Participatory social policy in a large EU research project

Abstract

This chapter draws on participative action research (PAR) undertaken by academics at Liverpool Hope University and members of SUGAH (‘Service User Group At Hope’, a mental health service user and self-advocacy group). The project was funded by the European Union (EU) as part of its Horizon 2020 agenda and the group are part of the Rebuilding an Inclusive, Value based Europe of Solidarity and Trust through Social Investments (RE-InVEST) programme, which is looking at the impact of austerity on marginalised communities. The research has been framed in terms of the coproduction of knowledge, the active participation of academics and service users as equal partners in research and knowledge production, with engaged action as one of the outcomes. The overall aim of RE-InVEST is to influence political and academic debates on the nature and impact of austerity and, in particular, to invigorate reinvestment in welfare, social policy and the economy. Strategically, the project puts the ‘voices of vulnerable groups and civil society organisations’ at the centre of the programme (RE-InVEST, 2017a). It aims to establish research designed to meet the needs of the people it serves; and, through active participation, the coproduction of new knowledge to develop political demands for change. The project has been funded for four years (2015–19). The first element of the research, conducted between September 2015 and October 2016, was tasked with addressing the ‘social impacts of the present crisis’ and this element of the overall project is discussed here. The RE-InVEST programme is committed to the involvement of ‘vulnerable groups’ in the research process (RE-InVEST, 2017a).