Service design technology as a tool for the development of the Institute of social services

Sipunova Nadezhda Valentinova PhD in Economics Associate Professor; Department of Pedagogy, Social Work and Humanities; AOU in the Leningrad region 'State Institute of Economics, Finance, Law and Technology' 188304, Russia, Leningrad region, Gatchina, Chkalova str., 13, sq. 41 sipunova_nv@inbox.ru

Introduction. Social services for the population, considered as a social institution, is an integral part of civil society, ensuring the tasks of redistributing public goods on the principles of social justice, preventing social stratification, protecting the interests of vulnerable groups and meeting the social needs of a wide range of the population. Meanwhile, the modern sociological discourse on social service issues requires clarification and actualization of both the concept of "social institution" and the signs and criteria of institutionalization, taking into account the dynamics of social processes. It is also important to identify the institutional features, factors, tools and practices of the development of social services at the present stage. The purpose of this study is to analyze the features of using service design technology in social services. The object of the research is the institutional features of social services for the population, the subject is the role and essence of service design technology as a tool for the development of the institute of social services.

The scientific novelty of the study lies in the analysis of some aspects of the impact of the introduction of service design technology in the provision of social services on the development of the institute of social services, the transformation of its institutional functions.

Methodology and methods of research. The main research method is the traditional analysis of documents, generalization of the research available in the literature of the Institute of Social Services and the study of practical experience in the implementation of service design technology, as well as analysis of its impact on the processes of transformation of social institutions.

The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the works of domestic and foreign scientists devoted to the functioning and development of social institutions, the peculiarities of the transformation of the institute of social services, innovations in social services for the population, the introduction of service design technology into the processes of service provision.

The works of domestic and foreign researchers (Ostrom E., Crawford S. E., ^[1] Scott, R. ^[2], Acemoglu D., Robinson J. ^[3]., Veblen T. ^[4], Frolov S. ^[5], Shchepansky Ya. ^[6]) contain methodological approaches to the study of institutionalization of social processes, criteria and definitions of social institutions, which formed the basis of this study in terms of studying the peculiarities of the formation and development of the institution of social services for the population. The research of the main methodological approaches to the analysis of the phenomenon of institutionalization was also based on the works of Protopopova N. I. ^[7] and Shubnikov Yu. B. ^[8], which contain characteristics of the evolution of conceptual ideas about the content of the concept of "social institution", as well as criteria and signs of institutionalization.

The theoretical basis for the study of the essence and features of service design technology were the works of Clatworthy S. ^[9], Morelli N. ^[10], Stickdorn, M. ^[11], Stickdorn, M., Schneider, J. ^[12]. To characterize the features of the application of service design in the social sphere, the results of research by Kashitsina A.M. ^[13], Subach D.A., Avrutskaya S.G. ^[14], Sharakhina P.S. ^[15] were used, as well as a secondary analysis of data from the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) on the implementation of the implementation of service design in the social sphere as part of the implementation of the concept of a regional social standard adopted within the framework of the National Social Initiative (NSI) of the federal project "The State for People".

Social service as a social institution: a review of the scientific literature. In order to study the institutional characteristics of social services as a social phenomenon, it is necessary to clarify and specify the concept of "social institution". The researchers note that, despite the fact that the term "public institution" as an independent category was introduced by scientists into scientific use back in the XIX century, and at the end of the XX century. "... a critical analysis of the theoretical and methodological basis of the institutional is one of the important directions of Russian scientific thought" ^[8], at the moment in the sociological science lacks a single interpretation of it ^[7].

E. Durkheim was one of the first to fully present the characteristics of a social institution as a mechanism that ensures the vital activity of society. He defined a social institution as a kind of social fact endowed with both objective character and coercive force. The social institution in Durkheim's teaching is a mechanism that sets the structure of social interactions ^[14]. Another view on the nature and essence of a social institution was proposed by the American sociologist and economist T. Veblen. He proposed the interpretation of this term through the connection of the vital activity of society, its process with the material world in which this vital activity takes place directly. A social institution, according to Veblen, is a kind of "habitual way of thinking, guided by which people live", which means the relationship of social institutions with types of public relations ^[4].

At the moment, science operates with various interpretations of the category of "social institution". Thus, according to Ya. Shchepansky, institutions can be called systems of organizations in which certain persons receive authority to perform functions to meet individual and social needs, as well as to regulate the behavior of other members of organizations ^[6]. According to S. Frolov's definition, "a social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that unites significant social values and procedures that meet the basic needs of society" ^[5].

Within the framework of this study, the methodology presented by Yu. Shubnikov in the article "Signs and functions of social institutions" was used, where the author suggests, in order to determine the specifics and classify the concept of "social institution" into a separate category, to allocate generic functions that determine the role of the institution in the formation and development of society ^[8]. The institution of social service as a social phenomenon can be characterized through its specific functions, which can simultaneously be considered as institutionalizing factors of social service. The analysis of the implementation of these functions allows us to determine the level of formation of the institute. The content of the functions of the Institute of Social Services is presented in table 1.

Table 1 - Functions of social services as a social institution

The formation and development of the institute of social services is practically carried out through the implementation of various forms, technologies and methods of providing social services. Innovations in social services, the emergence of new technologies, integrated solutions, on the one hand, ensure the development of the institution, and on the other hand, influence and in some cases determine its structure and processes.

The results of the study of the content of design and its role in the development of the Institute of social services. Among the relevant areas of development of the social service system, it is advisable to highlight the use of innovative approaches in the field of service design of social services. Service design as a technology for providing services has different definitions and interpretations. For example, the International network Service Design Netwotk defines it as "planning and organization of processes, people, infrastructure in order to improve the interaction between the client and the company (service), person and process" (Service-design glossary. – Online text // Service Design Netwotk: [website]. -URL: https://www.service-design-network.org/uploads/sdn-glossary-a4.pdf (last accessed September 2024)). M. Stickdorn and J. Schneider propose an approach to the problems of service design, involving the implementation of the following principles: client-centricity – the development of user solutions in accordance with all segments of the target audience; co–creation - an interactive process which is aimed at involving all stakeholders in the decision design process; ordering – the process of forming a client's path map to manage impressions at each stage of touch points; evidence – artifacts or elements through which the user's trust in the service is formed and increased; a holistic experience for all touch points – assumes unity of impressions from communications, design, the technical component and convenience throughout the customer's journey ^[12].

The use of service design technology can be defined as the activity of planning and organizing resources in order to ensure the best result for the client ^[16]. This activity, in relation to the institute of social services, is of an interdepartmental nature and involves building an optimal trajectory for the recipient of social services, helping him to ensure the most effective satisfaction of his request.

Service design focuses on internal processes in the provision of social services in order to provide an optimal solution that is convenient for the client and allows him to choose the shortest and most effective way to solve his social problem.

At the same time, the analysis of the effectiveness of the use of service design in social services is associated with certain qualitological and volumetric difficulties associated with the fact that the quality of the service, unlike the quality of the product, is determined both by the content of the service provider's activities and the subjective assessment of the recipient, how he perceives his individual customer experience ^[17]. Studies of the functioning of the institute of social services also suggest a focus on the intangible essence of the product offered to the consumer, which causes some non-linearity in meeting his needs. So, according to Morelli ^[10], unlike a product that actually exists regardless of whether it is purchased and used by the consumer, the service really exists only at the moment when it is provided and consumed by the customer. Thus, in order to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of social services, their formal development (blueprint) is necessary, which allows you to prescribe internal processes, forms and methods of their provision, which allows you to design a service and evaluate its competitive advantages. Service design solutions simultaneously affect three areas: social models, social processes, and customer experience.

The task of service design is to provide the client with social services in a form convenient for him. At the moment, we have successful regional experience in providing solutions in the field of family support (family MFCs working in one-stop-shop mode with the requests and social situations of families from various social groups), participants of the SVO and their family members (Creation of regional branches of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation), unemployed citizens (comprehensive modernization of employment services in the subjects of the Russian Federation).

Service design allows us to qualitatively introduce customer-oriented approaches into the process of social services based on the principles of interdepartmental systematic work of public authorities, representatives of the non-profit sector, socially oriented businesses and citizens themselves.

The Institute of Social Services represents the interconnection and interaction of many actors, including state social services and organizations of various departmental subordination, non-profit socially oriented organizations, charity, voluntary associations, social entrepreneurs, subjects of public-private partnership, as well as recipients of social services.

Today, the recipient of services is considered as an active subject of public relations, which, through updating and specifying the request, affects the structure and content of the service and the architecture of social services in general. In turn, the task of the social service, acting as a provider of social services, becomes a flexible response to the client's request. Thus, the client is no longer solely an object of service, but takes an active procreative position in the system of social relations. The content and dynamics of public requests addressed to the Institute of social services determines the choice of technologies and practices for the provision of services, and, consequently, has an impact on its development.

An innovative solution in the field of social service organization was the emergence of the Institute of service commissioners. The aim of the institute is to use a human–centered approach and service design practices in the work of regional executive authorities, social services, and medical institutions. (19 regions have joined the ASI program for the introduction of the Institute of regional service commissioners. – Electronic text // Agency for Strategic Initiatives: [website]. - URL: https://asi.ru/news/193386 / (date of access: 09/11/2024)). The tasks of the service commissioners include the creation, management and coordination of teams of service designers who will determine the systemic social problems of the regions and the resulting needs of the population in social services, as well as design the path of a person when receiving a specific service.

Currently, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives is engaged in the provider of selection and training of specialists in the field of service design, whose task is to develop the institute of service commissioners in 32 regions of the Russian Federation. The Institute of Service Commissioners is being implemented within the framework of the National Social Initiative (NSI), a mechanism that allows improving the quality of services and services in the social sphere and increasing the satisfaction of citizens.

The ASI team, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, is building a client-centric social support system based on service design. One example of such work is the formation of a comprehensive pregnancy support program (life situation "Making a decision about the birth of a child"). An innovative solution may be the creation of a family planning and pregnancy support service, combining hospitals and mobile organizations, as well as digital services integrated with public services. This makes it possible to take into account all measures to support the target group – pregnant women and women with young children, as well as to organize consultations, including online. Such services involve the joint activities of various specialists – doctors, psychologists, teachers, as well as the organization of mobile consultation points at enterprises. The use of service design allows you to determine the configuration of the service, taking into account the opinion of the consumer (The regions have prepared proposals for the use of service design in the social sphere // Agency for Strategic Initiatives. 24.10.23– [Electronic resource] - URL: https://asi.ru/news/197005 / (date of access: 02.09.2024)).

The introduction of service design technology as an element of public relations within the framework of social services has an impact on the content of its main institutional functions (see Figure 1). Such an impact is due to the technological content of the proposed solutions for a number of typical life situations relevant to customers. One of the tools for implementing a service approach in the provision of social services is the customer's path map: the service designer creates a unique map based on the user experience of people using the service in order to further simplify and optimize the route.

Figure 1 - The impact of service design technology on the institutional functions of social services

Discussion of the results of the study.

The study showed that the service design of social services makes it possible to ensure the stability of public relations by ensuring a balance in the implementation of public interests associated with the absence of excessive spending on social services and the interests of small groups meeting their needs at an optimal level due to convenient routing and individual design of social services.

The institutional function of social services for reproduction, distribution and exchange is also changing with the implementation of the service design approach, becoming simpler and more effective. Coordination of public practice is carried out within the framework of an interdepartmental approach to meeting the needs of clients of social service organizations; packaging social service processes in a "one-stop shop" format can significantly reduce the burden on social institutions, increasing both the speed of decision-making and the quality of customer satisfaction, the ability to create a positive individual experience. At the same time, the structure of public relations is also changing under the influence of strengthening the principles of interinstitutional interaction: service design determines the need for new actors and institutional forms of social service.

The results of the study can become the basis for the formation of standard models of social services, the specific configuration of which can be determined based on the characteristics of customers, the capabilities of social services, the involvement of volunteers and other factors. The prospects for further research are related to the possibility of determining the types and types of client routing, developing forms and methods of flexible interdepartmental interaction. In our opinion, this will entail further institutional transformations in social services, which will be the subject of further scientific reflection.

Conclusions based on the results of the study.

1. Social services as a social institution should be defined through specific functions that can simultaneously be considered as institutionalizing factors. Such functions include the function of ensuring the stability and sustainability of public relations; the function of reproduction, distribution and exchange of limited benefits to meet needs; the function of regulating (coordinating) public practice; the function of optimizing public relations; the function of structuring and systematizing public relations.

2. Service design allows you to form a type of social relations, which implies a rejection of the traditional subject-object approach for the institute of social services in favor of the concept of an active procreative role of the client – recipient of social services.

3. The introduction of service design technology changes the specific content and effectiveness of the implementation of institutional functions of social services (see Figure 1). Technology contributes to ensuring the stability of public relations, affects the rate of reproduction, distribution and exchange in the system of social relations, implements interdepartmental principles of coordinating public relations in meeting the needs of the population in social services, introduces a new type of subjects into the structure of social relations, and also reduces the burden on social institutions through its rational redistribution.

4. The technology of service design is an effective tool for the development of the institution of social services for the population, the criterion for the formation of which is the content of its institutional functions.

Conclusion

Thus, the analysis of the impact of the introduction of service design technology on the institutional characteristics of the social service system shows that the use of this social technology has a significant impact on the content and ways of implementing the institutional functions of the system, and, accordingly, on the development of social services as a social institution. The process of implementing service design technology takes place according to the principle of unity of specialization and unification. The emerging practice of searching and developing effective integrated solutions to life situations determines the corresponding institutional transformations within the system: the institute of social services develops in accordance with the changing demands of the population, the satisfaction of which is its main task.