Online event ‘Building Resilient Material Support Systems II’
In recent years, crises have become more frequent, increasing uncertainty and disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups. Building on the outcomes of the Social Innovation Forum 2025 – the ESF+ Community of Practice on Material Support workshop, this second online event will focus on how ESF+ can support crisis preparedness for material support systems by exploring existing measures, gaps, and needs across policy, governance, coordination, and funding.
Objectives:
- To explore existing ESF+ measures related to crisis preparedness and how they can be used to strengthen material support systems.
- To exchange experiences and lessons learned across countries and different stakeholders.
- To identify priority actions and practical items at the system level that can support preparedness for material support.
- To foster a shared understanding among stakeholders of the conditions required to ensure continuity and resilience of material support systems in times of crisis.
- To clarify what support, guidance, or follow-up is needed from the Community of Practice to advance this work.
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| Time (CET) | Topic and speaker |
|---|---|
| 08:45 - 09:00 |
Technical Set-Up
|
| 09:00 - 09:05 |
Opening and Welcome
Gintarė Zizienė,
Coordinator of the Community of Practice on Material Support
|
| 09:05 - 09:15 |
Overview of Outcomes from the SIF 2025 CoP on Material Support Workshop
Aistė Adomavičienė,
Thematic Expert of the Community of Practice on Material Support
|
| 09:15 - 09:30 |
European Commission perspective: enabling crisis preparedness through ESF+
Simona Pulbere,
Policy Officer, ESF+ and Cohesion Policy at European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
|
| 09:30 - 09:40 |
Q&A Session
|
| 09:40 - 10:15 |
Practices and Experiences from the Field
Olha Moloko,
Humanitarian Aid and Recovery Cluster Lead, East Europe Foundation, Ukraine
Simonas Gurevičius,
Director, Lithuanian Food Bank
|
| 10:15 - 10:35 |
Q&A Session
|
| 10:35 - 11:00 |
Interactive Workshops: Members’ Discussions on Crisis Preparedness
1. Crises can take different forms (e.g. pandemics, war, inflation, climate impacts). When developing a toolkit, are there common elements (e.g. institutional structures, processes, disruptions to supply chains, capacity constraints, etc.) which should be included to ensure effective crisis preparedness for material support within the ESF+ framework? If yes, what are these common elements?
2. Where do you face the greatest challenges, uncertainties, or barriers when using ESF+ for crisis preparedness? 3. What should indicate that a material support system is “prepared” for a crisis? 4. What is currently missing to translate preparedness discussions into concrete, actionable steps in the ESF+ framework? GROUP 1: Rimgailė Baltutė,
Lead Thematic Expert of the Community of Practice on Material Support
GROUP 2: Elena Koleva,
Chief Expert, Agency for Social Assistance, Bulgaria
GROUP 3: Aistė Adomavičienė,
Thematic Expert of the Community of Practice on Material Support
|
| 11:00 - 11:15 |
Results from the Workshops
Rimgailė Baltutė,
Lead Thematic Expert of the Community of Practice on Material Support
Elena Koleva,
Chief Expert, Agency for Social Assistance, Bulgaria
Aistė Adomavičienė,
Thematic Expert of the Community of Practice on Material Support
|
| 11:15 - 11:20 |
Closing Remarks and Next Steps
|