Specification for the Development of a Service User and Carer Delivered Evaluation Tool to Assess Organisational Capabilities for Inclusive Practice 

Background 

Since 2004, the National Social Inclusion Programme (NSIP) has coordinated the delivery of the action plan included in the Social Exclusion Unit report Mental Health and Social Exclusion (2004), which showed that many people with mental health problems experience exclusion and lack equal access to a range of opportunities in society. Improving opportunities for people with mental health problems will enhance increase recovery potential, quality of life, and ultimately reduce dependence on the state as people contribute to society, become more self-determined, engage with their community, and make more meaningful choices, more informed use, less use of statutory services.

A key action in making this happen is the development of a workforce capable of delivering inclusive opportunities to people using mental health services. Working collaboratively with the National Workforce Programme and representatives from the core mental health professions, NSIP has developed a set of capabilities, capturing best practice in order to drive the transformation of services and promote socially inclusive outcomes.

The capabilities come in two parts Individual competencies and organisational competencies.

This work has built on the Ten Essential Shared Capabilities (Department of Health, 2004) as a framework for socially inclusive practice and has mapped the capabilities to the core dimensions within The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (Department of Health, 2004) and to the core and developmental standards in Healthcare Commission’s Standards for Better Health (Department of Health, 2004). The resulting publication, Capabilities for Inclusive Practice, was published in September 2007.

It is intended that this document will be used as a resource to inform local approaches to developing inclusive practice. The publication outlines the underpinning principles and capabilities of an inclusive organisation and of an inclusive practitioner. A copy of the document can be found at www.socialinclusion.org.uk

The National Social Inclusion Programme is committed to effective service user and carer involvement and we believe this project provides a good opportunity to enhance and encourage service user and carer evaluation of organisational capabilities.

Scope and purpose

The main aim of this project is to build on the Capabilities for Inclusive Practice (CfIP) framework, developing a tool to evaluate a mental health provider trust or Local Implementation Team (LIT).

Key objectives of this work would be:

1. To develop and agree with service users and carers a set of good practice characteristics based on CfIP framework against which performance could be assured
2. To design an evaluation tool (traffic light or simple scoring system) based on these characteristics that could be used to assess and monitor LIT or Foundation Trust capability in tackling social inclusion
3. To pilot and refine the evaluation tool for use by other service user organisations
4. To develop guidance for using the tool in other agencies and settings including its use as a basis for an action planning process to support individual and team development
5. To include a framework that encompasses the specific obstacles experienced by BME, hard to reach & multiply excluded/discriminated groups such as LGBT, people with HIV/Aids, homeless people etc

We would welcome applications from service user and carer organisations working in or who have established links with a LIT or Foundation Trust. To deliver the project, it would be important that the successful applicant(s) had agreed access (or able to negotiate access) to managers within local authority, primary care and mental health trusts to ensure their involvement in the development of the practice evaluation tool. It is therefore a requirement that the successful applicant has agreed involvement with a LIT or mental health trust chief executive.

This project will require:

• engagement with statutory mental health providers and commissioners
• sponsorship for the work at senior management team level within a mental health service
• links into voluntary and independent sector organisations
• a clear understanding of user focused monitoring/evaluation
• experience of developing service user friendly tools
• liaison with NSIP expert advisors

In particular, we would welcome joint applications with mental health services that were interested in developing inclusive capabilities and implementing aspects of the CfIP framework as an important element of this project. 

Budget

The budget for this project is £7,000. The budget includes the cost of developing and piloting the evaluation tool and producing guidance for its wider application. NSIP would lead and support the launch and dissemination of the tool and guidance through its programme and networks.

Timescale

We would expect this project to commence in April 2008 and to be completed by September 2008.

Outputs

The main output of the project will be a service user and carer evaluation tool that can be used in a range of settings to assess and monitor the extent to which a service demonstrates inclusive capabilities. This should be accompanied by guidance on and instructions for the use of the evaluation tool so that it can be used by other organisations in the future.

We would also expect a steering group including the NSIP expert advisors, to be established to oversee the work and to receive progress reports at key stages in developing the tool. This would include an interim report produced by the end of March 2008 and a final report completed by the end of August 2008.

In collaboration with NSIP, wider dissemination of information about and learning from the project would also be welcome.

Tenders

The tender for this project is through:

• Submission of an expression of interest (see appendix A) in response to this specification

For further information, please contact Rebecca Mitchell on 0207 307 2453

Expressions of interest should be submitted by 5pm on February 28th 2008. These should be emailed or posted to Rebecca Mitchell at:

Email: [email protected]

Address: National Social Inclusion Programme

London Development Centre

11-13 Cavendish Square

London W1G 0AN 

Appendix A

Expression of interest: development of an evaluation tool

to assess capabilities for inclusive practice 

A new Public Service Agreement (PSA) is aimed at reducing social exclusion amongst the most vulnerable adults. The PSA, announced today by the Chancellor as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, is one of only 30 PSAs agreed across the whole of Government. It is the first agreement that has focused specifically on the needs of the most vulnerable adults.

PSAs set out the specific improvements that the Government wants to achieve and how improvements will be delivered. Both central and local government, including local delivery partners, will be performance managed on the contribution they make.

The socially excluded adults PSA focuses on increasing the proportion of at-risk individuals in settled accommodation and employment, education or training, which represent the core foundations of normal, everyday life which the majority of people take for granted.

Four client groups are covered by the PSA. They are particularly vulnerable to multiple forms of disadvantage and include: care leavers; offenders under probation supervision; adults in contact with secondary mental health services; and adults with moderate to severe learning disabilities.

You can find out more by visiting our website

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/social_exclusion_task_force/

Naomi Eisenstadt,

Director of the Social Exclusion Task Force

Cabinet Office