Please describe what you have learned during the Training School in terms of knowledge and/or skills and how you will incorporate these learnings into your current research project.
1. Social Impact
We explored methods to engage participants, such as involving them as co-researchers from the very first start of the study. This approach ensures that their voices and perspectives shape the research outcomes directly. Other innovative ideas such as collaborating with popular figures like rappers, singers, or influencers to engage the target population. These strategies emphasize thinking outside of the box.
2. New Collaborative Methods
On a broader scale, the training underscored the importance of (large-scale) collaborations to achieve significant political and European-level impacts. Working with a diverse group of experts having different perspectives and opinions, is not the easiest. We therefore learned about new methods of collaborations, with a particular focus on the Delphi method. This technique is used to reach a group consensus through several rounds of questionnaires. It’s particularly useful in developing guidelines and protocols where expert opinion is crucial.
3. Understanding the Qualitiy of Social Services
Lastly, we learned about different principles that serve as a foundation for developing high-quality social service. The key principles highlighted include: 1. Human Rights-based 2. Person-centred 3. Outcomes-oriented 4. Safe 5. Community-based 6. Well-managed.