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This report, for the Department for Education, is an evaluation of transformational change within children’s social care services in one of the largest counties in England. Hampshire has implemented a whole system transformational change across children’s social care services very effectively over a relatively short period of time, bringing over 1,000 staff members on a substantial journey of change.

This report, for the Department for Education, explores the extent to which and how an innovative ‘Positive Choices’ Programme in Calderdale has supported very vulnerable, including care experienced parents, to care well for their baby or infant child.

This report, for the Department for Education, is an evaluation of Cornwall’s Making Integration Happen project. This was designed to achieve greater integration of health, social care, and education services, in line with its strategy to further improve support for families in localities across the county.

This report, for the Department for Education, is an evaluation of a project that explored possibilities for greater collaboration between the 3 neighbouring local authorities in the area, including options for an Alternative Delivery Model (ADM), and created a shared business plan for implementation.

IPC was commissioned as Academic Partner by Seafarers UK to undertake research to improve understanding of the Merchant Navy Veterans community. This report describes detailed research findings, undertaken over a three-year period, to identify challenges and make recommendations on providing specialist support for this group and their dependants.

This discussion paper, published by the Autism Education Trust and the Institute of Public Care, sets out good practice in the approach to commissioning services for autistic children and young people.

The is an interim report of the second year of our independent evaluation of Opening Closed Doors, a Barnardo’s programme in South East Wales to support children and families who have experienced domestic abuse. This interim report focuses on the experience of adapting the Programme so that it could continue to be delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

This paper sets out good practice in the approach to commissioning services for people with learning disabilities and/or autism. It is aimed at commissioners, working primarily within health and social care settings, who are responsible for the strategic design and development of local services for people with learning disabilities and/or autism and their families and whose role involves driving innovation and practice change.

We are all affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in our daily lives. Despite the many challenges, we have seen the adult social care sector and more broadly local government adapt at scale and pace to support communities through this time. Technology has played a vital role in this.

IPC was asked by the LGA and ADASS to capture examples of digital innovation in social care, analyse factors that contributed to success, and consider changes that would sustain momentum, support new approaches to learning, and inform new ways of working. 

Adopting new technology can be hard for care providers, which is why a helpline was set up to provide technical help and support during the coronavirus pandemic. This action research report, funded by NHSX, identifies both the challenges but also the benefits for care providers of using digital technology during this time.

As we use more technology in care services it is vital that people’s information is kept secure, and that the systems we use are reliable. IPC worked with partners to raise awareness across councils and adult social care providers of the importance of data and cyber security – and of what they can do to adopt appropriate safeguards. This report summarises learning from the programme, gives practical advice, and identifies the key risks that provider services face.

As we begin to move on from lockdown, we need better intelligence to help develop children’s services in the longer term. This paper considers the potential of action research to help leaders in children’s services get that intelligence. It discusses how partners can use data and intelligence gathered systematically in this way to help them understand what is happening through this crisis, why changes have occurred, and what can be learned to help inform future services and activities.

Following the financial crash of 2008, local authority leaders have been trying to protect their children’s services budgets as demand and so-called ‘overspends’ have been rising. The Coronavirus pandemic threatens further growth in demand on the system and with this comes a more acute pressure to re-examine the way in which children’s services are organised. This paper considers how the historic commissioned interfaces with independent providers can be transformed to survive the aftermath of these unprecedented challenges.

This paper explores how new models of care such as personal assistants, micro enterprises and umbrella organisations could be supported by local commissioners to meet additional demand using individual service funds.

This discussion paper by Visiting Professor John Bolton looks at how councils have avoided the predicted social care market collapse over the period of austerity and explores new problems that have emerged during the Covid 19 pandemic. How can the care provider sector survive after the pandemic?

In this paper IPC Director Keith Moultrie explores how local partners can draw on recent learning in response to the coronavirus pandemic to build shared place-based primary care networks for the long-term.

This revised report, written for the Department of Health and Social Care, provides an updated insight into best practice approaches to improving the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities.

This is the first in a series of reports relating to our evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) 2018-2021. It provides early findings on the experiences and views of a range of local authority and provider stakeholders of the Adoption Support Fund, captured through one to one interviews and an online survey. 

This paper, by Visiting Professor John Bolton, offers a structured approach to understanding demand, supply and impact of our out of hospital care systems through a data collection template and proposition for a ‘model’ for describing the service elements which make up intermediate care services.

The report of our independent evaluation of Opening Closed Doors, a Home Office funded Barnardo’s programme in South East Wales to support children and families who have experienced domestic abuse.

In 2019 the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) worked with IPC to undertake a review of international evidence on approaches to managing placement provision for children and young peopled looked. This report contains details of the arrangements in the different countries we reviewed.

This ground-breaking IPC evaluation for Welsh Government explores the extent to which parents with a learning disability are over-represented within Children’s Social Care Services and the factors driving patterns of involvement of parents with learning disability with Children’s Social Care Services in Wales. 

The ADASS Peer Review in February 2019 singled out Intermediate Care Southwark for the excellent service it provided. The review acknowledged both the operation of the service and the process of its development and implementation. The briefing paper summarises the lessons learnt from that process.

As we use more technology in care services it is vital that people’s information is kept secure, and that the systems we use are reliable. IPC conducted research to support the adult social care provider sector to manage the business risks associated with data and cyber security. This report gives practical advice to provider services as well as recommendations to councils, the NHS and other national organisations.

This is the Executive Summary of a report commissioned by Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) and written by Julia Whyard, Senior Consultant at IPC. Julia explores recent evidence to identify a set of risk factors to older people’s independence and proposes a model to help explore the potential complex interplay between modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors which, once understood, can give valuable insight into their relative significance and correlation when considering the most appropriate care and support for older people.

As we use more technology in care services it is vital that people’s information is kept secure, and that the systems we use are reliable. IPC conducted research to support the adult social care provider sector to manage the business risks associated with data and cyber security.  These five case studies, written in collaboration with participating providers, illustrate some of the good practice in data and cyber security that we found.

This report, written for the Department of Health and Social Care, will be of interest to anyone who is interested in best practice approaches to improving the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities.

This case study, written in February 2019 for the National Commissioning Board Wales, will be of interest to anyone who is involved in commissioning or providing services for children and young people with complex needs. Gwent has successfully brought health and social care together and created a seamless service for families facilitated by their new care co-ordination model.

This case study, written in February 2019 for the National Commissioning Board Wales, will be of interest to anyone who is involved in commissioning or providing services for children and young people with complex needs. Conwy is transforming its approach through partnership working across Social Services, Health, Education and the Community and Voluntary sectors to unlock potential and create better lives.

Further consideration for developing a Six Steps Approach to delivering effective outcomes and managing demand.

In his latest paper for IPC, Professor John Bolton presents examples from his visits to Coventry, Leeds, Manchester City, Somerset, Swindon and Thurrock. In the paper he describes the models and approaches he observed along with lessons learned from emerging practice from other local authorities in England that are contributing to the delivery of outcome focused care and support and helping to manage demand effectively.

How can the voices of children and young people be heard in the commissioning process? IPC has looked at what’s happening internationally to help TUSLA, Ireland’s Child and Family Agency, embed these voices in new Area Commissioning Plans.

Does integration work? The LGA commissioned us to undertake an independent review of their shared vision for integrated care: Stepping up to the Place. We reviewed the evidence to understand whether the original vision is still valid given the current context, and learning from practice since 2016, and explored how that vision is being delivered.

In this paper John Bolton, Visiting Professor at IPC, shares his views on how local authority and health commissioners of out of hospital care services for older people determine the amount of care that is required to meet local demand and the services that should be commissioned.

The Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2015 recognised the role played by members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Merchant Navy (MN) in armed conflict, and therefore their place as veterans. Relatively little is known about the needs of former MN seafarers and their dependants. This interim report presents findings from the first stage of research commissioned by Seafarers UK and Nautilus which aims to better define and understand the health and social care needs of MN veterans and their dependants, and how these are currently being met.

Let’s Agree to Agree is a toolkit for commissioners and providers to agree the cost of residential and nursing care for older people in Wales. It was produced by IPC after extensive consultation with stakeholders in Wales.

This rapid research review has been prepared to inform the DfE-funded Innovation Programme in Cornwall but it is of interest more broadly to all children’s services that want to make integration happen.

This is a report of our review of commissioning arrangements looked after children in London. This review was commissioned from IPC by the Association of London Directors of Children’s Services.

IPC worked with learning disability providers to identify good examples of commissioning from a provider perspective.  These examples were reflected upon and a set of key principles identified.  The principles are summarised in this brief paper.  Both providers and commissioners agree that relationship-based commissioning makes better use of finite resources; encourages innovation and allows safe spaces for positive risk taking.

IPC was commissioned by the Welsh Government to review recent literature to assess the potential benefits of pooled funds between local authorities and health organisations. The report identifies learning on key factors, which can make pooled funding arrangements successful in helping to secure better health, care and wellbeing outcomes.

This is a report of our analysis of outcomes for children and young people 4 to 5 years after a final Care Order. This analysis was commissioned from IPC by the Welsh Government.  

A Making Safeguarding Personal Outcomes Framework and report have been developed to help improve practice.  IPC and Research in Practice for Adults (RiPfA) were commissioned by ADASS to develop a national Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) Outcomes Framework. The MSP programme emphasises that safeguarding adults should be person centred and outcomes focused.

A holistic vision about what constitutes a workforce in the care sector, now and in the future, has been presented to IPC by John Bryant, Head of Integration and Development at Torbay Council.

Professor John Bolton and Dr Jane Townson (Somerset Care) offer their own experience and suggestions on the what and the how (i.e. price, supply, demand, service design and innovation) requires specific consideration to effectively deliver outcomes through domiciliary care services in the future. They describe the importance of transparency and good working relationships between commissioners and providers as being critical in this area. 

IPC worked with Carers Bucks to map the learning from a pilot project funded by the Chiltern Commissioning Group. The project focused on supporting GP surgeries to identify and provide support for carers.  This report summarises the learning from the project and outlines a set of recommendations for commissioners.

A specific learning disability MPS checklist that takes into account IPC's approach to ‘Commissioning Ordinary Lives for People with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism’.

This good practice guidance was developed for the National Commissioning Board for Wales to help Regional Partnership Boards to develop their own approaches to the integrated commissioning of services for people with a learning disability.

This paper captures the keys points of a presentation given by IPC Assistant Director Fiona Richardson at the Health plus Care conference in June 2017. It analyses changes in the care home market in England before and after the Care Act (2014) and summarises experience from IPC’s work on market shaping.

This paper discusses the implications for commissioning of an IPC study exploring the reality for carers, their quality of life outcomes and the emotional dimensions of their lives. The study looked across all adult carer groups to see if there are common themes that are relevant to all carers and hence commissioners.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead received Wave I Innovation Programme funding to explore the extent to which culturally-attuned family support was more acceptable and effective with Muslim and Army families. This evaluation report explores in what circumstances, how and why culturally attuned social workers and family support workers were able to engage with and help vulnerable families from these two communities to develop resilience and change.

This is an executive summary of a report from IPC that highlights how taking a performance management approach can help councils deliver outcomes and better manage demand in adult social care.

This case study highlights good practice in taking a wider system approach to planning for the future accommodation needs of an ageing population in Powys.

A report, prepared by IPC for the Officers' Association and funded by Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT), provides a definitive demographic profile of the serving and ex-officer community.  The report was commissioned to help understand the size, nature and needs of present and future officer communities.

IPC produces practical guide on integrated and collaborative commissioning for the National Commissioning Board for Wales

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were one of the pioneering Innovation Programmes in England, trialling new approaches to tackling CSE; deploying volunteers to work alongside social workers; better utilising administrative support; helping adolescents on the edge of care; and developing multi-disciplinary teams to work with vulnerable families. This evaluation report explores the extent to which each of these innovation elements worked and what were the cost benefits.

This report from IPC highlights how taking a performance management approach can help councils deliver outcomes and better manage demand in adult social care.

This paper, an update to ‘From the Ground Up’, captures some of the learning and experience from our work on developing integrated practice with IPC Partners.

This is an executive summary of a report for the Local Government Association (LGA), in which IPC explores current innovations and sets out a future vision for care that is enabled by the use of information and technology. 

This report explores the current position with sheltered housing in Wales and recommends how providers, local authorities and regional partnerships can make the best strategic use of this asset and ensure it contributes to the delivery of outcomes for older people.

Information and technology is transforming the way adults and children’s services are designed and delivered.  The opportunities are significant and the innovation and commitment to change in many local areas is making a real difference to people’s lives. In a report for the Local Government Association (LGA), IPC explores current innovations and sets out a future vision for care that is enabled by the use of information and technology.

IPC conducted a study for McCarthy & Stone of the potential impact that a reduction in Stamp Duty might have on older people and the wider housing market. This report by the Institute of Public Care updates work carried out in 2013 and explores the current context for such a move, as well as the potential implications.

IPC has produced two discussion papers for the Social Services Improvement Agency for Wales (SSIA) and the National Commissioning Board for Wales (NCB) which explore the opportunities and challenges presented by taking an outcomes-based approach to the commissioning of domiciliary care and the options available to local authority commissioners for the procurement of services

This paper builds on the existing Market Shaping Toolkit for both smaller care providers and local authorities and explains what market shaping is and who shapes the market.  The paper outlines the building blocks of effective market shaping.

This paper is for local authority commissioners to help them think through when and how to take a joint approach to market shaping. 

This paper is aimed at health and social care commissioners looking to work together to develop a co-ordinated or place-based approach to market shaping.

This paper is intended to help local authorities and providers of care and support to think through what market-shaping means in terms of people who purchase their own care and support.

This guidance highlights good practice in market position statement (MPS) development and aims to help local authorities understand how to use them to best effect in market shaping.

In November 2015, the Institute of Public Care (IPC) at Oxford Brookes University was invited to evaluate the Newport Integrated Family Support Service (IFSS), a partnership concept and vision devised by Newport City Council and Barnardo’s, with a view to ascertaining the extent to which it is effective in achieving its key aims and offers good value for money. This briefing paper offers a summary of the key findings from the evaluation.

An innovative service provided in partnership between Newport City Council and Barnardo’s and recently evaluated by IPC is aiming to provide a better calibrated, holistic and evidence based response to the needs of children with a cognitive or physical impairment and their families just below traditional thresholds for a statutory Social Worker-led plan.

IPC completed an evaluation of the Integrated Family Support Service (IFSS) in Newport in April 2016.  The Newport model is based on an integrated approach to the commissioning of services, forming a unique partnership between the public and voluntary sectors. The paper was produced in partnership between evaluators at IPC, Newport City Council and Barnardo’s.

IPC completed an evaluation of the Family Assessment and Support Service (FASS) in Newport. This innovative service is part of a broader Partnership delivery model between Newport City Council and Barnardo’s aiming to provide the right help at the right time across a continuum of family support.

In 2015 the Care Council commissioned IPC to develop training materials to support implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. This module considers safeguarding.

In 2015 the Care Council commissioned IPC to develop training materials to support implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. This module deals with assessing and meeting needs in the secure estate.

PC Visiting Professor John Bolton offers a personal view about how councils with responsibility for adult social care can more effectively predict and manage demand for their services.

The briefing considers how the built environment can help to promote and sustain active ageing - the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age.

In 2015 the Care Council commissioned IPC to develop training materials to support implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. This resource focuses on assessing and meeting individual needs.

A new paper from IPC Visiting Professor John Bolton considers how councils in England have delivered savings over the past five years in adult social care and what options - if any - they might have in a period of continuing financial challenges.

IPC has prepared a report for the Housing LIN Cymru which provides an up-to-date picture of the current supply of extra care housing in Wales, the challenges facing the market and issues which will need to be considered for future provision. The report takes into account published information and the views and experiences of a number of experts working in the field.

This rapid research review has been prepared to inform the DfE-funded Innovation Programme in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight but it is of interest more broadly to all local authority children’s services departments working with vulnerable children and young people.

This rapid research review has been prepared to inform the DfE-funded Innovation Programme in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead but it is of interest more broadly to all local authority children’s services departments working with families from these communities.

The latest occasional paper on practice and service development published by IPC is a view from Leighton Rees based on his experiences as Head of Children and Family Services in Denbighshire County Council between 2011 and 2015 - specifically making sense of changing demands for social care and building a new model of services and engagement with families in response.

In 2015 the Care Council commissioned IPC to develop training materials to support implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.  This resource provides an introduction and overview to the  Act as a whole, as well as Part 2, General Functions.

In 2015 the Care Council commissioned IPC to develop training materials to support implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.  This module provides learning resources covering looked after children and accommodated children.

IPC has collaborated with the South West Housing LIN Leadership Set to produce their five year vision statement.  This sets out the group’s vision for a whole system approach to meeting housing, health and wellbeing outcomes for older populations in South West England over the next five years. The work was sponsored by Public Health England.

This second edition of IPC’s self-funder toolkit has been produced to help local authorities ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Care Act, helping them understand their self-funder population so that they can facilitate and shape their local care market to meet the needs of the whole population.  This new version has been rewritten following the implementation of the Care Act and includes new information on estimating numbers as well as updated case studies.

This rapid research review has been prepared to inform the DfE-funded Innovation Programme in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight but it is of interest more broadly to all local authority children’s services departments working with vulnerable children and young people.

This rapid research review has been prepared to inform the DfE-funded Innovation Programme in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight but it is of interest more broadly to all local authority children’s services departments working with vulnerable children and young people.

This rapid research review has been prepared to inform the DfE-funded Innovation Programme in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight but it is of interest more broadly to all local authority children’s services departments working with vulnerable children and young people.

This rapid research review has been prepared to inform the DfE-funded Innovation Programme in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight but it is of interest more broadly to all local authority children’s services departments working with vulnerable children and young people.

This rapid research review has been prepared to inform the DfE-funded Innovation Programme in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight but it is of interest more broadly to all local authority children’s services departments working with vulnerable children and young people.

Over the past decade there has been a growth in consortia commissioning arrangements of placements for children in care, with local authorities increasingly working together to commission placements, particularly for children in foster care and residential child care.

IPC undertook a project for the Department for Education to improve the understanding of the children’s residential care market, focusing on the financial stability of providers and offering options for how to improve the functioning of the market. The research was intended to explore how stable the market is, how to monitor, manage and influence it and how to establish the true costs of residential care provision.

The Market Shaping Toolkit supports both smaller care providers and local authorities to engage in market shaping and develop innovative practice to meet local needs together.

IPC undertook an evaluation of the Hampshire-wide Dementia Friendly Communities (DFC) project in March and April 2015.  The evaluation was intended to explore whether the objectives and outcomes of the Hampshire-wide Dementia Friendly Communities project have been achieved.

IPC prepared a report for the Guinness Partnership on how it can work to become a dementia friendly organisation.

This paper is a progress report exploring the lessons learnt from a variety of approaches taken by councils to “outcome-based commissioning” in adult social care.

ADASS South West commissioned the Institute of Public Care to produce a guide to support assessment and eligibility in the context of the Care Act 2014.

This toolkit is designed to help councils review and adapt the front end of their website(s) so that they better comply with the Care Act and help the public understand the local care and support system.  It sets out a template design for a series of webpages.

IPC undertook an analysis of businesses and skills within the care sector in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (CIoS) for the Cornwall Development Company (CDC).

Consultation with councils has highlighted a need for a robust methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of information and advice services, including ways to evidence its contribution towards the prevention agenda and corresponding impact on the wider care and support system.  This toolkit is aimed at local authority commissioners, and offers a series of steps to take to evaluate information and advice services.

IPC has carried out a study into the likely future care needs of former UK seafarers for the Maritime Charities Group. The UK Seafarers’ Demographic Profile report has highlighted how the number of former UK seafarers continues to decline but the need for welfare services among them is expected to rise.

To meet the requirements of the Care Act, local authorities need to provide an extensive range of information and advice, and the expectation is that this will be collated from both local and national sources.  To assist with the collation of national sources, this document provides a list of some good generic sources of information and advice, for adults.

A wide-ranging review of available literature from 2003 to 2015 was carried out by IPC and the Housing LIN to obtain evidence covering a range of areas:

• housing and prevention of the need for adult social care;
• housing and delaying the need for adult social care;
• alignment of housing with the integration of health and adult social care;
• cost and cost-effectiveness studies.

IPC conducted a research project for Skills for Care to investigate whether workplace violence is an issue for personal assistants and what the main issues facing this group are.  The report included a review of recent research, key policy and guiance of relevance to personal assistants concerned with abuse and violence.

This study undertaken for Skills for Care investigated the extent to which the social care workforce experience different levels of abuse and violence across groups of people who receive care and support services, and whether the nature of the type of violence experienced by social care staff varies across groups of people who receive care and support services.

IPC undertook a project for the Oxfordshire Dementia Challenge Group to evaluate work to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their carers in the county through a Dementia Friendly Communities project

IPC developed a toolkit for the East Midlands region as part of the Developing Care Markets for Quality and Choice (DCMQC) programme.

This briefing paper was produced following the ‘Developing Care Markets for Quality and Choice’ (DCMQC) programme.  It outlines the basics of market facilitation and the context in which a local authority might develop a market position statement (MPS).

This guidance document offers a checklist against which to test the requirements of a market position statement.

This briefing paper was produced following the ‘Developing Care Markets for Quality and Choice’ programme. It explores how market facilitation activities can be effectively implemented.

This briefing paper was produced following the ‘Developing Care Markets for Quality and Choice’ programme.  It explores how a local authority might intervene to ensure a diverse and sustainable care market.

This briefing paper was produced following the ‘Developing Care Markets for Quality and Choice’ (DCMQC) programme.  It is a compendium of market position statement (MPS) good practice examples.

This briefing paper was produced following the ‘Developing Care Markets for Quality and Choice’ (DCMQC) programme. It outlines what a market position statement (MPS) is and how to develop one.

IPC was asked by the Social Services Improvement Agency (‘SSIA’) to produce guidance for commissioners of adult and children’s social care in Wales on how to develop a market position statement.

McCarthy & Stone commissioned the Institute of Public Care at Oxford Brookes University to update and develop an earlier review with a local area economic impact assessment of Retirement Living and Assisted Living Extra Care developments across England, Wales and Scotland. This project aimed to provide independent, objective and robust evidence about the extent to which there is a strong case for Retirement Living and Assisted Living Extra Care schemes in terms of the local economic and wider social impact of these schemes.

The Institute of Public Care (IPC) was asked by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to produce a report analysing the main factors affecting stability in the adult care market and the relationship to the forthcoming market oversight regime.

Team around the Family arrangements were established in Swansea, supported by the local Children and Young People’s Partnership and Council, the Welsh Government and the European Social Fund (ESF) and the interested parties agreed to undertake an independent review of the model.  The Institute of Public Care (IPC) at Oxford Brookes University was asked to conduct this review, funded by the ESF. 

This report was prepared by the Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CfWI) with support from IPC.  It was commissioned by the Department of Health (DH) and supports policy ambitions for improved integrated health and social care services in England.

This report explores the key implementation issues that the Welsh Government, local authorities and the NHS may need to consider in particular as they look to work together to make the aspirations of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Bill 2013 a reality in the current climate.

This review was commissioned by Skills for Care’s Workforce Innovation Programme to understand the characteristics of effective workforce practice in integrated health and social care services.

IPC conducted a review for the Skills for Care Workforce Innovation Programme which explored how people’s care and support needs change and how the workforce has to adapt to meet the challenges of this change.

Note these files are saved into a zip folder which you can download and save.

This toolkit contains a series of six modules produced by the Institute of Public Care (IPC) for London Councils, NHS London and the London Joint Improvement Partnership.

This review was commissioned by Skills for Care’s Workforce Innovation Programme to better understand practices to support workforce intelligence, planning and development with reference to adult safeguarding and the social care workforce.

This paper is designed to offer a factual guide to the different legal models of ownership of care providers and some insight into the ways in which companies and organisations may be funded.

This Briefing Paper is the first of three produced by the Institute of Public Care (IPC) for the Housing Learning and Improvement Network to provide a concise overview of key issues highlighted in the joint IPC/ADASS/Housing LIN resource pack, 'Strategic Housing for Older People: Planning, designing and delivering housing that older people want'.

This Briefing Paper is the second of three produced by the Institute of Public Care (IPC) for the Housing Learning and Improvement Network to provide a concise overview of key issues highlighted in the joint IPC/ADASS/Housing LIN resource pack, 'Strategic Housing for Older People: Planning, designing and delivering housing that older people want'.

This Briefing Paper is the third of three produced by the Institute of Public Care (IPC) for the Housing Learning and Improvement Network.  The paper provides a concise overview of key issues highlighted in the joint IPC / ADASS / Housing LIN resource pack, 'Strategic Housing for Older People: Planning, designing and delivering housing that older people want'.

In order to assist those responsible for improving joint commissioning skills and capacity across health and social care partnerships, the Scottish Government and the Joint Improvement Team Scotland commissioned the Institute of Public Care to produce a Learning Development Framework focussing on joint commissioning.

Skills for Care commissioned IPC to write a review to identify the gaps in workforce development relating to people whose behaviour challenges. This review has been conducted to help identify potential resources that would be useful to employers to help develop the skills and confidence of their staff to achieve better outcomes and care for people whose behaviour challenges services.

With an expanding older population, changing health and social care needs and expectations, and a wide recognition that acute care services are not the best place to support older people, the question about what kind of home based care services are needed in future might be expected to be at the heart of public care debate.  We hope that this report will encourage wider discussion about this question and ultimately a clearer view about what home care is for, and how it can be best delivered.

This paper provides an example family support pathway for children with disabilities in Wales.  A clear and effective family support pathway will facilitate access to, and provision of, services and support.  It has been produced by IPC as part of a wider piece of work with a local authority, and can be adapted for local use. 

This is an example version of a market position statement which addresses older people's services in a generic local authority area.

This is an example version of a market position statement which addresses services for people high functioning autism and Asperger's Syndrome in a generic local authority area.

Early intervention and prevention with children, young people and families has long been a concern of local authorities and continues to be a key area of statutory responsibility. This paper argues that having effective local systems to identify families who would benefit from additional support, is at least as important as having effective services. This paper explores why local authorities should continue to support these systems and also, critically, how to make them work as hard and effectively as possible.

This self assessment tool was originally prepared by the Institute of Public Care for the South West Wales Families First Pioneer Consortium and for individual South West and Mid Wales Partnerships. It has been adapted after initial testing and it is likely to be of interest and use to partnerships in the UK concerned with reviewing the operation of local Team around the Family arrangements with a view to maximising their impact over time.

This guide is intended to  to help commissioners from a range of agencies to take a good practice approach to re-shaping services for families with complex needs.

This paper, an amalgamation of three papers prepared by IPC on behalf of the National Care Forum (NCF), explores the distinctive contribution of the not-for-profit sector to social care.

The need to find a better approach to supporting the health and wellbeing of older people will become imperative over the next twenty years if the country is to be able to manage the demographic shift towards an ageing population. A new report published by IPC highlights that one of the best options lies in a substantial growth in the development of owner occupied housing suitable for older people. 

Download the Executive Summary.

This paper is the third of three produced by IPC on behalf of the National Care Forum (NCF), examining the distinctive contribution of the not-for-profit sector to improving the quality of social care provision. The particular focus of this final paper is the concept of social capital and added value and describes how these concepts are particular features of the approach of organisations in the not-for-profit sector.

These guidelines are intended to help commissioners to understand the policy and practice behind, and increasing emphasis on, market facilitation.

The NCF has commissioned IPC to produce a series of three papers which provide an overview and practical examples from NCF members on the distinctive contribution made by not-for-profit providers to social care services. This second paper focuses on social care practice, and why this sector is so well-placed to deliver the changes which people need and public policy demands.

Support for developing skilled and confident front line managers is a frequently discussed topic. This paper looks at emerging evidence and good practice in this area, and takes an overview about how managers can be best supported in developing their skills and knowledge. It also considers the activities and skills required by middle managers, and the type of support needed to develop them.

This document is an example guide for managers contributing to Team around the Family Panels, in particular those Panels that provide a forum for multi-disciplinary case discussion about how best to support families with additional needs.

This case study report by Professor John Bolton of the Institute of Public Care describes the development over three years by Wiltshire Council of its new ‘Help to Live at Home Service’ for older people and  others who require help to remain living in their own house rather than going into residential care.

This discussion paper,  produced by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) in partnership with the Institute of Public Care,  offers a timely assessment of the future development needed in services for older people.

The NCF has commissioned IPC to produce a series of three papers which provide an overview and practical examples from NCF members on the distinctive contribution made by not-for-profit providers to social care services. This first paper has a focus on the workforce. It covers aspects of recruitment, employment, development and training and highlights the innovative ways in which NCF members are working to improve quality for people receiving care and support by valuing their staff.

There has been much debate in recent years of the impact of projected changes in the population, with an increase in the proportion of older people, and a corresponding reduction in the proportion of children and working-age adults in the UK. This short discussion paper summarises a lecture given by Professor Keith Moultrie of IPC on the social care of older people in England. Drawing on work carried out by IPC over 25 years, the paper explores the changing population, considers the implications of these changes for social care and health services, and assesses the policy response to date and how it might develop in the future.

This report describes the information set required for commissioning services for adults with mental health problems and identifies data sources.

This report by IPC is a follow-on study to the Putting People First Consortium's publication, People who pay for care: quantitative and qualitative analysis of self-funders in the social care market (2010).

The new Strategic Housing for Older People (SHOP) Resource Pack provides a range of briefing papers and tools to help commissioners, developers and providers of services understand the future demand and market for housing for older people in the current policy context.

This paper describes and evaluates a ‘Question Time’ event staged by Enfield Council to let service users put questions directly to providers bidding for a contract to supply Extra Care Housing at one of its sites, Alcazar Court. IPC, which also served as facilitator to the event, assesses proceedings against best practice guidance for service user involvement set out by SCIE, and offers recommendations for future refinements intended to be of wider use to other local authorities designing similar commissioning projects.

This report was prepared by IPC for a County Borough Council in Wales and is intended to support the local authority role in piloting a scheme under the Welsh Assembly Government’s Families First initiative, which is aimed at improving the life chances of vulnerable children and young people at risk of developing more complex needs.

This paper describes a new investment model designed to stimulate improved and more cost-effective outcomes for older people at the interface of health and social care. Its emphasis is on reducing demand by providing targeted preventative services as a mainstream intervention – rather than as add-on or pilot-based service – and integrating provision so that it straddles health and social care.

This paper was produced by IPC to assist national conversations taking place around promoting good social care provider forums in Wales.

This set of eight case studies, produced by the Institute of Public Care on behalf of IRISS (the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services), provides detailed analysis of the cost-effectiveness of a series of recent social care initiatives, ranging from nationwide and relatively high-profile schemes such as individual budgets to those thus far unique to one country, city or local authority area in the UK.

This short paper on the importance of integrating local children’s services represents the personal view of Professor Keith Moultrie but draws on more than 15 years of research by the Institute of Public Care (IPC). Its central argument is that in the current climate schools and partner organisations in areas such as social care and community health must redouble their efforts to jointly build better support for the most vulnerable families in their area, both in terms of early help to prevent complex problems developing and intensive, focused intervention where such problems already exist.

This report has been prepared by IPC for St Monica Trust, a Bristol-based not-for-profit provider of domiciliary services to older people. It examines the principles and practicalities of three broad models of home care provision – a standard ‘home help’ model, a more intensive model tailored to rehabilitation and enhanced independence, and a specialist model for complex needs such as dementia or end-of-life care – analysing current practice and likely future developments for each model, and identifying implications for providers and commissioners in the home care market.

This short report by IPC analyses existing research and best practice on the use of volunteers to supplement statutory support services to vulnerable families. Produced on behalf of a Welsh County Borough Council’s Family Support Service, it reviews existing volunteer-based schemes, both across the UK and in the local authority area, and makes recommendations for the further development of the volunteer workforce in the family support sector.

This review of research and best practice is concerned with the why, what and how of integrating support for vulnerable families via effective ‘Team around the Child’ (TAC) or ‘Team around the Family’ (TAF) systems and processes.

This research review, prepared by the Institute of Public Care, is intended to support implementation of the Families First Pioneer programme, a project aimed at improving the life chances – through early intervention and multi-agency support for the whole family – of children and young people at risk of developing more complex needs.

This draft commissioning strategy, prepared by the Institute of Public Care for the City of London Substance Misuse Partnership (SMP), sets out a three-to-five year outcomes-based plan for the commissioning and delivery of services to problematic drug and alcohol users among the area’s small residential population, and also its much larger working and visiting population.

Given rising user expectations and growing demographic pressures at a time of severe fiscal constraint on local authorities, commissioners of care services are under increasing pressure to ensure the most cost-effective allocation of resources. Accordingly, this briefing paper, produced by the Institute of Public Care, provides an introduction to ‘option appraisal’ – the process of setting objectives, generating options, and determining the option that makes best use of available resources, according to a variety of criteria.

Given the continued government policy push for greater non-state sector involvement in public service provision, this report, prepared for the Yorkshire and Humber Joint Improvement Partnership, explores the future role of the voluntary sector in the social care market and suggests a mechanism by which commissioners of care can assess the viability of voluntary organisations to take on services. 

This IPC briefing paper, commissioned by the Maritime Charities Funding Group, offers guidance for housing providers and trustees of seafarer organisations on the advantages and practicalities of providing mixed-tenure developments, particularly for the older seafaring community.

In 2010 the Putting People First Consortium commissioned two studies concerning people who fund their own social care and support. One of these is a quantitative study from IPC which estimates the number and distribution of older people who pay for their own social care in England from registered social care providers.

This paper is a guide to the reconfiguration of services based on published good practice and brief telephone interviews with commissioning managers nationally. It describes the four key stages of service reconfiguration, and offers a checklist on the key activities needed to ensure the process is carried out as effectively as possible.

This discussion paper is one of a series of papers produced for commissioners and other senior partners in Adult Social Care, as part of the Developing Intelligent Commissioning Programme delivered by the Institute of Public Care in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.  Based on a review of the existing literature and IPC’s own experience in working with local authorities reviewing their safeguarding procedures, the paper looks at the relationship between personalisation, safeguarding and commissioning.

This report by IPC for  the Commissioning Support Programme, was prepared for commissioners of children’s services in one local authority in the South West to inform discussions on the future shape of youth services. It consists of a series of short case studies of service redesign in local authorities from around the country, with a particular focus on examples of outsourcing.

This report by the Institute of Public Care (IPC) for The Learning Disability Coalition (LDC)/MENCAP explores patterns of public expenditure on learning disability services and the relationship between expenditure and service delivery. It does this by reviewing a set of hypotheses using national data sources.

This briefing paper is one in a series developed by IPC for the National Market Development Forum. It looks at how local authorities can gain the better market intelligence they need to effect a successful transition from direct purchasers and providers of care to a broader role as market facilitators.

This briefing paper is one in a series developed by IPC for the National Market Development Forum. It examines the likely future shape of the social care market and the role of local authorities in it, in light of current trends and projected developments.

This briefing paper is one in a series developed by IPC for the National Market Development Forum. It discusses the importance of mature and constructive partnership working in the social care market to ensure sufficient capacity and diversity of services, the innovative and flexible approaches to delivery demanded in the era of personalisation, and the financial risk-sharing that entails.

This briefing paper is one in a series developed by IPC for the National Market Development Forum. It is intended to help local authorities and service providers understand changing social care procurement practices in the context of a public service reform agenda that emphasises greater personalisation of services, more collaborative working between agencies, and achievement of demonstrable value for money at a time of growing demand and funding restrictions.

This briefing paper is one in a series developed by IPC for the National Market Development Forum. In light of the government commitment to press ahead with the choice and personalisation agenda in public services, as well as its determination to extend the range and number of social care services delivered through social enterprises, this paper examines the likely impact of those trends on local authority tendering processes.

This literature review, carried out by IPC for the Commissioning Support Programme, is intended to inform the development of an evidence-based commissioning strategy for early childhood services, with the emphasis on maximising impact and cost-effectiveness.

This practice guidance is designed as a toolkit to help commissioners in local government and the NHS develop their commissioning strategies for people with a learning disability. Written by the Welsh Assembly Government and supported by the Institute of Public Care, it offers descriptions of commissioning, with particular focus on personalisation and partnership working.

Social care faces the toughest challenge of its history: how to meet rapidly rising demand for better, more imaginative services when the prospects for public spending are bleak. But there are alternatives, as this report commissioned by the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) from the Institute of Public Care (IPC), demonstrates.

This report, prepared by IPC for Hampshire County Council, is the second stage of a two-part study into people who fund their own personal care at home – services such as help with bathing, dressing, eating and mobility – and is intended to inform commissioning and market facilitation strategies for older people’s services.

This framework is intended to help local authorities in Wales improve their social care commissioning and procurement practice in order to enhance the quality and effectiveness of delivery to users across the range of adult and children’s services.

This options framework has been produced by the Institute of Public Care to help commissioners of adult social care and health services in the South West of England identify the most appropriate regulatory processes for providers of services not falling under Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulation.  

This report presents the findings of a scoping study conducted by the Commissioning Support Programme, of which IPC is a partner organisation, to look for links between the way local authorities organised placement finding for looked-after children and young people, and the stability of the ensuing placements. 

This report by the Commissioning Support Programme, of which the Institute of Public Care is a partner, reviews research and best practice in the design and redesign of services for young people at risk of homelessness or entry into care, and of care leaver services.

This toolkit was developed by the Institute of Public Care to help commissioners of adult social care and health services in the South West of England target prevention and early intervention services more effectively, given the prospect of severely limited resources and a sign ificant projected rise in the region’s population of older people.

This paper was developed as part of the partnership programme between Oxfordshire County Council and  the Institute of Public Care. It is a literature review which focuses on recent UK material that can identify an evidence-based process to develop strong communities that can have a health/social care impact.

The production of a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is meant to be a key enabler of effective commissioning to improve health and well-being outcomes. This study explores whether the desired relationship between commissioning and the JSNA has occurred and if not, what could be done to improve that relationship.

This study seeks to provide a fuller picture than previously available of older people who fund their own social care in Oxfordshire and how they can be supported by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), in the context of demographic, policy and economic changes that have driven up the numbers of self-funders in the county, and are projected to continue to do so.

This guide provides advice, information and examples of good practice for those involved in commissioning adult social care.

This market assessment for a particular charitable sector was used to inform a strategic approach for the sector's funding bodies. It discusses demographic change among the population under consideration (seafarers), noting similarities and differences with the population as a whole, and assesses how this is likely to affect their need and influence when it comes to demand for housing, care and support services in future.

This document provides a toolkit for commissioners of children’s play services, setting out an eight-step programme for producing a clear and comprehensive commissioning strategy. Prepared by IPC for the Commissioning Support Programme (CSP), the toolkit guides commissioners from the pre-planning stage through a needs assessment and service review, and a review of research and national guidance, to construction of the written strategy document.

The aim of this study, prepared by the Institute of Public Care for Oxfordshire County Council, was to analyse the life circumstances and events that precede older people being admitted to care homes, in order that the local authority can improve services targeted at preventing or delaying those admissions and enabling people to remain in their own homes longer.

This paper advocates a model for targeting health and social care provision in older old age called ‘Turnaround’. Turnaround is advocated in the context of older population changes which make it imperative that authorities limit the need for high cost provision such as residential care and intensive home care support.

This report, prepared by the Institute of Public Care for the Housing Learning and Improvement Network, examines how the multiple agencies involved in the commissioning and delivery of extra care housing (ECH) for older people can most effectively work together to establish agreed processes for setting eligibility criteria, assessing prospective users’ needs, and allocating places.

This report, prepared for the Housing Learning and Improvement Network by the Institute of Public Care, examines the best ways for commissioners and providers of extra care housing (ECH) to identify and meet the needs of minority groups of older people within their community.

This report, produced by the Institute of Public Care for the Housing Learning and Improvement Network, examines approaches to charging for services in extra care housing (ECH), with a particular focus on social care.

This report aims to support service commissioners who are looking to develop integrated care services. It re-enforces the benefits of integration, noting the most recent drivers and the principles on which changes should be based.

This paper describes a short study carried out by IPC with a medium-sized, London-based charity providing support services to vulnerable children, young people and their families. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the emerging commissioning culture on voluntary sector providers delivering services mainly via local authority contracts. 

Learning disability (LD) represents local authorities’ second highest level of social care expenditure yet the amount of predictive information available to help care commissioners plan appropriate services  is very limited. This research paper presenting the results of a DH funded project, develops evidence-based estimates of the prevalence of complex learning disability among the adult population, and the prevalence of adults with a learning disability living with a parent in order to inform the commissioning of appropriate services.

This report evaluates the Tameside Partnerships for Older People Projects (POPP) programme. It finds evidence of a positive impact on the quality of life and well-being of older people, and a shift away from higher intensity, more costly services.

This annotated bibliography offers a guide to some of the key texts concerning market facilitation in social care. It is a companion document to the series of papers developed by IPC on market facilitation, originally funded by the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP).

This paper examines the background to the complex relationships between commissioners, users and providers of residential and domiciliary social care, to establish the context in which further development – or ‘facilitation’ – of the social care market will take place.

This paper sets out what local authorities and PCTs need to do to make the transition from a largely responsive role as purchasers of social care services to more far-sighted, proactive market facilitators, in the context of the drive to personalisation of services and the consequent shift in direct purchasing power away from the commissioning organisation.

This paper brings together the views of commissioners and providers of social care on the strengths and weakness of their existing relationships, constructive ways in which those relationships can be realigned, and the implications of a transition in local authorities’ roles from purchasers of care to ‘market facilitators’.

This paper examines the desirability and feasibility of a shift in both procurement and delivery of social care from an approach based on output volumes – such as hours of care provided per week – to one based on meeting outcomes agreed with the service user. At its core is a project managed by the Institute of Public Care during 2007/08, involving five local authorities and one provider, and taking home care as its focus.

This paper explores the arrangements individuals need to make where they are purchasing social care themselves, either entirely with their own resources or by using funding from the local authority under an individual budget or a direct payment. The focus is primarily on the rights and responsibilities of individual service users as purchasers, but consideration is also given to opportunities for local authorities to act as advocates or advisers in these circumstances.

This paper is about tendering and contractual arrangements where the local authority is purchasing social care on behalf of individuals. Recognising that this is a more limited role in an era of individual budgets and direct payments, it identifies the remaining contracting remit for commissioners, and stresses the continued need for drawing up contracts with providers that are fair to all – providers, service users, and the commissioning authorities themselves.

This report and the associated products and tools described in it are intended to provide the NHS and local authorities in the North West with the information they need to form a regional strategy for commissioner development in health and social care.

This report for a London Borough outlines current outcomes for disabled young people and their families in the borough, especially in terms of the transition from child to adult services, assesses the barriers to better outcomes and suggests practical proposals to overcome those barriers.

The South West of England has the highest proportion of older people of any English region, a population projected to rise significantly in the next 15-20 years.  These five papers – prepared by the Institute of Public Care for the Housing Learning and Improvement Network and the Housing Corporation – comprise a resource pack intended to help the region’s commissioners and providers address the future accommodation needs of older people given increasing pressures on public resources.

CSED published a Configuring Future Services Toolkit in October 2007. This paper sets out the new approach and summarises our conclusions on the process of service transformation to deliver better outcomes for older people.

This report estimates the number of young people with disabilities in England aged 18 to 25 who might be eligible for social care and support, sets out what is currently known about the application of social care eligibility criteria, and examines the issues these young people face.

This report by IPC examines the potential advantages to local authorities of using the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) to fund Extra Care Housing (ECH) projects, via detailed case studies of three existing PFI-financed schemes. It offers an overview of PFI as a form of procurement, and of ECH as an alternative to residential care.

This paper was prepared by the Institute of Public Care to support a project aimed at improving services for children and young people with severe challenging behaviour or conduct disorder in a local authority in the South of England.

This publication, one of a series of ‘Key Issues’ documents published by Research in Practice for Adults, was prepared by IPC and offers a concise and accessible guide to outcome-based commissioning and contracting. It looks at the areas of care in which the outcome-based approach is most likely to be successful, notes potential obstacles, and examines the key considerations for commissioners in effecting a successful transition from traditional processes.

This paper is one of a series produced by IPC to support the commissioning of children in need services in Wales, as part of the Better Outcomes for Children in Need Programme. The paper considers  the activities involved in commissioning and how they may be expected to contribute to improving public care services.

This paper is one of a series produced by IPC to support the commissioning of children in need services in Wales, as part of the Better Outcomes for Children in Need Programme. Its aim is to help commissioners gain an understanding of what works in promoting good outcomes for children in need living at home, by providing a summary of what is known about best practice relating to the provision of services for children and young people in need.

This paper is one of a series produced by IPC to support the commissioning of children in need services in Wales, as part of the Better Outcomes for Children in Need Programme. It provides a starting point for commissioners seeking to develop their understanding of ‘what works’ for these children where there is domestic violence.

This paper is one of a series produced by IPC to support the commissioning of children in need services in Wales, as part of the Better Outcomes for Children in Need Programme. It aims to help commissioners gain understanding of what works in meeting the needs of children and young people who are looked after.

This paper is one of a series produced by IPC in response to demand from local authority commissioners in Wales, offering research and best practice findings on how to promote good outcomes for children in need.

This paper was published in response to demand from local authority commissioners for research and best practice findings on how to promote good outcomes for children in need. It provides a starting point for commissioners seeking to develop understanding of ‘what works’ in supporting children in need and their families, where there is problem parental substance misuse.

During 2006/07 IPC was commissioned by the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) to engage in a number of projects to develop a model approach to commissioning social care services.  This report is the result of one of these projects.

Well worded and agreed contract clauses can do much to facilitate good working relationships between commissioners and providers of social care, whilst at the same time offering protection to people who use services and carers. Written by IPC, this paper was originally published as part of the Commissioning eBook.

This paper considers the role of needs analysis in developing a commissioning strategy, and proposes a methodology for undertaking it. Written by IPC, this paper was originally published as part of the Commissioning eBook.

The paper explores practical activities which the Institute of Public Care has used in projects to develop commissioning strategies in public care. Written by IPC, this paper was originally published as part of the Commissioning eBook.

This report, prepared by the Institute of Public Care, outlines a set of necessary competencies for managers of Extra Care Housing (ECH) schemes, the training required to provide them, and the perceived gaps in current training.

This document comprises a checklist and accompanying explanatory notes prepared by the Institute of Public Care to help commissioners and providers of social housing assess the suitability of existing facilities for conversion to Extra Care Housing (ECH).

This article, produced by the Institute of Public Care, summarises the results of a survey of older people recently admitted to care homes in a unitary authority, which was intended to estimate how many could have taken advantage of the greater flexibility and independence of Extra Care provision as an alternative.