Putting community and cooperation into care and support

This report details learnings from phase one of the Community of Practice (CoP) which has concentrated on sharing the ambition, opportunities, risks and barriers to developing community businesses and co-operatives.

Together with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), we have been facilitating a CoP for commissioners looking to work with co-operatives and community businesses, bringing together nine councils with a shared ambition to move away from large scale ‘time and task’ home care. In this report we share ideas and experience from phase one of the CoP, highlighting the conditions needed to support the development of these alternative care models.

This report highlights how community businesses and co-operatives have the potential to make a significant contribution to supporting people to live well at home, as well as contributing to realising the ambitions in the social care White Paper that people can access high-quality support over which they can exercise choice and control.

Key points of this report:

• Development needs to form part of an overall strategic approach for commissioning to improve the range and quality of care and support
• Progress is significantly dependent on the extent to which personalisation is working well
• Alignment with wider council priorities can act both as a catalyst and source of necessary support

The CoP has been set up with funding and support from Power to Change (opens new window) in association with Co-operatives UK (opens new window).

Keen to involve more commissioners in this shift towards community-based care and support, we are hosting a knowledge sharing webinar for commissioners who want to learn more about working with co-operatvies and community businesses in their area. For more information visit the event page.