A new way of managing demand with a genuine focus on outcomes with Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council
IMPOWER worked with Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council’s adult social care service to support the development and delivery of their transformation programme, the Adults Positive Challenge Programme, to help people remain as independent as possible in their communities (and with support from them).
This work included the design, testing and rollout of a number of demand management interventions focused on early intervention and prevention, and linking people into their communities to improve people’s outcomes by maximising independence at every interaction.
Through building a clear picture of demand flow and activity and an avoidable demand analysis, the initial diagnostic uncovered a range of opportunities to better manage demand and improve outcomes – helping start a conversation about ambition.
Applying a test and learn approach, we worked alongside frontline teams to shape initial trials within priority opportunity areas. Early trials included:
The early proof of concept work enabled us to test the potential scale of impact quickly and capture learning, so we could adjust as needed before rolling out the approach more widely. At the same time, we worked with the leadership team, Transformation, Finance & Business Intelligence colleagues to refresh governance arrangements and agree and set trajectories to understand the impact of interventions.
Building on learning from initial trials, our team worked alongside the service, transformation team and dedicated Change Champions to further develop and roll out the Changing the Conversation approach and build skills in strengths-based practice and applied behavioural science. This was supported by a model of peer support and challenge which introduced ‘huddles’ to create space for reflection, sharing of good practice and ideas.
As the Adults Positive Challenge Programme developed, new workstreams in opportunity areas (including reablement, carers, and preparing for adulthood) were established. We also introduced our Trajectory Management approach to demonstrate the impact of demand-led interventions across the customer journey, at both workstream and programme level.
Programme impact:
The Adults Positive Challenge Programme has changed the way transformation is delivered in Cambridgeshire. This has included improving how intelligence (data and insight) is accessed and used to track change delivered and impact achieved, as well as how the workforce is engaged in change and equipped with the skills and tools to improve outcomes for people.
The practice and approach developed and embedded through the Adults Positive Challenge Programme also provided a strong foundation for the council’s Covid response – from governance arrangements to support rapid decision-making, to combining data with community intelligence and the lived experience of residents – going where the need is in ways that make most sense to people, to embedding the peer support and reflective practice that enabled teams to connect and problem solve.
The core approach, changing the conversation, went on to be used as a key framing for discussions across the council and beyond of how complex services could be improved. It was adopted to reframe the ambition and then drive improvement in SEND/high needs and also was instrumental in influencing relationships with health partners across the system.
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