Participation is a vital element of working with children and young people - ensuring that services are meeting their needs as well as promoting citizenship, resilience and general well-being. The Evaluator's Cookbook contains 21 participatory evaluation exercises for use with children, young people and families/community groups. Attractively and clearly presented, the exercises are very easy to use and come with suggestions for use and instructions on how to create the equipment needed. They will appeal to a wide range of people and can be used in a variety of informal and formal settings and most of the exercises are suitable for use with disabled children or children with special needs, as well as people with English as a second language. The book also explores why, how and where participatory research and evaluation should take place and provides suggestions on how the findings can be presented in imaginative ways. This unique book is an invaluable resource for those wishing to consult with children and families or evaluate social, health and education services in diverse cultural settings.

Participation is a vital element of working with children and young people ensuring that services are meeting their needs as well as promoting citizenship, resilience and general well-being. The Evaluator s Cookbook contains 21 participatory evaluation exercises for use with children, young people and families/community groups. Attractively and clearly presented, the exercises are very easy to use and come with suggestions for use and instructions on how to create the equipment needed. They will appeal to a wide range of people and can be used in a variety of informal and formal settings and most of the exercises are suitable for use with disabled children or children with special needs, as well as people with English as a second language. The book also explores why, how and where participatory research and evaluation should take place and provides suggestions on how the findings can be presented in imaginative ways. This unique book is an invaluable resource for those wishing to consult with children and families or evaluate social, health and education services in diverse cultural settings.

In the past decade community groups have been portrayed as the solution to many social problems. Yet the role of 'below the regulatory radar' community action has received little research attention and thus is poorly understood in terms of both policy and practice. Focusing on self-organised community activity, this book offers the first collection of papers developing theoretical and empirically grounded knowledge of the informal, unregistered, yet largest, part of the voluntary sector. The collection includes work from leading academics, activists, policy makers and practitioners offering a new and coherent understanding of community action 'below the radar'. The book is part of the Third Sector Research Series which is informed by research undertaken at the Third Sector Research Centre, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Barrow Cadbury Trust.

In the past decade community groups have been portrayed as the solution to many social problems. Yet the role of 'below the regulatory radar' community action has received little research attention and thus is poorly understood in terms of both policy and practice. Focusing on self-organised community activity, this book offers the first collection of papers developing theoretical and empirically grounded knowledge of the informal, unregistered, yet largest, part of the voluntary sector. The collection includes work from leading academics, activists, policy makers and practitioners offering a new and coherent understanding of community action 'below the radar'. The book is part of the Third Sector Research Series which is informed by research undertaken at the Third Sector Research Centre, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Barrow Cadbury Trust.

Empowerment of users of social care services has become a key issue in much current social work and social policy literature. But many of these texts have focused on themes such as consumerism and citizens' rights, settings in which user involvement is restricted to influencing front-line workers, with little participation in policy making at senior management level. This book explores strategies for effectively involving users in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services. How the key concepts of empowerment, participation and user involvement have been applied in important areas such as mental health, childcare services and criminal justice is discussed, and the outcomes for users considered. The book draws on extensive research and case studies, and also considers the methodology and ethical dilemmas of carrying out research.

Researching for Participation and Involvement in Social Care Delivery is an authoritative, thought-provoking overview of the current situation in social care delivery and presents a convincing argument for greater direct involvement of users at every level of policy making. It will be an invaluable resource for practitioners involved in social and health care delivery at all levels.