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Think Local, Act personal Partnership launches sector-led support for personalisation and community-based support

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The Think Local, Act Personal Partnership has launched a new programme of sector-led support to continue efforts in transforming adult social care.

Over 30 national organisations representing the broad interest in personalisation and community-based support have committed to the Partnership and will work to improve their practice in six priority areas as well as advising and influencing government and other bodies.

The Partnership will be co-chaired initially by Care Providers Alliance Chair, Miranda Wixon and outgoing ADASS president Richard Jones. It takes over from the Putting People First programme, which ended on 31 March 2011. The Partnership will be coproduced with service users and carers and a citizen leader will also be selected as a third co-chair shortly.

The Partnership will fund a limited number of projects and a small central delivery team; and will be hosted by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

At its first formal meeting in early April, Partnership members agreed six priority areas for action including personalisation and personal budgets; developing cost effective and efficient solutions; developing the provider market and workforce; building community capacity; improving information to the public and highlighting the importance of coproduction.

Over the summer, the Partnership will develop a work programme and benchmarks for the sector as a whole to assess their progress in delivering these six priorities. To support this, the Partnership will also offer clear examples of innovative practice across the country where organisations and individuals are leading the way in delivering personalised and community-based support solutions.

Co-chair Miranda Wixon says: "This Partnership is focused on action. We will help commissioners and providers to find solutions to the very real challenges they face by tapping in to the intelligence and networks provided by our members, including service users and family carers. We will expect our members to act on the top priorities."

Co-chair Richard Jones says: "The partnership represents a key shift from government-led to sector-led support and its work will be coproduced with service users and family carers. Ultimately it's us - the commissioners and providers - who are accountable to citizens, so we need to develop the right solutions to tackle the financial, policy and delivery challenges ahead. We'll be relying on our partners to ensure people have more choice and control over the care and support they experience, regardless of whether they are publicly or privately funded."

Care Services Minister Paul Burstow says: "I welcome the new Think Local, Act Personal Partnership which will help to deliver our aims for personalisation across services as set out in the Vision for Adult Social Care. The wider membership of this new Partnership and in particular the engagement of providers demonstrates the commitment to joined-up working that is necessary to make personalised care and personal budgets a reality for everyone who needs them. I would like to thank the Social Care Institute for Excellence for hosting this work."

As its first offer of support to the sector, the Think Local, Act Personal Partnership is launching two new tools - the interactive Provider Blueprint and the Shaping the Market for Personalisation: a Commissioning Diagnostic and Action Planning Tool. They will help providers and commissioners use person-centred approaches to deliver personalised services - not just for people with personal budgets, but those using services well beyond social care.

The Provider Blueprint supports providers to learn from innovative practice in delivering personalised services and demonstrates for commissioners the kinds of services and behaviours they may wish to commission and incentivise. It describes six main areas for change within organisations, and shows what the best and most innovative practice would look like for each. The tool includes real examples drawn from a diverse range of providers across the country that are already working towards these goals. The Partnership will use the Blueprint with providers over the coming months and will invite further contributions to ensure it remains a relevant and up-to-date resource.

The Shaping the Market for Personalisation: a Diagnostic and Action Planning tool helps commissioners and others with a stake in shaping local markets to understand and assess their progress in delivering personalisation in adult social care. Organisations can rate their progress and develop action plans for next steps against a number of key challenges involved in commissioning a diverse market of personalised support.

Both tools, building on work started with Putting People First, are endorsed by the Partnership and will be available online at www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk

"Getting personalised care is still a priority for people - regardless of public sector budget cuts," says David Walden, Director of Adult Services at SCIE. "When resources are tight, it's even more essential to know what works, so it is reassuring that this programme of support is continuing. SCIE will play its part - both as the new host of the TLAP partnership, and as a key provider of information and guidance on personalisation."

Transforming Adult Social Care Coproduction Group member and Chair of the Standing Commission on Carers Dame Philippa Russell says: "We have a collective responsibility - and probably a 'once in a generation opportunity' - to meet that challenge of high quality and personalised services, co-produced through proactive partnerships across the sectors and, most importantly, with family carers and users themselves as strong strategic partners."

The Think Local, Act Personal Partnership will meet four times a year and will look to also host an annual event. The work programme will be delivered by a small programme team accountable to a Partnership Programme Board comprised of 12 representatives from the member organisations.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  1. Think Local, Act Personal sets out how the sector will build on the Putting People First programme to deliver personalised and community-based support. It was launched for comment in November 2010 and finalised in January 2011.
  2. Members of the Think Local, Act Personal Partnership include:
    • Association of Directors of Children's Social Services
    • Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
    • Age UK
    • The Care Provider Alliance
    • Care Quality Commission
    • Carers UK
    • Ceretas
    • Counsel and Care
    • Community Service Volunteers
    • Department of Health
    • English Community Care Association
    • The Independent Living Fund
    • InControl
    • Local Government Group
    • Macmillan
    • NAAPS
    • National Care Association
    • National Care Forum
    • National Centre for Independent Living
    • National Housing Federation
    • The Neurological Alliance
    • NHS Confederation
    • The Princess Royal Trust for Carers
    • Registered Nursing Home Association
    • Shaping Our Lives
    • Social Care Institute for Excellence
    • Skills for Care
    • Standing Commission on Carers
    • Transforming Adult Social Care Coproduction Group
    • United Kingdom Homecare Association
    • Voluntary Organisations Disability Group
  1. A citizen leader will be selected as the third co-chair of the Partnership by the time of its next meeting, scheduled for July. This person will be selected by the service user and carer representatives who are members of the Partnership.
  2. The Partnership Programme Board will consist of five representatives from the range of provider organisations, one from a small-scale or user-led enterprise; one service user representative; one carer representative and one representative from ADASS, the Local Government Group, Department of Health, Social Care Institute for Excellence and Skills for Care.
  3. To speak with the current co-chairs Miranda Wixon or Richard Jones, please contact Jaimee Lewis, Communications Adviser to the Think Local, Act Personal Partnership, on 07867 857514 or Jaimee.lewis@adass.org.uk
  4. The Provider Blueprint and Shaping the Market for Personalisation: A Diagnostic Planning and Action Tool were developed by Dr Sam Bennett, former advisor to the Personalisation Delivery Team at the Department of Health and now advisor to the Think Local, Act Personal Partnership.
  5. Further information can be found on www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk alongside much of the tools and materials developed over the last three years as part of the Putting People First programme. Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/thinklocalactpersonal