A positive attitude towards user participation is ultimately an enabling factor leading to more effective outcomes in social services. In other words, believing in users’ capabilities is both a precondition and an instrumental element for successful service interventions built under co-creation between users and providers.
Social services aim to help persons facing vulnerability or marginalization. In turn, service users’ skills and capabilities, together with their individual experience of service provision, are also key to render social services better. On the one hand, the quality of services and their ability to match more precisely users’ needs and expectations will be enhanced by empowered users. On the other hand, a more important role of users in the design and process of service provision increases their ownership and, moreover, will spark a virtuous circle leading to further pro-user service outcomes.
Eurodiaconia believes that the development of channels through which users can voice their views on service provision is critical to quality outcomes. For this reason, this Toolkit should be read in parallel and as part of the just published Principles for Quality Social Services.
To access the toolkit, please click here (EN)