New Practices of Farm-Based Community-Oriented Social Care Services in The Netherlands

ABSTRACT. Social care services provided by farmers provide a community-based collaboration that can empower people and improve their quality of life. The objective of this study was to increase understanding of the collaboration between care organizations and farmers. The study involves 4 cases, and all stakeholders involved in the collaboration were interviewed using boundary spanning and the quest of innovative practices for legitimacy as sensitizing concepts. In this study, 2 types of boundary spanners were identified: initiators of collaboration and top-level managers. Successful collaboration expressed by structural implementation of farm-based services in the care organization and the positive reactions of clients, care organizations, and farmers is initiated by committed and strategically operating boundary spanners with different backgrounds. Support from top-level management of the care organizations involved is crucial for overall success. Future research needs to focus on collaboration with other types of newcomers in the care sector, the impact of budget cuts in the social and care domains, and the increasing pressure on participation of service users in society in collaboration processes.

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