This research by Dr Joan O Donnell, Prof. Deirdre Desmond & Prof. Mac MacLachlan into running online disability services, emphasises the extent to which online disability services offer a good alternative to face-to-face services for some disabled people. The research was conducted during COVID-19, when online services supported people to stay connected while self-isolating. The findings suggest that online services were democratic and gave people greater choice and control over how they interacted and changed power relationships within services. The research concludes that staff practices are key for creating conditions conducive to safe spaces, sustaining well-being, and reshaping power dynamics and emphasise the importance of embracing technology as a tool for innovation within complex operating environments. These findings are significant as services are poised at a crossroads: the impetus to develop virtual services requires an appreciation that disruptive events can occur at any time. It also speaks to the right to have a choice of if, where, when and how to participate. The enacted practices of people working together in self-organising groups led to the creation of psychologically safe virtual services that sustained relationships, pointing a way forward for further investment in innovation, facilitation and digital skill development. Read the publication in full.
