Background of the project

Social exclusion is a wicked problem with dire costs for individuals, communities and the social and health care sector. However, previous studies have found expertise-by-experience, an acknowledged form of peer support, to be successful in empowering marginalized people and supporting their inclusion in the society. Laurea University of Applied Sciences is a nationally significant authority in the field of expertise-by-experience and in providing practical solutions for marginalization, and the project Empowering People towards Socially Inclusive Society further developed these competences and especially theoretical underpinnings of the area.

The project developed theoretical concepts and methodologies that formed the bedrock for practical solutions developed in the project. Co-creation and active stakeholder engagement were inherent in the project design, and naturally experts-of-experience were involved in the project. In addition to theoretical and practical contributions, the project strived towards a people-centered paradigm shift in the social and health care sector. This kind of approach focuses on the viewpoints and experiences of clients and grassroots-level workers, which will lead to improved wellbeing and more inclusive society.

Empowering People Towards a Socially Inclusive Society (VoimaProfi) was a project carried out by Laurea University of Applied Sciences and funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture from 2022 to 2024. The funding is allocated by the Ministry to support development and research activities in higher education institutions and universities, with the aim of supporting and accelerating strategic profiling in line with their strategies and improving the quality of research.

Project objectives and measures

The core of the project consisted of 4 studies with separate research themes in different contexts of social marginalization. In addition to these studies, there were integrating activities for obtaining larger impact. As a whole, the project intended to advance such a paradigm shift in social and health care services, in which the viewpoints and experiences of clients and grassroots-level workers would be the focal point, especially in contexts of marginalization.

Studies:

• Study 1: Preventing digital exclusion among vulnerable groups (Virpi Lund, Soile Juujärvi, Birgitta Tetri)
• Study 2: Developing the support to children, adolescents and their parents with mental wellbeing challenges (Tiina Putkuri, Mikko Häkkinen, Irene Latva-Korpela)
• Study 3: Supporting professional development among experts-by-experience with a history of crime (Janika Lindström, Karoliina Nikula)
• Study 4: Supporting wellbeing of employees in elderly care (Tarja Kantola, Soile Juujärvi, Sari Heikkinen)

The objectives of the sub-studies were to:

• prevent digital exclusion among vulnerable groups through diverse measures
• develop support for children, young people, and their parents in situations where a child or young person faces mental well-being challenges
• support the professional development of experts by experience with a criminal background
• promote the well-being of employees in social and healthcare services for older people