The B-MINCOME Project Journal N°1

Author: Laura Colini , UIA Expert

December 2017

This  text is the first of a series of journals following the B-MINCOME implementation process. It briefly outlines the EU and the wider debate about Basic income in the first part, followed by the description of the local context in which the B-MINCOME is rooted. The third part aims at presenting the structure of the pilot in all essential traits, while potential challenges for implementation are a reflection presented in the last chapters.

The B-MINCOME project is based on the city’s decision to implement a guaranteed minimum income (GMI) to supplement income in the most deprived and poor areas of Barcelona. Aix Besos is the chosen target area for B-Mincome, in which 1,000 households will receive this minimum income on a trial basis. The implementation of the GMI among households in situations of poverty should also prompt a comparative analysis concerning the costs of policies aimed at fighting poverty, with the ultimate goal of developing more efficient welfare services. It is a new solution adapted to the new poverty related phenomena occurring in the city. The municipal GMI system will provide families with security, freedom and greater responsibility as a lever in overcoming poverty. The new strategy is based on new core elements: Testing several types of GMI; Combine GMI with integrated one-stop-shop public and private active policies and strengthening inhabitant and community’s Initiative. This innovative ecosystem in the fight against poverty includes also a set of services made available to persons receiving the income; a better understanding of poverty, based on the life stories of those affected; a social currency to cover a part of the GMI, and new forms of cocreation, interrelation between services, community involvement and public-private cooperation. The partners are Ajuntament de Barcelona ( leading the pilot), The Young Foundation – Think Thank, IVALUA. Catalan Institute of Public Policy Evaluation – Research Centr, Autonomous University of Barcelona. IGOP. Institute of Governance and Public Policies – Universit; UPC. Polytechnic University of Catalonia – University; NOVA. Centre for Social Innovation – NGO.

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