PWO SG SAW Collaborating with key figures in the neighbourhood

The healthcare sector and access to care are under severe pressure. Staff shortages, complex care needs, an ageing population, digitisation, diversity, etc. are forcing both the government and practitioners to rethink how care and welfare will be organised in the future. In this context, the neighbourhood is once again taking on significant importance. This is evident from Minister Crevits' social cohesion plan (p26-27), the policy line on neighbourhood-oriented care and Minister Gennez's circular on local social policy (p65-69), the Future Care project of KUL and the Caruna dialogue of CM. The cooperation and involvement of professionals, social shadow work and informal players (Welschen & Schrooten, 2022) seem to be an essential building block in this issue. 
However, this cooperation cannot simply be claimed or imposed. It requires vision, a common language and a shared approach.  The literature and practices surrounding the development of caring neighbourhoods, with cooperation between formal and informal care actors as one of the three pillars (Steurs et al., 2024), (Van Mechelen et al., 2019), focuses on the role of informal key figures as important bridge figures (Movisie, Prevent Hogeschool Utrecht, Kennisplein Inclusief Samenleven). However, there is little research in Flanders and Brussels that specifically focuses on the roles, needs and expectations of these informal players, or on sustainable cooperation between professionals and these citizens (Ponzoni and Pels, 2016).

There is a need for an overview that structures and clarifies the previously fragmented approaches in the literature. 
In this study, we delve into the continuum of key figures that we encounter in the literature and in practice (such as volunteers, social shadow work, neighbourly help, informal care), with particular attention to informal key figures who are not active in an organised context, and the collaboration between these key figures and formal organisations active in the development of caring neighbourhoods in the Brussels-Capital Region.  
Through literature study and case studies of four Brussels caring neighbourhood initiatives (including focus group and individual interviews, and working sessions with the learning network), we develop profiles of key figures (personas) based on an analysis of roles, needs and expectations. Together with the learning network, we use these profiles to develop a future-oriented vision, a shared language register and concrete tools for strengthening cooperation (a work guide with reflection questions and a practical compass).