Cooperation agreement
Short definition
A cooperation agreement is an agreement between the Social Security Institute and an IPSS or equivalent body under which the State co-funds the running of a social service, such as a residential care home or a day centre.
In plain language
The State pays a monthly contribution for each user covered, and the institution undertakes to provide the service according to the rules for that type of social service. Amounts are updated periodically in the cooperation pact signed with the social sector organisations. It is not an application for a project: it is operating funding, which helps pay for the service's activities. In the Azores and Madeira, agreements are made with the respective regional institutes.