Increasing service user participation in local planning. A how-to manual for macro practitioners, by J. M. Dunlop & M. J. Holosko

Abstract

This is a hands-on practical manual designed for service users to use in planning for local community service system reform, using a community development-planning model (CDPM). The United States and Canada have yet to fully prioritize service users into their community planning, whereas other countries, such as Sweden, England, and Australia, see it as a necessary element for effective community resource planning. The book offers an eight-step field-tested planning model that collaboratively joins service users (SUs) and service providers (SPs) to plan for new resources in their community. This social planning model can be used for many other community needs, and in many other sectors, such as politics, education, and in environmental areas of concern. The authors have written this text primarily directed for micro and macro graduate students in social work, or nonprofit management and leadership programs. It is also crafted to be useful for various community practitioners and other stakeholders involved in effective planning. The well-crafted manual is used to promote SU and SP partnerships, and is based on evidence-informed data. This manual stresses the importance of both of these features in the community planning process. The introduction covers the history of SUs and SPs, and myths that surround them, which, in turn, uncovers the reasons SUs have minimized voices in their communities. This subsection also gives a “birds-eye view” of the CDPM, and the work-plan and evaluation of the planning process. The introduction also provides insight to the external trends that were behind the rationale to create this model. The overarching elements, neoliberalism and globalization, have contributed to our inability to not look beyond the immediate needs of our clients. This has resulted in communities that are under resourced and fragmented. The text is then organized into eight chapters, covering a sequential step in the planning process. Each is comprised of the same stylistic outline: overview and rationale, description of planning activities and action steps, case vignette, summary and evaluation of planning step, references, and activity sheets. This predictable breakdown makes for the text to be easy to digest, and also equips the reader with over 50 supplementing activity sheets necessary, to execute each outlined planning step. While reading through the planning steps and activity sheets, I found the well-written glossary to be particularly helpful. Content-wise, the first two chapters unveil stakeholder participation and how to build a joint mission and purpose. Dunlop and Holosko (2016) describe this process in three sequential action steps: