Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
FINAL VERSION
Wellbeing Community Interest Company
External Communications and Engagement Strategy
Version: 4.0
Prepared by: Camille Gamble, Communications NCC
Date: 7 April 2015
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Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
Contents
Page
1. Introduction
3
2. Purpose of the strategy
4
3. Communication and engagement objectives
5
4. Communication and engagement principles
7
5. Communication and engagement plan
8
6. Budget
8
7. Evaluation
9
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Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
1. Introduction
Northamptonshire County Council (NCC), Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation
Trust (NHFT) and the University of Northampton (UoN) are working together to form a
Community Interest Company (CIC) through which to deliver health and wellbeing services.
Each of these organisations brings something unique to the new Wellbeing Organisation and
we will be working with residents, service users, staff, politicians and other key stakeholders
to create an exciting new model for delivering integrated health and wellbeing services in the
County.
Health and wellbeing services should be designed around the holistic needs of residents and
the community. Physical and mental wellbeing should be seen as interdependent with each
other; and with social wellbeing. The creation of new integrated service arrangements and
organisations will bring together the best of experience from the NHS, local authority and
academia. New fit for purpose services will be created based on our residents’ needs and
behaviours and that will offer greater individual choice which is more responsive to their
demands, whilst being affordable.
The three founding organisations have extremely ambitious plans to develop
Northamptonshire into a nationally recognised beacon of excellence for its commitment to,
and delivery of, a holistic health and wellbeing service for its community. In this time of great
change and with ever increasing demands on health and local authority services NCC,
NHFT and the UoN face the joint challenge of finite budgets and rising demand. Therefore
the three founding organisations are working together, and with a wide range of other
organisations, to develop new and innovative ways of improving the wellbeing of the
population of Northamptonshire and achieve the best positive health and social care
outcomes for our residents, service users and carers.
Potentially, as a community interest company, the new Wellbeing Organisation would be free
to explore opportunities for growth, providing services and outcomes for an ever-growing
customer base. Any profit that it makes will be invested back into delivering the desired
outcomes.
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Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
An Executive Project Board has been established to review the work being undertaken and
the proposals being developed, and to ensure that they are in the interests of services, staff
and the local community.
Staff, service users and stakeholders need to be aware, and involved where appropriate,
about the changes and improvements to the services they receive and therefore a specific
Communication and Engagement work stream has been developed.
Strategic Aims of the Wellbeing Community Interest Company
A number of strategic aims have been identified for the Wellbeing Community Interest
Company which are to:

deliver demonstrably better patient/resident care and support

improve staff engagement and morale

be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable

offer opportunities for external investment

offer an opportunity to diversify the range of services

extend the geographic area of where they are delivered

have the ability to compete for commissioned services

generate a surplus income, which is reinvested, whilst reducing costs

add value to the services delivered, for both patient/resident and stakeholder

be a 24 hours a day 365 days a year service

have a significant emphasis on digital media as well as virtual

be a local service based in Northamptonshire
2. Purpose of this Strategy
2.1 NCC, NHFT and the UoN recognise that first class communication and engagement
are fundamental in our performance and ability to deliver an exceptional and fit for
purpose Wellbeing service.
2.2 To achieve this, strong relationships must be built with staff, residents, politicians,
service users and other key stakeholders; and effective methods of communicating
and involving people in the decision-making processes. Staff and public confidence
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Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
develops from trust, and trust builds on integrity and competence. Therefore the
successes must be communicated and any crises openly handled effectively if the
residents, staff and stakeholders are to support the three organisations in developing
and improving the local health and wellbeing services
2.3 This strategy outlines NCC, NHFT and UoN’s approach for communicating to and
engaging with staff, residents, politicians, service users and other stakeholders from
across the three organisations about the new Wellbeing Community Interest
Company.
2.4 The communications channels, messages and engagement activities to be used will
be tailored to each of the above groupings, including any sub groupings, so that
effective. informative and evidence based communications and engagement can be
delivered.
3. Communications and Engagement Objectives
To support the Wellbeing CIC in delivering its strategic goals the objectives of the
communications and engagement workstream will be to:
 Deliver coordinated communications and engagement
To plan, agree and deliver joined up and aligned communications and engagement by
NCC, NHFT and UoN.
 Produce individual internal communication and engagement plans
To produce individual internal communication and engagement plans for NCC, NHFT and
UoN.
 Deliver tailored effective communications
To ensure that all messages are appropriate for the audience and that they are consistent,
timely, and effective. Messages are to be delivered using social marketing techniques and
the most appropriate communication's channel for each audience.
 Inform people
To ensure all staff, residents, stakeholders and politicians are fully informed about the
project to establish a Wellbeing Organisation, its key objectives and impact on them.
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Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
 Promote engagement
To promote involvement, consultation and engagement opportunities in the project with
staff, stakeholders, residents and politicians to ensure that the deliverables of the project
are achieved.
 Share ideas and innovate
To exchange information and share ideas for delivering WCIC communications and
engagement.
 Build confidence and trust
To build confidence and awareness in the project; and the ability of the project team to
deliver its key aims and objectives.
 Manage expectations
To manage the expectations of the key staff groups, residents, stakeholders and
politicians through all stages of the project; including countering any negative comments or
misinformation that may appear during the course of the project design and delivery.
 Encourage feedback
To devise suitable ways to encourage structured feedback into the project.
 Develop a Brand and Identity
To advise and contribute to the development and design of the WCIC branding and logo.
 Promote the Culture and Values
To advise on and promote the Wellbeing Organisation's culture and values programme.
 Develop a Future Operational CIC Communications Model
To develop and coordinate a longer term approach for the delivery of communications
once the WCIC is operational.
4. Communication and Engagement Principles
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Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
NCC, NHFT and UoN will communicate a clear vision of the improvements they want to
make and engage with all staff, residents, politicians and stakeholders to ensure that their
views are taken into consideration. The following principles will be adhered to for all
Wellbeing CIC communications and engagement:

The three organisations will be open, transparent and honest.

All communication and engagement – whether spoken, written, electronic or via social
media – should be clear, easily understandable, timely and up to date.

All communication and engagement will be relevant to stakeholders.

Communication and engagement will be innovative and cost-effective.

All communication and engagement will be consistent with the strategic aims of the
Wellbeing CIC

Communication and engagement should reflect the needs of all communities, and
therefore will work in an inclusive way that respects equality and diversity. This
includes taking into account hard to reach groups within Northamptonshire.

Communication and engagement should based on intelligence, so that messages can
be targeted and tailored to ensure they are delivered to the right people, in the right
way and at the right time.

Staff will be kept informed of and engaged with the Wellbeing CIC activity rather than
having to rely on the media to get information.

5.
A brand will be developed that establishes the Wellbeing CIC with its own identity.
Communications and Engagement Plan
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Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
5.1
Effective communications and engagement are essential throughout the lifetime of
the project to ensure that there is a good understanding of the aims and benefits of
the project and to deliver any outcomes.
5.2
The communications message and engagement activities will change over the
course of the project and will develop in line with the project itself in key phases:
Phase One: Pre trading
May – September 2015
Initial consultation and engagement will
focus around the development of the CIC
Phase Two: Post contract transfer
October 2015 – March 2016
Detailed consultation and engagement
focusing on service users; including those
service users who receive ongoing
services in phase one, and on promoting
the new Community Wellbeing Service
Phase Three : Full trading
April 2016 – June 2016
Consultation and engagement activities
will promote the benefits that the
Wellbeing Organisation is bringing, and
focus on any service specific areas.
6.
Budget
As a community interest company, the new Wellbeing Organisation would be free to win
business from other organisations and provide services and outcomes for an ever growing
customer base. Any profit it makes must be invested in delivering wellbeing outcomes. This
means the more successful this organisation is the more it can deliver for less core
investment.
7.
Evaluation
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Wellbeing Community Interest Company - 3. External Communications and Engagement Strategy
7.1
Criteria for evaluating the success of this strategy includes:

Informal and formal feedback from residents/service users/staff/stakeholders

Formal feedback from the Executive Project Board

Number of staff/stakeholders attending engagement workshops

Level of engagement resulting from consultation

Number of hits on website; once implemented.

Favourable media coverage
7.2 Measuring the effectiveness through the above will help us to develop a more
accurate picture of how our communications and engagement are received and
therefore set more meaningful targets for future work
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