Empowerment

WE EMPOWER… BECAUSE EVERYONE’S VOICES AND CHOICES SHOULD BE RESPECTED AND INCLUDED.

1. Empowerment means a person is able to participate in and influence matters affecting his or her life.
2. We can promote participation and ownership by building on people’s strengths to expand assets and capabilities.
3. We have a part to play in creating empowering environments for service users.

Process

Adapted from New Economics Foundation (2010)’s Co-production Self-assessment Framework.

You can refer to the Empowerment Deconstructed! Guide for the processes and tools to carry out these steps.

1. DO A SELF-ASSESSMENT – Assess to what extent service users have been participating in the design and delivery of services (refer to co-production principles above)
2. IDENTIFY BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT & ACTIONS TO OVERCOME – Identify barriers that can be on an individual or organisational level (e.g. belief systems, structures and processes)
3. DESIGN & IMPLEMENT THE SOLUTION – Use tools to help in needs assessment and service design
4. REVIEW – Evaluate through reflection, improvement and learning

Guiding Questions

• HOW do you ensure that service users are included in service design and delivery?
• HOW do you increase the knowledge and skills of service users?
• WHAT are the strengths and experiences of service users that you can mobilise?

Resources Available

• Empowerment Deconstructed! Guide – The Empowerment Deconstructed! breaks down the concept of empowerment into practical and relatable terms. The guide consists of a recommended 4-step process together with tools and frameworks to help you practise empowerment.
• Stories From The Heart – Community Advocates, Tsao Foundation – An example of collaboration by Tsao Foundation who roll out a ground-up initiative - EMPOWER programme funded by NCSS.