The platform originated from a joint initiative of the European Association of Services Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) and the Centre for Planning and Evaluation of Social Services (ZPE), University of Siegen, Germany to foster European theory-practice cooperation in the disability services’ sector.
It was intended to develop a network of academic researchers and research affined service providers specifically interested in developing inclusive communities. Furthermore, regular meetings for platform members in a format mixing element of academic conferences and project development workshops were to be organized. In the following years, the partnership grew to include the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD) and ZonMW.
Since 2017 the research platform has yearly organised European forums in Brussels to discuss current trends and problems relevant for European research activities concerning disability, inclusive communities and service delivery.
The focus of EURECO meetings was on “cooperation and co- production in comparative European research” (2017), on “implementation of innovations in local disability fields” (2018), on “Social impact measurement frameworks for disability services” (2019) in Europe, on inclusive health (2020), on digital transition in the context of the pandemic (2021), on technology gaps for regions beyond metropoles (2021), on quality of life and services (2022), and on ageing (2023).