Social Policy Assessment Task

ASSIGNMENT STRUCTURE

Part One – Policy Response (1,500 words)

In the first part of the Policy Response, you should place the policy that you used for your consultation in a broader social policy context in relation to other policies/legislation and literature. You should also refer here to the Scottish policy context, its characteristic features, and the process of devolution.

In the second part of the Policy Response, you should discuss your chosen policy in more detail. You should state what made you choose this policy, what is its focus, when it was introduced, what political ideas and values it reflects, what it claims to do, and why it is being developed/reviewed. It is also advisable to mention critiques of the policy and discuss briefly the ways in which the policy concerns the work of the agency where you were placed.

Part Two – Reflective Account (1,000 words)

Your Reflective Account should include:

• An account of how service users, carers and, where appropriate, professionals were selected, contacted and involved in the consultation.
• Information about any other agencies or sources of information used.
• Discussion of the process of formulating the questions for your consultation (e.g., interview questions, survey questions, etc.).
• Details of your chosen methods for collecting data (interviews, focus groups, a survey, participant observation, etc.)
• Details of how the findings were reviewed – what methods for data analysis were used.
• Discussion of the limitations of your chosen methods for data collection and analysis.
• Discussion of the ethical dimensions of the consultation (voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality).

Part Three – Summary of Findings and Recommendations for Organisational Change (1,500 words)

Part Three of your summative assignment is your Summary of Findings Report presented to your placement agency. The report should be updated to blend in with the overall assignment. It should present the key findings from your consultation and the recommendations for policy and/or organisational change.

You should discuss the impact of your chosen policy on the service users, using as evidence the inputs of the users and carers (and, where appropriate, professionals) who took part in your consultation. It is advisable to make links between this discussion and the broader social policy context identified in Part One.

Part Four – Critical Analysis (1,000 words)

The Critical Analysis should include a commentary on the other three parts of the assignment. The policy development, consultation and findings should be analysed through a lens of critical social policy and organisational change, as well as personal professional reflection.

Most importantly, you should discuss critically the 'co-production' of your consultations process – the degree to which the involvement of the users and carers (and, where appropriate, practitioners) was effective and meaningful. It is also important to discuss how you organised the dissemination of your consultation findings and what were the effects of this on your placement agency. You may link this analysis to a more general reflection on the barriers and enablers to participation in policy making.