Personalisation and Possibilities Learning Lessons from Enterprising

People

Sian Lockwood, Chief ExecutiveCommunity Catalysts

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What is Community Catalysts?

A Community Interest Company established by and working in close partnership with the charity NAAPS UK.

Aims to make sure that people wherever they live have real choice of great local social care and health services

Works to harness the talents of people and communities to provide high quality small scale and local support services.  

Policy Context: The Vision for Adult Social Care

A personalised community based approach for everyone with people in control of their own services

Continuing the roll-out of personal budgets Focus on self funders as well as people receiving public

sector funding Councils responsible for helping the development of new

providers so people have more choice

Policy Context: The Right to Control

Aim is to help disabled people combine the money they receive from different funding sources and decide how to spend their money

Strong focus on supporting disabled people into employment

Policy Context: Localism Bill (etc)

Radical shift of power from government to communities

People in communities best placed to find the best solutions to local needs

Focus on unlocking the gifts and assets of people in communities

Community Catalysts

Helping gifted people turn great ideas into great enterprises

Micro providers

Are local people providing support and services to other

local people

Work on a very small scale (5 or fewer workers – paid or unpaid)

Are independent of any larger organisation

Why do gifted people need support?

90% of unsupported micro enterprises fail in the first year.Business, Start Ups and Economic Churn: A literature review: NIESR: 2009

About half of the micro enterprises surveyed operate sub legallyMacGillivray, A., Conaty, P., and Wadhams, C. (2001) Low flying heroes: micro-social enterprise below the radar screen, London: New Economics Foundation.

For every 100 people with a good idea only one makes itUnLtd July 2010

Why do gifted people offering social care and health services need extra support?

Laws and rules set by central and local government has

forced many good micro services to close The laws and rules make it difficult for new providers to set up

a service Without support many existing providers will cease trading

and people with great ideas will never set up their service Existing third sector, business and other infrastructure

organisations rarely work together, understand the market, have the specialised knowledge or the remit to provide the necessary tailored support

The micro enterprise support agency model

Developed and tested with funding from DH Scopes, identifies and engages with current micro

providers. Can help them to regenerate or remodel Provides a single contact point for local people with good

ideas who want to set up services Links customers and potential providers Makes best use of existing advice and support agencies

by sign posting and information Gives people help to overcome barriers Facilitates peer-to-peer mentoring through association

membership

Helping gifted people who have support needs to set up enterprises: A DH funded project

Underpinning principle

People who need some support to live their lives have gifts and assets and want to use them

Aims To help people with care and support needs to use these

gifts and experiences to run a social care enterprise To try and make sure people who use services have

more choice and the opportunity to be supported by organisations run by people who themselves use services.

The project

Based in Oldham running alongside a well established project supporting local enterprise established by NAAPS in 2007.

Strong links with the Greater Manchester Right to Control trailblazer site

Published guidance for:

Organisations keen to help people who need support to set up successful new enterprises and to minimise any barriers

Gifted people who need some support and want to set up an enterprise

LAUNCHED TODAY!!

Learning lessons from enterprising people

Angela Catley

Report and strategy document

Who we supported

The Co-ordinator worked with 19 people

Active support provided to 16 people

12 of the 16 were supported to become established or more sustainable

3 did not develop

1 provider was supported but ceased trading

3 enterprises contributed important learning to the project but did not need any help or support

Oldham Craft

Michael has a learning disability and delivers football training sessions for other people with disabilities. Michael and his friend work together to run the enterprise. Michael delivers the service while his friend deals with the background running of the enterprise. The service operates from a multicultural centre which has a sports focus and Michael receives some informal support from a staff member at the centre. This is a voluntary service but the players pay a fee to cover the cost of the hired pitch and insurance

Cooking and teaching

Mr S has enduring mental health issues and found that cooking made life more bearable and provided him with some inner peace. He acquired training which equipped him to teach others; he was supported to deliver a social enterprise focussing on teaching people with a learning disability how to cook

What we did

The Co-ordinator provided a range of support and advice including:

Support to talk through and shape an idea

Arranged meetings

Sometimes attended meetings to support people and make sure their voice was heard

Summarised information provided by agencies and supported people to act on it

Liaised with Council staff to break down barriers

Supported providers to deal with complaints

What we did

Identifed sources of funding and supported people to complete funding applications

Engaged with families and PA’s to help them understand and engage with the enterprise idea

Signposted providers to agencies able to help them with issues such as CRB checking, insurance and training

Provided advice on policies and procedures

Ran network evenings and introduced people to other providers

Provided opportunities for providers to market their services at events

Issues and barriers people faced

• The need for intensive support • Welfare benefits and support costs • Complex pathways to information and a lack

of joined up working.• Parents and supporters• Accessibility of information, advice and

support• Initiatives that are established to help have

limitations

Issues and barriers people faced

• Health and ability of the provider• Attitudes and prejudice• Reductions in Personal Budgets affect

people’s ability to focus on their enterprise• Endless policy changes have a negative

impact• Financial viability • Insurance• Transport

• People with support needs have good enterprise ideas• Running own enterprise can be a good option for people who find it difficult to work elsewhere but barriers to doing this can be high• There are organisations that can help people but they

rarely work together and are often inaccessible• There are a number of useful publications that can help• The introduction of Personal Budgets is positive• The implementation of Personal Budgets is slow and/or

budget reviews are reducing resources• To overcome barriers some people need tailored, individual support

Conclusions

Enterprise for AllCare or community support services run by

people who have experienced them

Practical Guide

What it is

Aimed at people who are interested in setting up their own enterprise

Gives information about the issues they might face

Signposts people to sources of information and useful organisations

What it covers

Changes in adult social care

 What are micro services?

Why deliver your own care or support service?

Setting up your enterprise Plans and customers Where to deliver the service? Who is delivering the service? How much will the service cost and where will the money come from?

What it covers

Help and personal support Who might support me? The Right to Control

Professional and technical advice Access to Work Welfare benefits Employment support advice Generic enterprise advice Tailored enterprise advice for disabled entrepreneurs Enterprise models

Where do I get them from?

Both documents available from

www.communitycatalysts.co.uk

and

www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk