At the margins of the welfare state – the role of Civil Society Organisations in the minimum income protection package in Switzerland

With Europe's progressive shift from 'passive' income transfers to the social investment paradigm, the topic of minimum income protection has gained traction. In addition, after the Great Recession of the late noughties, many scholars noted the disappointing poverty trends, despite employment being on the rise in most countries. Within minimum income protection research, the focus has mainly been on public social benefits, in particular for jobless households. The role of civil society organisations (CSOs) within minimum income protection systems has attracted far less attention. This paper highlights civil society organisations' (CSOs) growing anti-poverty role in Switzerland based on a research project analysing the evolution of poverty during the Covid pandemic, which included a subproject devoted to CSOs, in particular Caritas. These analyses are completed with results from another research carried out ten years ago. Both contributions allow us to describe the role of CSOs for minimum income protection, as well as to quantify their financial impact relative to means-tested benefits.