Introduction 

According to Vision 2030 of the Nordic Council of Ministers the Nordic countries will become the most integrated, green, competitive and socially sustainable region by 2030. The vision reflects the sustainability goals of the UN Agenda 2030 where one of the basic principles is that no one is excluded. For persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to live independently and to be included in the community requires, among other things, that persons with disabilities have different kinds of social services and support available. This is a human right ratified in article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

During 2021, the Nordic Welfare Centre and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) conducted a joint project on the use of personal budgeting as a model for personalised support in the Nordic countries. In several Nordic countries the support and service for persons with disabilities have undergone a reform. The aim has been to increase individual self-determination and influence over the support and service the individual is entitled to. Examples of these are efforts, such as personal assistance and individual plans, as well as different kinds of reforms of freedom of choice where the individual can choose the service provider. One solution is that the individual has a personal budget for their support efforts. This system is applied in some countries and is often called Direct payment.

The Nordic Welfare Centre and THL have examined whether, and in that case how, models for personalised support in form of a personal budget may strengthen the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, especially Article 19 on the right to live independently and to be included in the community. The project has explored available models and the experiences of these. The project is an activity within the framework for Finland’s 2021 presidency for the Nordic Council of Ministers 2021. The survey will form the basis for a proposal to reform support and services for people with disabilities in Finland. Main writer of this report is Lars Lindberg, Senior Adviser at the Nordic Welfare Centre, with contributions by Stina Sjöblom, Senior Researcher at THL. The Nordic Welfare Centre and THL wish to thank the researchers and experts that have contributed to the project’s workshops and answered questions.