Developing evidence-based and effective policies that would ensure a good life for hard-to-reach vulnerable people requires reliable and comparable data. In order to suggest a new approach to delivering such data, Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute teamed up with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in partnership with the Center for the Study of Democracy to develop novel methods to access populations at-risk that are hard-to-reach groups.

Using data from a large-scale survey (15,000 households), the partnership developed four thematic reports for four groups at-risk – children, Roma people, old people, and people with disabilities. The four thematic reports outline the key challenges that these groups face, considering their socioeconomic characteristics, their risk of discrimination, and the impact of multiple other risks and potential disadvantages. On the basis of the data analysis, the reports suggest priority areas for policy attention, covering groups’ specific vulnerabilities, indicators and targets for monitoring progress, and areas of interest for further research.

The team further reviews selected sustainable development goals indicators in a thematic report that presents, based on the data from the survey, the situation in the thematic areas of SDGs that are relevant for household-level analysis, using the SDG indicators that can be populated with data from the survey.

The experience from the project and the lessons learned in regard to the generation of data on the situation of the respective vulnerable groups were summarised in a toolkit for using data for elaborating and implementing policies. It analyses the policy framework relevant to each particular group focusing on the data and indicators used either as background data or as tools for monitoring the progress of its implementation one for each of the identified groups at risk of poverty, social exclusion, and violation of fundamental rights.