The idea of agency is usually to see individuals as “autonomous, purposive and creative actors, capable of a degree of choice” (page 125) [18]. Giddens [28] highlights that agency refers not to the intentions people have in doing things but to their capability of doing. According to Sen [29], functionings concern what a person manages to do and capabilities what a person can do, or can choose in her situation. The focus is on the positive, what kind of life people will be able to live, and how people are able to flourish [18]. Sen [30] states that understanding the agency role is central to recognizing people as responsible persons: “not only are we well or ill, but also we act or refuse to act, and can choose to act one way rather than another” (page 190). The central question is the extent to which wider social, economic and political structures enable
or constrain the agency of different groups and how their agency can have an impact on the wider structures in society [18].

(Anneli Marttila, Eva Johansson, Margaret Whitehead and Bo Burström "Keep going in adversity - using a resilience perspective to understand the narratives of long-term social assistance recipients in Sweden")