Talking Terminology: What Do ‘Neighbourhood Care’ and ‘Asset-Based Approaches’ Mean?
Understanding the terminology of neighbourhood care approaches can help to empower commissioners, social care professionals, policymakers, and the general public to engage more effectively with the systems that are designed to support citizens across communities. Understanding the terminology Asset Based Community Development (ABCD/Nurture Development) Developed by John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann, ABCD is a community-centric […]
Self-Directed Futures: Key Lessons Around Individual Service Funds For Commissioners
There has been a wealth of learning around Individual Service Funds over the past twenty five years, building upon the early pioneering work of Dr Simon Duffy and Helen Sanderson. This summary outlines some of the key learning areas from Self Directed Futures work with local authorities and care and support providers over time, highlighting […]
Rewards For Providing Individual Service Funds: A Poll Of Service Providers
The subject of incentivisation often arises in relation to Individual Service Funds, with the perceived wisdom often being that ISF provider organisations need financial incentives to deliver this model of personalised support. With this in mind, I recently took a poll of Individual Service Fund providers in England to ask them what they wanted in […]
Navigating the Care Act 2014 in Alignment with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Care Act 2014 represents a transformative approach to health and social care in the UK, setting a precedent for diversity, quality, and personalised care. Its statutory guidance offers a robust framework for Local Authorities, empowering them to exceed the basic standards of care and support. This commitment is further enriched by aligning the Act’s […]
Market Shaping For Individual Service Funds
Developing a local marketplace that encompasses providers and independent brokers who are offering Individual Service Funds (ISFs) to citizens involves deliberate and strategic market-shaping efforts by commissioners. This may also involve helping support provider organisations to re-envisioning their role as holders of a citizen’s budget, moving closer towards a broker model that uses person-centred planning […]
Market Shaping For Citizens And Communities
Local authorities are integral in commissioning services that address the needs of their communities and actively engaging with the wider market and different types of provision to maximise the availability of high quality support options for all local residents. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a legal obligation to facilitate an efficient market […]
Keeping it Local: Building Neighbourhood Care Capacity
In recent years, community-based care support services, alongside the broader spectrum of public services, have witnessed significant levels of demand-related stress. Amidst rising demand, higher costs and the increasingly complex nature of needs placing services under strain, a shift is occurring in some areas. This shift is about moving the commissioning of home care away […]
Integrating Personal Budgets – Considerations For Better Joint Commissioning
The government’s 2022 Integration White Paper, Joining up care for people, places and populations, outlines a vision for improved and interconnected health and care services across all age groups. This vision is supported by integrated planning and commissioning, demonstrating a renewed commitment to personal budgets, specifically Personal Health Budgets (PHBs), and Integrated Personal Budgets (IPBs). […]
Individual Service Funds Management Fees: An Appraisal Of Options
What is the problem we are trying to solve? Individual Service Funds (ISFs) create the opportunity to radically change how support is commissioned, shifting the locus of control further towards citizens and their support providers who can work together to adjust support arrangements flexibly to ensure they meet outcomes and remain ‘best fit’ for the […]
Individual Service Funds: A Partnership in Care & Support Provision
Over time the Individual Service Fund (ISF) approach is starting to reshape the way that care and support services are delivered in England and Scotland (where it is called Option 2). By placing individuals at the heart of decision-making around their care, ISFs allow for a highly flexible approach using personal budgets. This model is […]
