32 Participatory social policy and social change: exploring the role of social entrepreneurship linked to forms of social and micro enterprises in the field of social care
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Barbara Fawcett
Abstract
The relationship between social policy and social change can be dynamic and can bring about significant transformation. However, this relationship is not linear and is affected by political climate, by context, by those who are either involved or excluded and by the extent of media attention. On the one hand there can be blocks, revisions and retractions, but, on the other, there can be breakthroughs and significant movement. There are many ways in which social policy can contribute to participatory social policy and social change and in this chapter we look how social entrepreneurship linked to forms of social and micro enterprise can operate as a major change element, particularly when opportunities, such as those contained in the Care Act 2014, are utilised by those whom the policy most affects.
When links are made between social policy and social change, a pivotal area relates to the extent of involvement of those who utilise services. Involvement can take many different forms and operate at many different levels. It can be deep and meaningful or superficial and meaningless (Fawcett et al, 2010). Recently, co-production is a term that has been coined to clarify what involvement can and arguably should incorporate. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE, 2015) maintain that co-production should be regarded as a number of principles rather than as a singular entity. They point to the importance of power imbalances being addressed and to attention being paid to reciprocity and to acknowledging and working with diversity. Accordingly, there is a strong emphasis on assets, rather than on deficits and on negotiation, mutuality and exchange.
Abstract
The relationship between social policy and social change can be dynamic and can bring about significant transformation. However, this relationship is not linear and is affected by political climate, by context, by those who are either involved or excluded and by the extent of media attention. On the one hand there can be blocks, revisions and retractions, but, on the other, there can be breakthroughs and significant movement. There are many ways in which social policy can contribute to participatory social policy and social change and in this chapter we look how social entrepreneurship linked to forms of social and micro enterprise can operate as a major change element, particularly when opportunities, such as those contained in the Care Act 2014, are utilised by those whom the policy most affects.
When links are made between social policy and social change, a pivotal area relates to the extent of involvement of those who utilise services. Involvement can take many different forms and operate at many different levels. It can be deep and meaningful or superficial and meaningless (Fawcett et al, 2010). Recently, co-production is a term that has been coined to clarify what involvement can and arguably should incorporate. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE, 2015) maintain that co-production should be regarded as a number of principles rather than as a singular entity. They point to the importance of power imbalances being addressed and to attention being paid to reciprocity and to acknowledging and working with diversity. Accordingly, there is a strong emphasis on assets, rather than on deficits and on negotiation, mutuality and exchange.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures and tables vii
- Foreword viii
- Introduction 1
-
Service users and social policy: an introduction
- Challenging injustice: the importance of collective ownership of social policy 14
- Participation and solidarity in a changing welfare state 22
- Social policy in developing countries: a post-colonial critique and participatory inquiry 33
- Advancing sustainability: developing participatory social policy in the context of environmental disasters 43
- Social policy and disability 51
- A case study of children’s participation in health policy and practice 62
- Who owns co-production? 74
-
Critiquing and reconceiving Beveridge’s ‘five giant evils’: key areas of British post-war social policy from a lived experience perspective
- Rethinking disabled people’s rights to work and contribute 86
- Talking policy as a patient 95
- ‘We don’t deal with people, we deal with bricks and mortar’: a lived experience perspective on UK health and housing policy 98
- Education (ignorance) addressing inclusive education: the issues and its importance from a participatory perspective 103
- “For work, we came here to find work”: migrant Roma employment and the labour of language 107
-
The contribution of service user knowledges
- Disability policy and lived experience: reflections from regional Australia 120
- Renewing epistemologies: service user knowledge 132
- Pornography, feminist epistemology and changing public policy 142
- Making social policy internationally: a participatory research perspective 147
-
An inclusive life course and developmental approach to social policy
- Disabled children’s lives: an inclusive life course and developmental approach to social policy 163
- Troubled youth and troubling social policy: mental health from a Mad Studies perspective 172
- Disability: an inclusive life course and developmental approach to social policy 181
- Independent living from a Black Disabled Woman’s perspective 188
- Food poverty and the policy context in Ireland 195
- Implementing race equality policies in British health and social care: a perspective from experience 205
- Participatory approaches to social policy in relation to ageing 211
- Death, dying and digital stories 223
-
Transforming social policy
- People acting collectively can be powerful 233
- Their participation and ours: competing visions of empowerment 243
- A participatory approach to professional practice 251
- Dreams of justice 257
- Sustainable-participatory social policy 262
- Participatory social policy in a large EU research project 277
-
Campaigning and change
-
Approaches to activism
- ‘What is strong, not what is wrong’ 292
- Participatory social policy and social change: exploring the role of social entrepreneurship linked to forms of social and micro enterprises in the field of social care 297
- Public duty, whistleblowing and scandal: influences on public policy 306
- ‘Informed gender practice in acute mental health’: when policy makes sense 311
- Making the case for single sex wards 314
- #JusticeforLB: in search of truth, accountability and justice 319
-
The role of online platforms and social media
- Guerilla policy: new platforms for making policy from below 323
- A Magna Carta for learning disabled people 327
- Pat’s Petition: The emerging role of social media and the internet 332
-
Breaking down barriers
-
Inclusion and difference in the formulation and operation of social policy
- “LGBT History Month is a thing!” The story of an equal rights campaign 338
- Progressing gender recognition and trans rights in the UK 343
-
User-led approaches to social policy
- Transforming professional training and education – a gap mending approach: the PowerUs European partnership 349
- Grassroots tackling policy: the making of the ‘Spartacus Report’ 355
- Involvement for influence: developing the 4Pi Involvement Standards 362
-
Participatory research and evaluation
- From expert to service user: challenging how lived experience is demeaned 369
- Participatory methodologies involving marginalised perspectives 376
- Developing the evidence to challenge ‘welfare reform’: the road to ‘Cash Not Care’ 389
- Service user-controlled research for evidence-based policymaking 394
- Participatory citizenship, gender and human trafficking in Nepal 406
- Experiential knowledge in mental health policy and legislation: can we ever change the agenda? 418
- Conclusion 427
- Notes on contributors 435
- Index 447
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures and tables vii
- Foreword viii
- Introduction 1
-
Service users and social policy: an introduction
- Challenging injustice: the importance of collective ownership of social policy 14
- Participation and solidarity in a changing welfare state 22
- Social policy in developing countries: a post-colonial critique and participatory inquiry 33
- Advancing sustainability: developing participatory social policy in the context of environmental disasters 43
- Social policy and disability 51
- A case study of children’s participation in health policy and practice 62
- Who owns co-production? 74
-
Critiquing and reconceiving Beveridge’s ‘five giant evils’: key areas of British post-war social policy from a lived experience perspective
- Rethinking disabled people’s rights to work and contribute 86
- Talking policy as a patient 95
- ‘We don’t deal with people, we deal with bricks and mortar’: a lived experience perspective on UK health and housing policy 98
- Education (ignorance) addressing inclusive education: the issues and its importance from a participatory perspective 103
- “For work, we came here to find work”: migrant Roma employment and the labour of language 107
-
The contribution of service user knowledges
- Disability policy and lived experience: reflections from regional Australia 120
- Renewing epistemologies: service user knowledge 132
- Pornography, feminist epistemology and changing public policy 142
- Making social policy internationally: a participatory research perspective 147
-
An inclusive life course and developmental approach to social policy
- Disabled children’s lives: an inclusive life course and developmental approach to social policy 163
- Troubled youth and troubling social policy: mental health from a Mad Studies perspective 172
- Disability: an inclusive life course and developmental approach to social policy 181
- Independent living from a Black Disabled Woman’s perspective 188
- Food poverty and the policy context in Ireland 195
- Implementing race equality policies in British health and social care: a perspective from experience 205
- Participatory approaches to social policy in relation to ageing 211
- Death, dying and digital stories 223
-
Transforming social policy
- People acting collectively can be powerful 233
- Their participation and ours: competing visions of empowerment 243
- A participatory approach to professional practice 251
- Dreams of justice 257
- Sustainable-participatory social policy 262
- Participatory social policy in a large EU research project 277
-
Campaigning and change
-
Approaches to activism
- ‘What is strong, not what is wrong’ 292
- Participatory social policy and social change: exploring the role of social entrepreneurship linked to forms of social and micro enterprises in the field of social care 297
- Public duty, whistleblowing and scandal: influences on public policy 306
- ‘Informed gender practice in acute mental health’: when policy makes sense 311
- Making the case for single sex wards 314
- #JusticeforLB: in search of truth, accountability and justice 319
-
The role of online platforms and social media
- Guerilla policy: new platforms for making policy from below 323
- A Magna Carta for learning disabled people 327
- Pat’s Petition: The emerging role of social media and the internet 332
-
Breaking down barriers
-
Inclusion and difference in the formulation and operation of social policy
- “LGBT History Month is a thing!” The story of an equal rights campaign 338
- Progressing gender recognition and trans rights in the UK 343
-
User-led approaches to social policy
- Transforming professional training and education – a gap mending approach: the PowerUs European partnership 349
- Grassroots tackling policy: the making of the ‘Spartacus Report’ 355
- Involvement for influence: developing the 4Pi Involvement Standards 362
-
Participatory research and evaluation
- From expert to service user: challenging how lived experience is demeaned 369
- Participatory methodologies involving marginalised perspectives 376
- Developing the evidence to challenge ‘welfare reform’: the road to ‘Cash Not Care’ 389
- Service user-controlled research for evidence-based policymaking 394
- Participatory citizenship, gender and human trafficking in Nepal 406
- Experiential knowledge in mental health policy and legislation: can we ever change the agenda? 418
- Conclusion 427
- Notes on contributors 435
- Index 447
