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Innovation E-Care: Assistant and Online Care Services for people with special needs

Imago Foundation launched E-Care Innovation, an online support and care service for people with disabilities. The tool provides effective online support to people with disabilities remotely.

Name of the practice: Innovation E-Care: Assistant and Online Care Services for people with special needs  

Organisation: Fundacja Imago

Description of the organisation: Fundacja Imago is a research-based project organisation working to address the needs of the community. The initiatives carried out by the organisation must carry an element of originality and lead to change. Since 2009, Fundacjia Imago is an active partner in developing projects, having conducted 19 cross-sectoral projects in the area of social integration, education, and professional development. The main target groups include youth, older persons, people with disabilities, and other disadvantaged groups on the labour market or persons who are socially excluded. The organisation is also active in developing transnational cooperation, project partnerships, organising seminars and events, and providing personal assistance services. 

Country: Wroclaw, Poland  

Funding: Polish Solidarity Fund, the new EFS 2021-2027 programme and private donations.

Link to UNCRPD: Article 25 – Enjoyment of highest attainable standard of health. 

Description of practice: E-care Innovation is an online support and care service for people with disabilities, employed mainly in situations where in-person support in the client’s living environment is not possible. The practice aims to prepare the organisers of environmental services and the team of specialists to conduct effective online support for clients with different kinds of disabilities. It provides a form of complementary assistance, on an interventional or planned basis, for a variety of services. The E-care facility starts with an e-care diagnostic, which is essentially an evaluation of the current level of digital skills and equipment of (1), the specialists who want to implement the e-services and (2), of those who want to use them. Subsequently, it ensures the development of staff's digital skills, for example, through organising specialised training courses. Lastly, it provides support to people with disabilities who have expressed their willingness to use remote services. This support includes pilot testing sessions, ongoing technical support and monitoring of e-services.  

Impact and sustainability: This practice increases the sustainability of support and assistance, offers the possibility for flexible implementation of services even in changing environmental situations, ensures more efficient management of services, and increases the access of people with disabilities to specialist assistants and carers. E-care services are designed through a co-creation process, involving active participation of staff and clients, including through testing, voting and continuous monitoring.

Scalability & transferability: This practice can be expanded into new regions depending on the entity’s experience in the field of co-creation of services together with recipients and users. The use of this practice by the client depends on their online experience, not on the degree and type of its disability.

Contact information:  Barbara Górka, Service designer, career counsellor, Expert, Imago Foundation