The right to participation in social policies: the participative process of developing the Valencian Law on Social Services

Abstract

The right of citizens to participate in shaping social policy is an essential element in the new forms of governance and in the exercise of governability of democratic rule-of-law States. This article presents the example of the Valencian Law on Social Services, specifying the different phases of the development process and examining the contributions from various social actors. The process covered the period from 2015 to 2019 and was carried out over four stages with a triple objective: 1) to secure participation from the range of actors (citizens, professionals, local entities, third-sector entities, experts) and political parties throughout the development process, relying on the right to citizen participation as a central element; 2) to develop a shared, common and plural bill in line with the needs and demands of citizens; and 3) to establish the basis for a legislative initiative founded on the principles of democracy. The Deputy Presidency and Council for Equality and Inclusive Policy (Vicepresidencia i Conselleria d’Igualtat i Polítiques Inclusives) selected social work professionals with recognised backgrounds and experience in the area of social services to head the leadership group for this purpose in 2015.