Co-operation and corporative structures in Danish disability policy
Inge Storgaard Bonfils, Center for Ligebehandling af Handicappede
Abstract
Denmark has, as the other Scandinavian countries, a strong tradition of citizens organizing themselves in associations according to their communities of interest in order to make their viewpoints heard. The Danish disability policy has developed in co -operation between decision makers and representatives from the disability movement. In 1980 this co -operative tradition was institutionalized in The Danish Disability Council. A government-founded body made up of an equal number of representatives from disabled people and from public authorities. The establishment of The Disability Council was part of a greater reform in the Danish disability policy and services, moving from a centralized, state-run institution model to a decentralized and more integrative model run by the counties and local authorities.
The paper presents the first step in a PhD. dissertation structured as a case-study in The Danish Disability Council. Drawing on theoretical insights from the public administration and governance literature, I look into The Disability Council's work in the first years pointing to the dilemmas and conflicts the council experienced in creating a platform for acting and being heard. One of the main issues raised in this period was the question of placing responsibility for the normalizasation and integration of disabled people in society. Traditionally the question of disabled people's welfare was regarded as a matter for the Ministry of Social Affairs. But the disability movement was fighting for mainstreaming. The Disability Council's struggle for moving from being a council closely linked to the Ministry of Social Affairs to becoming a council with the mandate to advise the Government and Parliament on issues relating to disability policy was part of this development.