New philanthropy, social impact and social work: insights from the Italian case

ABSTRACT

The article aims to suggest two different scenarios for the transformation of social policy and social work in Italy in relation with the emergence of new trends in the philanthropic sector. Over the past two decades, a growing body of literature has pointed to the shift that philanthropy is undergoing at the global level under the influence of Venture Philanthropy and Impact Investing. Distinctive features of this ‘new philanthropy’ are the blending of the principles and tools of giving with those deriving from the market and the financial sector, as well as the role played by scientific expertise and assessment in legitimising actors and activities. Relying on document analysis, interviews and participant observation, we show how these features are taking shape in the field of social policy and social work in Italy. The promotion of social impact investing and the connected debate on social impact measurement are the most significant elements through which new philanthropic actors and principles are gaining relevance. Nevertheless, their actual capacity to transform social policy and social work is still unclear and we therefore suggest that hybridisation and desocialisation are two possible scenarios for the transformation of the social domain.

ASTRATTO

L’articolo si propone di suggerire due diversi scenari di trasformazione delle politiche sociali e del lavoro sociale in Italia in relazione all’emergere di nuove tendenze nel settore filantropico. Negli ultimi due decenni, un crescente corpo di letteratura ha evidenziato il cambiamento che sta interessando la filantropia a livello globale sotto l’influenza della cosiddetta Venture Philanthropy e dell’Impact Investing. Tratti distintivi di questa ‘nuova filantropia’ sono la combinazione dei principi e degli strumenti della benevolenza con quelli derivanti dal mercato e dal settore finanziario, nonché il ruolo svolto dalla competenza scientifica e dalla valutazione nel legittimare attori e attività. Basandoci sull’analisi di documenti, su interviste e sull’osservazione partecipante, mostriamo come queste caratteristiche stanno prendendo forma nel campo delle politiche sociali e del lavoro sociale in Italia. La promozione del Social Impact Investing e il connesso dibattito sulla misurazione dell’impatto sociale sono gli elementi più significativi attraverso i quali stanno acquistando rilevanza nuovi attori e principi filantropici. Tuttavia, i loro effetti trasformativi sulle politiche e i servizi sociali non sono ancora chiari e pertanto suggeriamo che l’ibridazione e la desocializzazione sono due possibili scenari per la trasformazione del dominio sociale.

KEYWORDS:

• Philanthropy
• social impact
• social work
• knowledge
• Italy

PAROLE CHIAVE:

• filantropia
• Conoscenza
• Impatto sociale
• Lavoro sociale
• Italia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 More specifically: ‘Un’impresa comune. Riprogettare il welfare’ (two-day conference organised by the major Foundations of Banking Origin, 6 and 7 May 2013); Presentazione Nazionale del Secondo Rapporto sul Secondo Welfare in Italia, Turin, 27 November 2015; ‘Innovazione sociale e impact investing’ (organised by Fondazione Cariplo and Giordano Dell’Amore Fondazione Social Venture, Milano, 13 November 2017); ‘Philanthropy Day 2019’ (organised by Lang Foundation).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lavinia Bifulco

Lavinia Bifulco is a Full Professor of Sociology and teaches Public Knowledge and Action at the Department of Sociology and Social Research of the University of Milano-Bicocca. She is the Coordinator of the URBEUR-Urban Studies PhD course at the same department. She has been visiting scholar and visiting professor at a number of European and American Universities and coordinated several national and European research projects. Her research focuses mainly on the theory of public knowledge and action; social policies and local welfare; social innovation; urban governance, participation and democracy; health services and policies; social and institutional innovations.

Davide Caselli

Davide Caselli is a post-doc researcher at the Department of Sociology and Social Research of the University of Milano-Bicocca. His research focuses on expertise, social policy and financialisation (see the recent book: Esperti. Come studiarli e perché, Il Mulino 2020). He is a member of the Sociology of Public Action Laboratory ‘Sui Generis’ and of the international Foundational Economy Collective.