Parental involvement is a crucial force in children’s development, learning and success at school and in life [1]. Participation, defined by the World Health Organization as ‘a person’s involvement in life situations’ [2] for children means involvement in everyday activities, such as recreational, leisure, school and household activities [3]. Several authors use the term social participation emphasising the importance of engagement in social situations [4, 5]. Children’s participation in daily life is vital for healthy development, social and physical competencies, social-emotional well-being, sense of meaning and purpose in life [6]. Through participation in different social contexts, children gather the knowledge and skills needed to interact, play, work, and live with other people [4, 7, 8]. Unfortunately, research shows that children with a physical disability are at risk of lower participation in everyday activities [9]; they participate less frequently in almost all activities compared with children without physical disabilities [10, 11], have fewer friends and often feel socially isolated [12-14]. Parents, in particular, positively influence the participation of their children with a physical disability at school, at home and in the community [15]. They undertake many actions to improve their child’s participation in daily life [15, 16]. However, little information is available about what parents of children with a physical disability do to enable their child’s participation, what they come across and what kind of needs they have. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate parents’ actions, challenges, and needs while enhancing the participation of their school-aged child with a physical disability. In order to achieve this aim, two steps have been made. In the first step, the literature has been examined to explore the topic of this thesis (actions, challenges and needs) and to clarify definitions for the concepts of participation and social participation. Second, for the purposes of giving breadth and depth of understanding of the topic of this thesis a mixed methods approach using three different empirical research methods [17-19], was applied to gather information from parents regarding their actions, challenges and needs.
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This article describes a European project which was aimed at improving the situation of persons with psychiatric or learning disabilities with regard to social participation and citizenship. The project took place in three countries (Estonia, Hungary and the Netherlands) and four cities (Tallinn, Budapest, Amersfoort and Maastricht). The project included research and actions at the policy level, the organizational level and the practice level. At the policy level, the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006) and the European Disability Strategy (European Commission, 2010) were used to look at national and local policies, at the reality of the lives of those with disabilities and at the support that professional services offer with regard to participation and inclusion. The project generated a number of insights, recommendations and methods by which to improve the quality of services and increase the number of opportunities for community engagement. In this article, we present some of the lessons learned from the meta-analysis. Although the circumstances in each country are quite different with regard to policy, culture and service systems, it is remarkable that people with disabilities face many of the same problems. The study shows that in all three countries, access to services could be improved. Barriers include bureaucratic procedures and a lack of services. The research identified that in every country and city there are considerable barriers regarding equal participation in the field of housing, work and leisure activities. In addition to financial barriers, there are the barriers of stigma and self-stigmatization. Marginalization keeps people in an unequal position and hinders their recovery and participation. In all countries, professionals need to develop a stronger focus on supporting the participation of their clients in public life and in the development of different roles pertaining to citizenship
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IssueIn the Netherlands, the National Public Health Foresight Study (PHF) is published every 4 years, as starting point for national and local public health policy development. As these policies impact citizens’ health and lives, it is important to include their voices. We piloted an approach to strengthen this engagement to learn and to inspire PHF in other (country) settings.Problem descriptionPHF is usually expert-based. Citizen engagement, beyond consultation, is not yet common practice. In the Dutch PHF-2024, we engage citizens both as advisors (citizen council, N = 30 and panel, N = 500) and as target group (focusgroups N = 40). Intentionally the scope is diffuse, allowing for unexpected input. What can we learn from this approach, and how do the citizens contribute to the PHF?Results- Citizens of all ages, backgrounds and education types are well able to discuss health (determinants), data and indicators;- They have intrinsic motivation to contribute to better knowledge, feel responsible for effective engagement and are eager to engage across different backgrounds and population groups;- Integration of outcome into the PHF process is valuable, enriching scientific with experiential knowledge and facilitating results communication;- Fundamental questions, e.g., about foresight time frames (“why look so far ahead as the world is in crisis right now!”) are raised by the citizens, showing that these need to be better addressed in order to make PHF relevant for a broader public.Lessons- More permanent engagement of the citizens is needed to enable learning and development;- earlier engagement in the PHF process may enable joint development of core questions and issues to be addressed;- The results are highly encouraging; piloting this approach in other foresight types and in various contexts is therefore needed to refine and further develop it.Key messages• Citizen engagement can and should be strengthened to include citizen voices in the PHF process, informing policies that impact on their lives.• Citizens of all backgrounds, with their experiential knowledge, can be valuable partners in PHF, that provide important input.
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The HAS professorship Future Food Systems is performing applied research with students and external partners to transform our food system towards a more sustainable state. In this research it is not only a question of what is needed to achieve this, but also how and with whom. The governance of our food system needs rethinking to get the transformative momentum going in a democratic and constructive manner. Building on the professorship’s research agenda and involvement in the transdisciplinary NWA research project, the postdoc will explore collective ownership and inclusive participation as two key governance concepts for food system transformation. This will be done in a participatory manner, by learning from and with innovative bottom-up initiatives and practitioners from the field. By doing so, the postdoc will gain valuable practical insights that can aid to new approaches and (policy) interventions which foster a sustainable and just food system in the Netherlands and beyond. A strong connection between research and education is created via the active research involvement of students from different study programs, supervised by the postdoc (Dr. B. van Helvoirt). The acquired knowledge is embedded in education by the postdoc by incorporating it into HAS study program curricula and courses. In addition, it will contribute to the further professional development of qualitative research skills among HAS students and staff. Through scientific, policy and popular publications, participation in (inter)national conferences and meetings with experts and practitioners, the exposure and network of the postdoc and HAS in the field of food systems and governance will be expanded. This will allow for the setting up of a continuous research effort on this topic within the professorship via follow-up research with knowledge institutes, civic society groups and partners from the professional field.
One of the mission-driven innovation policies of the Netherlands is energy transition which sets, among others, the challenge for a carbon-neutral built environment in 2050. Around 41% of Dutch houses do not yet have a registered energy label, and approximately 31% of the registered houses have label C or lower. This calls for action within the housing renovation industry. Bound to the 70 percent rule, a renovation plan requires full (or at least 70 percent) agreement on the renovation between relevant parties, including residents. In practice, agreement indicators focus mostly on economic and energy aspects. When indicators include people’s needs and preferences, it is expected to speed participation and agreement, increasing residents’ satisfaction and enhances the trust in public institutions. Tsavo was founded in 2015 to organise the sustainability of buildings for ambitious clients. Its sustainability process aims to accelerate renovation by keeping at their core value the social needs and preferences of residents. In this project Tsavo and TU Delft work together to optimise the sustainability process so, it includes everyone’s input and results in a sustainability plan that represents everyone. Tsavo’s role will be key in keeping the balance between both a sustainable renovation service that is cheaper and fast yet also attractive and with an impact on the quality of living. In this project, Tsavo’s sustainable renovation projects will be used to implement methods that focus on increasing participation and residents’ satisfaction. TU Delft will explore principles of attractive, accessible and representative activities to stimulate residents to decide on a renovation plan that is essential and meaningful to all.
The impacts of tourism on destinations and the perceptions of local communities have been a major concern both for the industry and research in the past decades. However, tourism planning has been mainly focused on traditions that promote the increase of tourism without taking under consideration the wellbeing of both residents and visitors. To develop a more sustainable tourism model, the inclusion of local residents in tourism decision-making is vital. However, this is not always possible due to structural, economic and socio-cultural restrictions that residents face resulting to their disempowerment. This study aims to explore and interpret the formal processes around tourism decision-making and community empowerment in urban settings. The research proposes a comparative study of three urban destinations in Europe (The Hague in the Netherlands, San Sebastian in Spain and, Ioannina in Greece) that experience similar degree of tourism growth. The proposed study will use a design-based approach in order to understand tourism decision-making and what empowers or disempowers community participation within the destinations. Based on the findings of primary and secondary data, a community empowerment model will be applied in one the destinations as a pilot for resident engagement in tourism planning. The evaluation of the pilot will allow for an optimized model to be created with implications for tourism planning at a local level that can contribute to sustainable destinations that safeguard the interests of local residents and tourists.
