Social Innovations in the Ecosystem of Formal and Informal Sectors Supporting Persons with Disabilities in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Disability Policy in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Our research revealed innovative solutions emerging in the ecosystem of formal and informal sectors supporting persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic posed serious challenges to the service providers, local communities, and households and urged them to find new coping strategies. In line with the two-pronged approach, special attention has been paid to the accessibility of both public and specialised services and how these have promoted the social inclusion and independent living of people with disabilities. The study is based on a diverse and comprehensive research design, including desk research, a household survey in two Hungarian settlements, semi-structured interviews with persons with disabilities and/or their family members, expert interviews with service providers, and network analysis targeting their inter-institutional relations. Our results show that, in general, changes in organisational development routines, the flexible use of digital communication techniques, and the activation of family and institutional networks supported the lives of people with disabilities during the pandemic. However, the responses to the pandemic varied across the two settlements and institutions studied. In the settlement with the lower population density, the density of contacts made it more effective to support people with disabilities than in the settlement with the higher population density, where family contacts became more meaningful. Institutions with an inherently poor infrastructure and human resources were able to concentrate on performing the minimum mandatory tasks, while institutions with advanced resources were able to respond more quickly to challenges and perform their tasks more efficiently.

Authors

• Katalin Tausz, Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences, Budapest

• Nóra Menich, Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Social Sciences

• Borbála Bányai, ELTE Eötvös Lorand University

• Lucia Csabai, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University