Website: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) is a tripartite European Union Agency, whose role is to provide knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies. Eurofound was established in 1975 by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1365/75 to contribute to the planning and design of better living and working conditions in Europe.

Role
Eurofound's role is to provide information, advice and expertise – on living and working conditions, industrial relations and managing change in Europe – for key actors in the field of EU social policy on the basis of comparative information, research and analysis.

Areas of intervention
With the Programming document 2017-2020, entitled 'Towards upward convergence 2017-2020', Eurofound's strategic objective for the next four years is to provide high-quality, timely and policy-relevant knowledge as input to better informed policies in the following six areas of intervention:

+ Working conditions and sustainable work
+ Industrial relations
+ Labour market change
+ Quality of life and public services
+ The digital age: Opportunities and challenges for work and employment
+ Monitoring convergence in the European Union

The first four are the core areas where Eurofound has established its expertise over four decades and ensure continuity in the Agency’s work. The final two introduce a new dimension into Eurofound’s activities as they capture cross-cutting challenges and paradigmatic changes – the digital shift and trends in convergence in the European Union – that are likely to have a transforming influence on the on the areas at the centre of Eurofound’s work.

Target audience
Eurofound aims to support the policy making activities of EU institutions, governments, employers and trade unions.