Innovation Challenge Programme- Launch Event
‘Empowering People: Unlocking Innovation’
An information event for housing support providers and a wide range of other
organisations was held on 31st January 2012 at Snibston Discovery Centre, Coalville. This
was an opportunity for people to find out more about an exciting new initiative called
the ‘Empowering People: Innovation Challenge’ programme which Leicestershire County
Council is launching in partnership with Community Catalysts:
www.communitycatalysts.co.uk.
The format of the day was varied and included presentations, workshops and a speed
networking session.
Aims of the event:
Tony Dailide, Assistant Director, Promoting Independence, Leicestershire, welcomed the
delegates and set out the aims of the day which were to:

Hear about the progress of personalisation locally and nationally

Get inspired to develop new ways of working that are more personalised and co
productive

Learn more about the Innovation Challenge programme

Participate in workshops and networking opportunities

Be Innovative !
Who took part:
Over 70 people attended including:

Providers of supported housing including homeless hostels, sheltered housing and
extra care, women’s’ refuges, supported lodgings.

Micro providers offering a range of arts, culture, leisure and wellbeing services

Other organisations such as voluntary sector support organisations and user led
organisations

Staff from Leicestershire market development team and from Community Catalysts
The event was also ‘tweeted’ to let people who were not able to attend to engage in
the discussion and debate and that this generated a lot of interest.
Programme for the day:
Morning: Speakers
Martin Routledge, Programme Manager, ‘ Think Local Act Personal’, the National Sector
Partnership for Personalised Community Based Social Care set out the national context for
personalisation.
Martin explained how ‘Think Local Act Personal’ can support organisations in delivering
more personalised support by:

Coproducing solutions with people and families

Personal budgets working for all

Helping providers and the workforce deliver personalisation

Information to help people take control

Communities supporting each other

Sustainable social care
He drew people’s attentions to a number of tools available on the ‘Think Local Act Personal
‘website, www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk.
This includes:
 Provider Blue Print- a tool for supporting commissioners and providers to learn from
innovative practice
 Case studies and good practice examples from around the country
 ‘Making it Real’, marking progress towards personalised community based support.
This document which was coproduced with people who use services sets ‘ markers’
that will show how well an organisation is doing in achieving personalisation and
community- based support.
Martin urged organisations to register with the Think Local Act Personal website and sign up
to ‘Making it Real’.
Tony Dailide, Assistant Director, Promoting Independence, Leicestershire followed with
progress on personalisation locally. He explained that personalisation was everyone’s
business and was about much more than personal budgets. It included:
•
Effective partnerships with people using services, citizens and carers
•
Everyone eligible has Self Directed Support and a Personal Budget
•
Universal access to advice and information
•
Commissioning a range of services to give people choice
•
Cost effective and efficient use of resources
Market development is a key element of personalisation and includes working with a wider
range of providers such as housing, transport, as well as social care providers. He gave
examples of how the market was changing and that people who may have gone to a day
centre may now choose to go swimming, cycling, do yoga, hobbies, outings or creative arts
instead. He welcomed the Innovation Challenge programme as a fantastic opportunity for
organisations to develop new ways of working that are coproduced with the people they
support.
Co production is a key element of the Leicestershire Innovation Challenge programme and
Joe Penny, New Economics Foundation gave a presentation on, ’Coproduction and the
Supported Housing Sector’. He started by giving a definition of coproduction highlighting
that it was about:
‘..designing and delivering public services in an equal and reciprocal way between
professionals and service users, their families, friends and communities.’
It builds on people’s capabilities and recognises people as assets .It is about facilitating
services not always delivering them; it is about developing and encouraging peer support
rather than paid support being the only option available.
He went on to give examples of coproduction within the supported housing sector, including
Look Ahead, a supported housing provider that has embraced coproduction at an
organisational and service provision level. It has done this through:
1. service design and delivery
2. Peer support
3. experts by experience
For more information look at www.lookahead.org
Joe advised that for organisations interested in finding out more about coproduction check
out the ‘Midlands Coproduction Network on the following website. www.govint.org
The morning session continued with a session led by Angela Catley, Director of Operations,
Community Catalysts called’ Innovation People and Possibilities’.
Angela stated that for personalisation to work people need real choice of a wide range of
great local services and supports – and not just social care and health services. Lots of
people have great ideas and the drive to turn them into reality. They could be people that
use services, support staff or family carers, for example. If people get the support and
encouragement that they need many are able to make things happen. Some people can and
will sent up their own enterprise – there are some inspiring examples on the Community
Catalysts website. www.communitycatalysts.co.uk
Case Example 1: Funky Fitness and Fun

Set up by Carita who runs a drama group for people with a learning disability and
knew people were looking for things to do with their friends.

Focuses on health and well being

Members decide the activities which include aerobics, kickboxing, tai chi, street
dancing, belly dancing and visits from a nutritionist and dentist

One member Michael says ‘ideas are not restricted by management’ as in council
services!!

Carita needed help to market her service and link activities with the LAA
Case Example 2: Ace of Spades

New service idea from a couple who have a passion for gardening and skills in
delivering care services

Will offer older and disabled people including those with dementia support to
garden

Older people who used to love to care for their own garden but can no longer do so

Carers wanting to maintain their garden, enable their loved one to keep active and
gain some free time

Residential care homes wanting to make better use of garden maintenance budget
whilst providing the people who live in the home with a hobby and a real interest in
their surroundings
Angela posed some questions for organisations to consider:

What assets and resources are already in your organisation, service or community

How could you find out?

How could you harness all these assets and resources to the benefit of your
organisation and the people who use your services?
Sinder Mahil, Market Development Officer Leicestershire and Helen Turner, Innovation
Challenge Project Coordinator, Community Catalysts finished off the morning session by
providing details of the ‘Empowering People: Innovation Challenge’ programme.
It is a time limited programme up to December 2012 and a unique opportunity for
supported housing providers to pilot new ideas, new ways of working …to be innovative. A
Bursary programme is available – bids can be made for up to £10,000.There are 3 key
themes to the programme
Service User led projects: Service users are supported to lead their own projects with the
help of a Bursary applied for by the Housing support provider
Personalised Services: Housing support providers develop more personalised services
according to the needs and wishes of the people who use them
Community Participation: New ways of providing support to help people become more
active and contributing members of communities
It is hoped that outcomes will be....
•
Innovative services and products
•
Personalisation further embedded
•
People become more active members of their communities
•
People learn new skills, develop new interests
•
New initiatives and ways to support people to maintain or gain independence
•
Co production becomes good practice
•
Share learning beyond the life of the project
•
Find out what is possible and how ideas might be transferred to other settings
•
Legacy of the Innovation Network
All the information is available on www.leics.gov.uk/innovation . Closing date for
applications is 17th February 2012.
In the afternoon delegates had a choice of workshops.
Worksop 1: Unlocking potential in staff and
service users
Workshop 2: Unlocking potential in
communities
Angela Catley- Community Catalysts
Arts, Leisure and Communities’ Mick
Fattorini and Nigel Thomas, Communities
and Wellbeing Leicestershire with
Community Catalysts.
This workshop will focus on how
organisations can unlock the potential in
their staff teams and user groups, supporting
them to innovate and develop new
This workshop will focus on the contribution
enterprises
communities, arts and leisure can make to
quality of life and well being and provides
an opportunity to share ideas about how
organisations can use community resources
to develop new ways of working
This was followed by a Speed Networking session where people exchanged information
about their business ‘against the clock’.
Closing comments and next steps
Helen Turner, Project Coordinator closed the event. She hoped that delegates had
• Been inspired to develop new ways of working that are more personalised and co
productive
• Learnt more about the Innovation Challenge programme
• Made connections with a range of organisations that can support this programme
Next steps- housing support providers - think about an idea for a project with staff and
people you support
• Read the Bursary criteria
• Book onto a surgery/ or contact helen.turner@communitycatalysts.co.uk
• Complete a Bursary application before 17th February
What people said about the Event
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Comments:
‘Good varied speakers’
‘Would have liked the workshops to have been longer’
‘Very useful, thanks – great mix of theory & practice – Love the Micro Provider case studies’
‘Could have done with more time’
‘Workshops too short – speed networking excellent idea’
‘A very interesting & informative day’
‘Would have liked more networking less speakers’
‘Very good event, thought provoking – good chance to talk to people & look at cross
working’
‘Workshops needed to be longer – speakers shorter – lunch too late’
‘The room was very cold in the morning’
‘Informative & brilliant networking opportunity’
‘Thanks for all your support and enthusiasm yesterday. It was a really positive experience
for us, we felt that there was a lot of interest in what we do. We would love to be involved
in the Innovative Challenge project’ Micro Provider
‘Great approach to innovation & speed networking- fledgling partnerships forming before
one's eyes ‘A good event and a good idea’
‘First experience listening to Angela Catley - brilliant!’
‘Great to see innovative approaches. Small steps WILL make a difference!’