“Innovation in accommodation and care: evaluation of the Lugaritz model and its impact on well-being”

This project is being developed at the request of the City Council of Donostia/San Sebastián, as part of its interest in gaining a deeper understanding of the contribution that new housing alternatives—such as the Lugaritz model—make to the well-being and quality of life of people who need support, as well as those who provide care for them.

From a perspective of applied research and the generation of useful knowledge for decision-making, the ultimate goal of the project is for the lessons learned from the analysis of the Lugaritz model to inform and guide the design and evolution of public policies, contributing to a better response to the current and future needs of these people in the region.

Objectives

• To understand the profile of the people who come to live in Lugaritz, as well as the characteristics of their care context.
• To identify the expectations that people have of Lugaritz and that motivate them to change their living situation, analyzing the extent to which these expectations are maintained, transformed, or reformulated over time.
• Detect and describe new forms of support that this housing model offers to the people who live there.
• Identify opportunities for adapting and adjusting support systems in response to people's changing needs, especially in situations of increasing levels of dependency.
• Reflect on the role that this type of housing can play in the service map of Donostia and/or Gipuzkoa, sharing the difficulties detected and identifying opportunities and lines of action for its consolidation in the territory.

Methodology

To develop this project, Matia Institute proposes a working methodology based on the principles of collaboration, shared leadership, and co-creation, consistent with its approach to research aimed at social transformation.

This approach requires the active involvement, throughout the process, of the various professional and institutional agents involved—with a special role for the City Council of Donostia/San Sebastián—as well as the people targeted by the model and other key actors in the care ecosystem.

In line with this approach, the project is structured in five phases:

• Phase 1: Design of the collaborative research proposal and development of working sessions with the driving force.
• Phase 2: Initial descriptive study.
• Phase 3: Analysis of people's expectations and how they evolve over time.
• Phase 4: Post-study: analysis of the impact of living in Lugaritz.
• Phase 5: Development of solutions in co-creation processes.