By Luciano Malfer, Research and Family Development Manager, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
The ability to attract, welcome and retain people and families has become one of the most important challenges for the future of European territories. Declining birth rates, an ageing population and the growing mobility of skills are deeply changing communities and their social balance. In this context, family policies are moving beyond traditional welfare and becoming a strategic tool for development, social cohesion and territorial attractiveness.
In recent years, standards and recognition systems have been developed across Europe to help organisations and public authorities turn their commitment to families into structured policies that can be assessed and improved over time. Although these tools operate at different levels, they share a common approach: defining criteria, collecting evidence, evaluating the actions implemented and supporting a process of continuous improvement.
For organisations and companies, the international efr® certification, promoted by Fundación Másfamilia (see the article Attractiveness and Organizational Well-Being), supports work-life balance, well-being and flexibility. In Italy, UNI/PdR 192, developed from the Family Audit experience of the Autonomous Province of Trento, is a management tool designed to help organisations promote work-life balance, equal opportunities and organisational well-being. At the territorial level, labels and assessment systems for municipalities evaluate the ability of local authorities to create an overall family-friendly environment by integrating services, taxation, housing, mobility, education, health, culture and participation.
The value of these models does not lie only in awarding a label or recognition. The evaluation process makes existing policies more visible, allows experiences to be compared, identifies areas for improvement and supports the spread of the most effective practices. Certification thus becomes a tool for institutional learning and organisational change.
In Portugal, one of the most established initiatives is the Observatório das Autarquias Familiarmente Responsáveis (OAFR), created in 2008 by the Associação Portuguesa de Famílias Numerosas (APFN). The Observatory monitors, recognises and promotes municipal policies that support families through the title of Autarquia Familiarmente Responsável and the award of the Green Flag.
In 2025, during its seventeenth edition, the recognition was awarded to 115 Portuguese municipalities. This figure shows the growth of a system that does not simply reward individual measures but promotes cross-cutting, stable and integrated policies tailored to the social, demographic and territorial characteristics of each community.
The Portuguese model is particularly interesting because it considers municipalities in two different roles: as employers, responsible for supporting their employees’ work-life balance, and as public institutions responsible for the quality of life of resident families. The assessment also becomes a self-evaluation tool: completing the questionnaire helps local authorities review their policies, reorganise existing measures and plan new initiatives.
The OAFR experience is part of the broader European movement of family-friendly cities promoted by the European Large Families Confederation (ELFAC). Through networks, recognition schemes and the exchange of good practices, this movement helps to build a new administrative culture focused on people and families.
To learn more about the origins, operation and future development of this initiative, the following interview is with Filipa Baker, Coordinator of the Observatório das Autarquias Familiarmente Responsáveis. She explains the assessment model, the results achieved and the OAFR’s contribution to promoting family policies at both local and European levels.
Coordinator Baker, how was the Observatório das Autarquias Familiarmente Responsáveis created, and what vision inspired it?
In January 2002, the Portuguese Large Families Association (Associação Portuguesa de Famílias Numerosas) began working with municipalities to develop a “municipal family policy.” This process led to the first initiatives, such as the family water tariff and the large-family card.
Building on this work, a survey of all Portuguese municipalities was carried out in 2007 to create a complete map of existing good practices. This process developed into the new AFR concept: “Family-Responsible Municipality®” (Autarquia + Familiarmente Responsável®).
The Observatory of Family-Responsible Municipalities (Observatório das Autarquias Familiarmente Responsáveis – OAFR) was established in 2008 with broad objectives aimed at creating positive synergies among all municipalities in Portugal. The Observatory seeks to give visibility to local authorities that stand out for adopting family-friendly practices and to make the experience gained by some municipalities available to others.
It also provides local authorities with access to a multidisciplinary group composed mainly of professionals in sociology, psychology, social and family work, and economics. Their expertise in family and municipal policies contributes to assessing the measures adopted, both before and after their implementation.
The OAFR’s ambition is to help all Portuguese municipalities develop cross-cutting policies that welcome and value families, enable them to fully exercise their responsibilities and fulfil their duties, and prevent situations of risk and vulnerability.
What are the main features of your assessment model?
The AFR concept—“Family-Responsible Municipality®”—includes two fundamental aspects. The first concerns the municipality in its role as an employer. It is expected to adopt measures that help its employees balance work and family life, becoming a testing ground and a model for local businesses. The second considers the municipality as an institution serving its residents, committed to implementing measures that support family life, with particular attention to families with three or more children. These families make a significant contribution to addressing population ageing and depopulation. They are also a valuable resource for creating wealth and employment, encouraging entrepreneurship and promoting social stability.
The assessment covers several areas: parenting, housing, education, health, basic services, transport, support for families with special needs, culture and sport. A specific section examines how the municipality informs residents about the available measures and assesses their implementation and impact on the population.
The assessment also considers whether the municipality offers a large-family card and its related benefits, whether it has a municipal family support office, and how each member of the household is taken into account—through per capita calculation or capitation—when allocating family or social benefits, social housing, scholarships and other forms of support.
Finally, the municipality’s responsibility as an employer is assessed. Both the administration and municipal employees are asked to provide information about work-life balance policies. Families are also periodically invited to share their experiences and opinions about the municipality’s work.
What impact has this model had on Portuguese municipalities over the years?
Municipalities awarded the Green Flag and the title of “Family-Responsible Municipality” (AFR) are proud and grateful to receive recognition for their work. The flag is usually displayed outside the town hall, in a place where everyone can see it. Receiving the flag encourages municipalities to maintain and continually improve their family policies so that they can continue to deserve the AFR title.
Over the years, the municipalities involved in the OAFR have developed, inspired one another and learned from each other. The questionnaire and the process of completing it have also encouraged local authorities to assess their own work, helping them reorganise existing measures and plan new initiatives.
Greater awareness of the OAFR’s activities and the municipal policies assessed has also encouraged an increasing number of municipalities to join the project.
What are the main requirements for a municipality to be recognised as an “Autarquia Familiarmente Responsável”?
There is no single answer to this question because municipalities have very different circumstances, making it impossible to standardise specific requirements. Only the municipality, as the local authority closest to the population, truly understands the needs of its people and territory.
The OAFR considers it essential to recognise all policies and measures that respond to the socioeconomic, demographic and territorial characteristics of each municipality. For this reason, the assessment questionnaire—which is the same for all municipalities in Portugal—is broad and flexible enough to assess a wide range of measures. It gives each municipality the opportunity to present all the work it carries out to support local families.
It is always important to have meaningful measures in all the areas assessed and to provide an overall package suited to the local context—in other words, one that responds to families’ real needs.
The assessment also values stable policies based on continuity, as well as policies that are not designed exclusively for individuals but consider the family as a whole, including all its members and every stage of life. Achieving this objective requires broad, cross-cutting and integrated measures for all types of families and their specific needs.
Which certified municipalities do you consider the most inspiring examples that could be shared with a wider European audience, and why?
To be honest, this is a very difficult question, and we do not believe it would be fair to mention individual municipalities. Several local authorities are a source of inspiration, although for different reasons. Some municipalities have participated in the project since the beginning and have worked continuously and with great commitment to strengthen their position, retain the recognition they have received and continue to deserve the trust of families. Other municipalities, often with fewer resources, work hard to achieve the recognition but are not always successful. From our perspective, their work and commitment are no less deserving of attention and respect.
We believe that the most important thing is for a municipality to understand the value of families for its territory and place them at the heart of its policies. Each municipality operates according to its own size, capacity and limitations. What matters is never to stop improving its work for families, even when it is not yet sufficient to receive the recognition, because every improvement benefits the local population.
To give all municipalities the opportunity to gain visibility and become a source of inspiration, the OAFR promotes the “Most Innovative Measure” competition (Medida + Inovadora), which highlights unique initiatives that deserve recognition for their innovation and creativity. Any municipality may submit an initiative, even if it does not hold the title of “Family-Responsible Municipality” (AFR)—perhaps because it does not have the capacity to provide a sufficiently broad package of measures. The assessment is based on several criteria, including relevance, originality, impact, universality and coverage, equity, sustainability, transparency and governance.
In summary, the most inspiring aspect of our project is seeing municipalities commit themselves to improving for the benefit of families. We hope that this commitment will spread throughout Portugal and across Europe.