Genio works closely with social services to engage with end beneficiaries to have greater choice and agency in the services that they receive. This takes different forms and is often described in different language across sectors. Broadly speaking there are three ways in which we support services to bring service user voice into the centre of service reform and design:

Self-direction – Self-direction refers to the many ways in which people directly determine the types of services or supports they receive as individuals. There is extensive evidence that incorporating choice as a central component of delivering social services greatly enhances the efficacy and relevance of those services. There are many ways in which social services can develop processes to enable people to direct the types of supports they would like to receive:

• Disability - Supported Self-Directed Living (SSDL)
• Mental health employment - Individual Placement and Support (IPS)
• Co-production in addiction services
• Dementia Community Supports Model

Lived experience – The experiences of those whom have received services can be extremely insightful. Having people with lived experience on service management groups and part of the process of reviewing, allocating and evaluating resources, not only ensures that the reform processes benefit from their experience and capabilities, it also signals that this voice has power.

Peer work – Many of the programme areas in which Genio works have incorporated lived-experience into some of the professional, paid roles which support the implementation of programmes. As well fulfilling the specific requirements of their roles, peer workers are uniquely positioned to be able model hope and advice based on personal experience to the people they support, alongside more traditional service professionals.