FamILens: an expanding model

In May 2023, on the pages of this newsletter, we reported on the start of a new phase of work on FamILens, a model for family impact analysis, developed by a research group from the University Center for Family Studies and Research, as early as 2018.

The project "Toughing inequalities, implementing a multidisciplinary model for the analysis of the impact on families of policies and practices" (Line D32-2022) has given it a significant boost and has allowed it to progressively translate its potential into operational tools, training materials, public opportunities for reflection.

Among the main advances, it is worth mentioning the publication by Elisabetta Carrà and Matteo Moscatelli of Quaderno 35 of the Family Center, The FamILens manual, a text that proposes a theoretical and applicative systematization of the model.

An accessible dissemination and training strategy was then launched. A video presentation has been added to the pages of the University Centre's website dedicated to FamILens. In addition, the first episodes of the Podcast "FamILens – The lens of family impact" have been created and published. The series tells the theoretical assumptions, critical questions and applications of the model in different contexts: from family mediation, to area plans, to businesses, to child protection, to home care.

Also available is the free online mini-course "Analyzing the impact of policies and practices with FamILens", which is aimed at students, professionals, administrators and researchers interested in understanding how the model can become a tool for reading and transforming organizational and decision-making contexts.
The course provides the skills needed to use a FamILens checklist, designed to participantly assess the family impact of professional policies, services and practices. Those who attend it will obtain an Open Badge, i.e. a digital certification of the skills acquired, recognized and shareable on professional and social platforms.

In the meantime, research paths have been carried out aimed at developing ad hoc checklists that decline the 6 principles into indicators suitable for the object of study (family mediation, child protection, management, etc.). With the company BiPart, a platform dedicated to the FamILens has been set up that will host the checklists developed and will allow users to carry out an initial analysis of the impact of their activities on family relationships.

The development path of FamILens is still evolving, but it is now evident that the original objective – that of helping to build family-friendly policies and practices – is finding concrete implementation tools, promoting a culture of evaluation centered on the family as an active social subject.

In this framework, the research group is available to collaborate with public, private and third sector bodies, offering different levels of support: from the interpretation of the results of the checklists, with operational suggestions, to the conduct of seminars to stimulate reflection in working groups; from the co-design of personalized checklists to the creation of structured training courses; up to action-research activities and development of models for the analysis of family impact consistent with territorial regulations. A modular offer, designed to meet knowledge, training and decision-making needs.