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

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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
Deficit ApproachStarts with deficienciesand needs in thecommunityRespond to problemsProvide services tousersEmphasise the role ofagenciesFocus on individualsSee people as clientsand consumersreceiving servicesTreat people as passiveand done to‘Fix people’Implement programmesas the answer(IDeA 2010)Asset ApproachStarts with the assets inthe communityIdentify opportunities andstrengthsInvest in people as citizensEmphasise the role of civilsocietyFocus oncommunities/neighbourhoods and the commongoodSee people as citizens andco-producers withsomething to offerHelp people to takecontrol of their livesSupport people to developtheir potentialSee people as the answer5 workforce implications5.1 It is not part of this literature reviewto properly examine workforce implicationsor propose a neighbourhood developmentworkforce strategy. The truth is that thereis little in the literature to support such ananalysis, and this would need to be apriority task in any further work. In hisstudies of Good Neighbouring schemes,Abrams (Bulmer 1986, 114) notes thatmany of the people who initially joined theschemes subsequently dropped outbecause they did not know how to beuseful, and he remarks that “the extent towhich the untrained are frightened ofhelping, deterred by their ownincompetence, emerges strongly”. Somebroad suggestions on possible futuredevelopments can be identified.neighbourhood mapping and dataanalysis5.2 An indispensable prelude toneighbourhood workforce development isa clear understanding of the needs that theworkforce is intended to address. This isthe aim of neighbourhood mapping andanalysis. In part this is aboutunderstanding who needs to be consultedand involved. Briggs (2007) urgesavoidance of the temptation to start with a‘laundry list’ of everyone who has a stakein the neighbourhood. For him the issue isnot who counts in the legal or civic sense,but who acts and interacts, around whatand with whom. As in the cases of theHartlepool Connected Care Centre and theSheffield Portraits, data can be sourcedand analysed by undertaking wideconsultation and using this to draw up amap of neighbourhood needs andpriorities. This is valuable not only inensuring data is current and valid, but alsoin promoting the civic engagement ofpeople in the neighbourhood.‘Only a footstep away’? 21
Page 1 and 2: we identifynew andinnovativeways of
Page 3 and 4: acknowledgementsThis paper was comm
Page 5 and 6: executive summary1. This paper is a
Page 7 and 8: 1 introduction1.1 This report is a
Page 9 and 10: LD 2010). The agreement was intende
Page 11 and 12: Abrams notes that the placing of re
Page 13 and 14: neighbourhood.” (Blackman 2006, 2
Page 15 and 16: describe certain disadvantaged area
Page 17 and 18: 3.21 In this context, White (2002)
Page 19 and 20: “social responsibility, volunteer
Page 21 and 22: neighbourhood policing (HO 2010) wh
Page 23 and 24: collective (‘I pledge to do X if
Page 25: the province of the community rathe
Page 30 and 31: communities may have different leve
Page 32 and 33: and disorder, under-performing heal
Page 34 and 35: 6 conclusions and nextsteps6.1 It i
Page 36 and 37: any attempt to link these elements
Page 38 and 39: eferencesADASS 2010Bartnick, E and
Page 40 and 41: LD 2010Liberal Democrats (2010), Li

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