Providing effective social services with engagement and motivation - ESF 6005

The ESF-project ‘Providing effective social services with engagement and motivation’ (a collaboration of Hefboom, Vlaams Welzijnsverbond and SOM) aims to develop a practical tool that enhances three aspects, i.e. providing effective social services, social entrepreneurship, and enhancing the engagement and motivation of the social professionals.

The practical tool contains four modules: (1) to gain insight in the strengths, qualities, energy, and wishes for the future, (2) professional mission and values of ‘me as a social professional’ and of the team, (3) work alliance (between the social professional and the user) and (4) professional expertise and reflection.

During the project, we explore e.g. how social professionals experience their job. The modules focus on the following topics. What makes social professionals motivated and engaged to do his/her job? What gives them energy, and what does not? What do they need to make their job more workable? To map these issues, we invite social professionals of 18 participating services of the sectors ‘special youth care’, ‘support for persons with a disability’, ‘child care’ and ‘general welfare work’ to complete a questionnaire before and after the intervention (in order to examine the effect of the practical tool).