RESPONSIVE - Increasing Responsiveness to Citizen Voice in Social Services Across Europe

RESPONSIVE is an EU-funded HORIZON EUROPE project, which is implemented in Austria, Denmark, France, Poland, Portugal, and Romania. Thus the research team is part of an interdisciplinary and multisectoral consortium with participants from six research organisations, three civil society organisations, two social organizations, and an international organization within social work. The research project was launched 1 March this year and will be terminated by February 28th 2026. Aallbor University has the overall responsibility for the workpackage focusing on citizens’ own views of responsiveness and their ideas to improve social services responsiveness
RESPONSIVE aims to investigate and increase responsiveness in social services in the vulnerable area, i.e. the involvement and participation of the voices of vulnerable citizens in the development of public as well as private services. The project assumes that citizens' voices have so far had limited weight and influence in the development and implementation of social services. This risks undermining democracy, trust, participation, and the effectiveness of social work's support for vulnerable citizen groups.
The focal point of the project is to examine citizens' experiences of being listened to and involved in the development and innovation processes of social services. This is a basis for promoting the users'/citizens' voice and influence in social work - both concerning the use of methods, the organization of responsiveness, and the general practice. The project focuses on the following four areas of action; Disability; Mental health; Young people at risk of social exclusion; Child protection.
A practice research project: RESPONSIVE is a qualitative research project designed as a participatory practice research project, which is a research methodological approach that emphasizes involving different partners - here a Citizen Board consisting of representatives from vulnerable citizens who are informants in the project and an Advisory Board consisting of selected relevant practice actors in the areas. Both Boards are included in the planning of the final research design and discussions of the project's research methods.



Interview, observation, and future workshops: The project include different types of methods for data collection, which will be discussed and developed in collaboration between researchers and the Citizen Board members – e.g. interview, observation, and future workshops. The interviews and the observation will generally focus on the citizens' experiences of responsiveness in the social services, including when, where, and how they are involved and experience being listened to, as well as their experience of influencing the social services they receive. Future workshop is a group work method that puts the participants' experiences and their wishes for the future at the center of planning for change. The future workshops will include citizens from the three different areas of action. The focus of the workshops will be on citizen experiences with responsiveness as well as their wishes and ideas to strengthen this. The project's data will consist of 5-10 interviews with citizens from each area of action, observation of relevant activities where citizens can experience open forms of responsiveness; as well as 1-2 future workshops in each area of action.
The research will take place in the autumn of 2023.
Moreover, the project involves the perspectives of professionals in the autumn of 2024 to illuminate the professionals' experience in involving citizens in the development of social services. Making it possible as a part of the project to develop and test tailored innovations for citizens, civil society groups, social actors, and political decision-makers to expand the involvement of different types of citizen knowledge and thus expand responsiveness in social services. This goal is aimed to be achieved through various activities and presentations during the project period.
Use of data: The collected data is applied as knowledge in project RESPONSIVE. If the knowledge from meetings and interviews is used directly in the dissemination of the research, the participants and possibly opinions appear anonymous. The data material is anonymized and produced in dissemination in a form where statements and observations are not personally identifiable.
Actors and organisation: The Danish part of the research project is carried out by a team of researchers in social work and law under the leadership of Professor Lars Uggerhøj at the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Aalborg University.