'Only a footstep away' - Skills for Care - Think Local Act Personal

acknowledges that the new model requiresan integrated workforce development plan,and it is true to say that the entire notion ofneighbourhood policy and practice hassignificant workforce ramifications. Someof these are the subject of the final sectionof this report.‣ Southwark Circle4.37 The social enterprise, Participle, isdeveloping a neighbourhood-basedpreventive service (focusing on olderpeople) called Circle with the following coreprinciples:• moving from a system focused on‘needs’ to one concerned withdeveloping and maintaining‘capabilities’• moving from services that aretargeted to a preventive model opento all• relaxing the absolute focus on theindividual to include more of a focuson social networks• moving from a narrow financial focusto a broader resource focus, therebyenabling a sustainable businesscase. (Participle 2009)4.38 This initiative is underway inSouthwark and is looking to extendelsewhere. It requires a one-off investmentof £680,000 over three years after which, itis said, it will be self-sustaining. Theapproach begins with research with olderpeople and their families into their hopes,fears, needs and aspirations, out of whichtailored proposals for new services andsupports are generated. Circle focusesvery clearly and specifically upon costeffectiveness,identifying four categories ofpotential savings:• ‘actual cost savings’ which detailwhat the council and healthorganisations are actually spendingmoney on that they can stopspending money on in the future• ‘preventive cost savings’ - these areconceded to be difficult to measure• ways in which existing services canbe further utilised to deliver greatervalue for money• increases in unpaid contributions onthe part of Circle participants—thesocial capital dividend.4.39 Circle is still in its very early stagesand does not yet appear to have beenindependently evaluated—indeed, many ofthe benefits could not be expected toemerge for several years.‣ The Asset Approach4.40 The ‘asset approach’ is beingpromoted by the Improvement andDevelopment Agency (IDeA) as a means ofimproving community health and wellbeingby harnessing individual, communityand social capital. This approach iscontrasted with the dominant ‘deficit’model as outlined here (below).4.41 The asset approach chimes with anumber of agendas, not all of them of thesame ideological imperative:personalisation, community developmentand the creation of a ‘big society’.However, in terms of the neighbourhoodfocus of this report, it is clearly a localitybasedfocus where silos and agencyboundaries are not helpful.4.42 The discussion of national and localprogrammes illustrates the point that inrecent times there has been considerabledevelopment of community developmentand capacity building. However, as areport on the ‘venture society’ hasremarked, the picture “is of a disparateseries of initiatives that have failed toconvey an overall vision.” (Singh 2010)‘Only a footstep away’? 20