Diagnosis and design of social interventions

🥇Uniservitate Award 2022 winning experience

SUMMARY

Processes of diagnosis and design of community-based social interventions in organisations in Santiago de Chile.

The project Diagnosis and design of social interventions is part of the course “Community Social Psychology” of the School of Psychology, carried out under the academic framework of “Diagnosis of resources and needs in communities” and “Strategies of intervention in communities”. The integration of the curriculum contents in both courses allows students to carry out their assisted pre-professional internships in the same solidarity service, aimed at meeting the community psychosocial requirements of groups, organisations and institutions in the municipalities in the province of Santiago. 

Since 2019, there have been 16 experiences of community-based services with different beneficiaries aimed at promoting the well-being of the population with economic or social vulnerability and organisations working in these contexts.

Students choose or suggest the organisations they want to work with according to their interests. In turn, their professors assess the necessary conditions for learning and the feasibility of offering an effective service in these organisations. During four years, several themes have been addressed: neighbourhood strengthening, urban regeneration and social housing, social cohesion, environment, education, health, interculturality, advocacy of children’s rights and participation, gender equality, psychosocial support to families living in poverty and vulnerability, sport, art and culture.

Addressing the social, environmental or community problem depends on the requirements of the groups, communities or organisations involved. In addition, the students provide solutions based on a participatory and inclusive logic that favours a relevant, viable and contextualised service, contributing to the community’s strengthening and empowerment.

Some of these community-based initiatives were developed in collaboration with three campus ministry intermediary partners: Project Common, a collaborative platform designed to put academic skills and knowledge at the service of the ecclesial community; Project Bridges, in which graduates and professors from the university provide concrete solutions to local and public issues; and Project Collaborate, which focuses on violence prevention and community/organisational strengthening in the La Legua area.

At the end of each practice, the groups of community psychology undergraduates deliver a report and a presentation with the results of the community diagnosis and the plan for community-based social intervention. So the following semester, those students who wish to do so can participate in the project’s implementation as their professional practice. At this point, students are encouraged to share their work with the beneficiaries. Therefore, they provide a space to discuss, interchange and close the process. 

These practices allow students to think and act ethically in their professional work within contexts of social vulnerability, guided by precepts of respect for diversity, justice, solidarity and democracy. Furthermore, the practices help them be more open and flexible to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams.

PLACE OF IMPLEMENTATION