Abstract
The planning of social services in Bulgaria is carried out in a complex normative and institutional environment, which is constantly changing. Reform of the process of planning social services in the direction of their decentralization is underway, but for many reasons the reform is slowing down. This complicates the process of identifying social problems and finding solutions to overcome them, especially at regional and local level. The institutional analysis of the social services system clarifies the main (formal and informal) participants in the process of planning and implementation of social services and their motives and possibilities for coordination. The analysis makes it possible to understand how the social services sector functions, what incentives it creates and how individual institutions influence people's behavior and, consequently, the wealth of society. The aim of the paper is to clarify the planning environment of social services in Bulgaria and to outline the institutional framework of planning and the internal interrelationships. The study is based on the methodological individualism approach, which seeks explanations in social knowledge based on individuals and their properties, motives, goals and beliefs. The object of analysis are the desires (plans) of the economic agents, which at a certain moment are coordinated and thus transactions are carried out. Some incentives have been clarified, which motivate them to act in a certain way under conditions of limited access to resources (material, human and financial). Special emphasis is placed on transaction costs, which slow down the operation of the system and make it difficult to achieve its goals. Aspects of cooperation in the development of a map of social services and in the coordination of social service providers are discussed. Informal relations, such as customs, culture and attitudes of local communities, remain outside the model. The institutional analysis approach can be used in both research and training of public sector employees in clarifying the objectives, principles and scope of various aspects of the social services system.
Highlights
Social policy is one of the key and most discussed public policies, both in Bulgaria and in other countries, especially in a period of dealing with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which the world is at the moment
Special emphasis is placed on transaction costs, which slow down the operation of the system and make it difficult to achieve its goals
The Social Services Act (SSA) regulates the functions regarding the implementation of social policy of the following institutions at the central level: Council of Ministers, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, Agency for Social Assistance, Agency for quality of social services, Cooperation at national level
Summary
Social policy is one of the key and most discussed public policies, both in Bulgaria and in other countries, especially in a period of dealing with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which the world is at the moment. It is based on the understanding that the functioning of the economy and its main segments is determined by its natural internal forces, but is closely related and dependent on external factors, such as institutions in society They coordinate and stimulate the behavior of economic agents and structure the interaction between them. These differences between the two approaches largely determine the main characteristics of institutional analysis: It examines economic problems and their possible solutions not in isolation and limited only within the economic context, but in direct dependence on many non-economic factors (political, legal, social, psychological, ethical, cultural, etc.) This takes into account the influence of the external environment of organizations, which is objective in nature, and economic agents are "forced" to adapt to it by forming specific behavior. How they perform them, what responsibilities are imposed, whether the internal and external communication channels function, how monitoring and control is carried out, as well as other issues determining the quality of the offered services are subject to more in-depth study and research of multiple interconnections
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