourrait provoquer une nouvelle crise économique.

Tribune (30.05.2017) The Minister of State Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed says the Federal Executive Council (FEC) will soon approve the policy framework for social protection in the country.

Project Syndicate (24.05.2017) Asia has been the world champion of economic growth for decades, and this year will be no exception. According to the latest International Monetary Fund Regional Economic Outlook (REO), the Asia-Pacific region’s GDP is projected to increase by 5.5% in 2017 and 5.4% in 2018.

ABC (28.05.2017) La edad real de jubilación debería establecerse en «al menos 70 años» para 2050 en aquellas economías avanzadas como EEUU, Canadá, Reino Unido y Japón, donde la expectativa de vida de las próximas generaciones superará los 100 años, según un estudio del Foro Económico Mundial, que insta a tomar medidas para garantizar la sostenibilidad de las pensiones ante la creciente esperanza de vida y las cada vez menores tasas de ahorro.

El Mostrador (06.06.2917) La implantación y desarrollo de un nuevo y potente sistema público de servicios sociales en Chile, su diseño y propuesta organizacional, no suele aparecer en el discurso político ni técnico de nuestro país, ni siquiera parece estar en el imaginario político chileno. Pero, como ocurre casi siempre en el análisis social, esta dificultad puede transformarse en una oportunidad si se aborda el reto de diseñar, a partir de cero, un moderno y poderoso sistema de servicios sociales en Chile, ya que se tendrá la oportunidad tanto de innovar como de aprender de la experiencia de otras sociedades con sistemas de protección social avanzados y consolidados.

tagesschau (25.05.2017) Schluss mit Obamacare - das hat US-Präsident Trump versprochen. Laut einer unabhängigen Schätzung könnte seine Reform der Krankenversicherung jedoch 14 Millionen Amerikaner die Absicherung kosten - innerhalb eines Jahres. Auch andere Zahlen sprechen für Obamacare.

Capital (30.05.2017) Une seule demande de liquidation de retraite, une seule pension : la réforme qui entrera en vigueur au 1er juillet prochain aura le mérite de simplifier la vie des polypensionnés. Mais attention : elle aura aussi un impact négatif pour certains d’entre eux

lenouvelliste.com (25.05.2017) La direction du Développement des activités de santé en Haïti (DASH), en partenariat avec la Banque interaméricaine de développement (BID), a présenté ce jeudi les résultats du projet ‘’Carte assurance santé’’ réalisée dans le cadre d’un partenariat DASH/BID-FORMIN. Ce projet était conçu dans l’objectif de tester un modèle de santé prépayé qui fournit une protection financière importante aux familles à faibles ressources. Les résultats ont démontré que ce type de projet était viable. Pendant que les assurés bénéficient des services de soins à un coût abordable, le DASH arrive à enregistrer une plus-value importante.

Handelszeitung (30.05.2017) Das Schweizer Gesundheitssystem schneidet im internationalen Vergleich ausgezeichnet ab: Nur in zwei Ländern hat die Bevölkerung eine noch bessere medizinische Versorgung.

romania-insider (15.05.2017) Romania ranked last in the EU for the per capita spending on family and child allowances, with an amount of EUR 91 in 2014, according to EU’s statistical office Eurostat.