C o n n e c t i n g P e o p l e N e w s l e t t e r I s s u e | 3

1 | P a g e

Welcome to Issue 3 of the

Connecting People Newsletter…

We’ve another newsletter for you brimming with all things connecting people related for you to enjoy.

Highlights this month include articles on Connecting People video training packages and a closer look at one of our participating agencies, the Way Forward

Programme in the Isle of Wight.

Our main news this month regards the recruitment stage of the study…

We have now reached the halfway point, having conducted 120 interviews with participants from 13

different agencies. Our recruitment target for the study is 240 interviews to be conducted by the end of

April 2013. With the continued support of the agencies, we are hopeful that the final weeks of

recruitment can take us much closer to our target!

The recruitment stage is critical to ensuring the CPI study can produce meaningful results of health and social care practice in England. A massive thank you

must go out to everyone who has been involved with these interviews up to now; participants, agencies,

interviewers and study administrators. Your continued support with this process is greatly appreciated!

The Connecting People Study Team

Connecting People

Newsletter April 2013

IN THIS ISSUE…

Agency in Focus Page 6

Updates from the Team Page 2 - 3

Lights, Camera, Action! Connecting People Filming

Page 4-5

C o n n e c t i n g P e o p l e N e w s l e t t e r I s s u e | 3

2 | P a g e

Updates from the team…

Martin Webber The Connecting People study was presented to the European Conference for Social Work Research (ECSWR) in Finland in March. This international conference brought together social work academics from across Europe and beyond.

I presented two papers on behalf of the research team. The first discussed the methodology of the pilot study and presented some baseline data. It was sandwiched between a paper on Kellogg's approach to programme evaluation from Germany and one on critical realism from Finland. I received questions about how we are measuring fidelity to the Connecting People Intervention, which has prompted us to review our fidelity measure in our next team meeting to ensure it is fit for purpose.

The second was part of a symposium on randomised controlled trials in social work organised by Jonathan Scourfield of Cardiff University. I spoke about the development of the Connecting People Intervention model, which is the first phase of the development, evaluation and implementation of complex social interventions. This was followed by

three UK examples of intervention trials in social work and a glimpse of how they work in Australia. Although frequently problematic and pragmatic, these types of study are helping to provide rigorous evidence about the effectiveness of social work practice.

Our pilot study is helping us to evaluate if the Connecting People Intervention improves outcomes for people using social work, social care and health services. Its findings will inform practice and future grant applications to conduct a randomised controlled trial, if it appears effective.

We are now in the final phase of recruitment of participants for the study - just one more month to go until recruitment closes. A huge 'thank you' to all the agencies, practitioners and service users participating in the study so far!

C o n n e c t i n g P e o p l e N e w s l e t t e r I s s u e | 3

3 | P a g e

David Morris Plans for the Centre for Citizenship and Community are proceeding apace with the launch taking place in at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in London on 20 May. The Centre is a partnership between the University of Central Lancashire and the RSA with the Royal Society for Public Health and the London School of Economics. Working with the resources of the university, a group of experienced Associates and the networks of its member organisations, the Centre will provide support for policy, research, learning and local practice in community engagement and social inclusion using a Connected Communities approach underpinned by the principles of co-production, as developed by RSA in partnership with UCLan. Now - and increasingly in the future, every organisation working in and around public services will need to understand how best to engage communities and help to facilitate the strength and involvement of communities in services that promote co-operation, equity, inclusion and wellbeing. In a world of austerity and personalised services for independence, a focus on inter-dependence is more important than ever. Connecting People is advancing the study of how these goals might be best achieved in the context of social care. Bringing together key national partners and links with international organisations, the Centre for Citizenship and Community will be an additional focal point for Connecting People and an opportunity for public service organisations more generally to learn from its findings and to secure support for their own local approaches.

Sharon Howarth I have been out and about conducting lots of interviews over the last few weeks, from Manchester to Coventry to Blackpool – all have gone smoothly and successfully, and I’d like to thank the participants and workers alike for helping make this happen!

The recruitment period is fast drawing to a close, with only 17 working days remaining for us to recruit participants and interview them! I have my questionnaires at the ready – waiting for a flurry of participants to take us up to our target of 240.

I have also been finalising the systematic review that is focused on individuals with learning disabilities and the evidence there is for effective interventions that promote social participation and wellbeing – it can be said, that there is a huge gap in the research literature on this topic, but for the full picture – you’ll have to wait for the publication!

C o n n e c t i n g P e o p l e N e w s l e t t e r I s s u e | 3

4 | P a g e

Lights, Camera, Action! Connecting People Study Filming…

Tracey Hawkes I have worked on the Connecting People

Intervention study now for 2 months and have developed an

understanding of the CPI model and the importance of the study.

The fantastic conference in London on the 15th February allowed

me to listen to individuals working in the field and provided me

with a context to the work that has been, and is being, carried out

in the study. Although my role is administrative, gaining an insight

into the reasons for the research and grounding it in the context of

practice and people is hugely beneficial.

My role is varied and I am kept busy, initially providing support in organising delegate packs for the conference, using some of my experiences gained previously to provide governance support for the study team and contacting new referrals to book them in for interviews. Recently I have focused on inputting the data that has been collected by the team and providing basic frequencies on some of the central elements that are being addressed. As we are now coming to the end of the recruitment phase there will be an increase in data that I have to input, which will keep me busy but it will also allow the team and partner agencies to start to see the collaborative outcomes.

Since finishing travelling the length and breadth of England to deliver training to the agencies participating in the pilot of the Connecting People Study, the team have been discussing how to ensure that all of the knowledge that we learnt whilst doing this training was captured and did not go to waste. We have had so many valuable discussions with workers and individuals from many different perspectives that we wanted to find a way to encapsulate this knowledge effectively.

We also wanted to ensure that other agencies and organisations could benefit from working using the Connecting People Intervention, without us going to train them personally.

C o n n e c t i n g P e o p l e N e w s l e t t e r I s s u e | 3

5 | P a g e

We were recently successful with an application for an additional modest grant from the NIHR School for Social Care Research to help us take this work forward. The grant will enable us to create a training package encompassing video footage of the Connecting People Intervention in action, as well as training activities to allow an agency to train itself independently, which will be documented in a training manual.

We have teamed up with Old Trafford Community TV to create the videos for the training package. Filming started at our London Connecting People event in February, where we captured the views of workers both new to the model and already working within the pilot sites. There were lots of really useful sound-bites and clips from the panel discussion, interviews afterwards, and the training sessions that we will be incorporating into the training package.

The next step is to travel between various agencies engaged with the pilot study and

record footage of their practice as examples of the model in practice. This will range from tours of their facilities and interviews with managers about business issues to chats with individual and worker partnerships about their experiences, and footage of the stages of the model in action.

We are also looking to run another training day to help boost one lucky agency’s knowledge of the model, and capturing some of the harder to describe training exercises on camera. In addition, animated case studies, presentations of the research and policy background of the intervention, and a detailed explanation of the model will all be included.

The aim is to create a package that can be viewed as short, standalone videos that demonstrate certain aspects of the model; but can also be used as a whole (along with training activities) to allow an agency to start training from scratch. By adding in all of these elements we hope to produce something dynamic and impactful, which will fit with written training materials and the Practice Guidance to give the full picture of the Connecting People Intervention.

If you have any ideas of things that you would like to see included in this training package, please contact us on cpis@gmail.com

C o n n e c t i n g P e o p l e N e w s l e t t e r I s s u e | 3

6 | P a g e

One of fifteen agencies participating in the CPI pilot study, the Way Forward Programme in Isle of Wight is a third sector agency which promotes development opportunities for people with learning disabilities and others who need support to maintain good mental health. Led by Lee White, Way Forward has been rapidly expanding its services across the island.

Focused on offering opportunities for community involvement, Way Forward has built links with other organisations formed strong working relationships that benefit the people using their service. The ethos is centred on user-led involvement which closely matches principles of the CPI model. Here’s what they say about the service:

“We understand that socialising is an important part of life, we can support you to join new groups, meet people with similar interests, join a gym, go to the pictures or out for a meal, it all depends on what you would like to do, and it’s your choice.”

CPI team member Meredith recently visited the Way Forward Programme and on this particular day there was much activity! The day centre hosted more than 30 individuals throughout the day and they were engaged with activities ranging from building and painting props for their upcoming performance of Mama Mia, to taking a dance and aerobics course, to learning new computer games with staff. The centre was also visited by a small group of women who made a donation to the charity. (Cheque pictured).

Agency Highlight: Way Forward Programme…

C o n n e c t i n g P e o p l e N e w s l e t t e r I s s u e | 3

7 | P a g e

How to contact us…

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this newsletter.

We welcome your questions and feedback about all aspects of the Connecting People Intervention Study (CPIS). If you are an agency involved in the piloting of the Connecting People Intervention and have a query for the research team or wish to comment on any of our study materials please email us at cpis@gmail.com

A member of our research team will respond to your Email within one working day. Thank you!

http://connectingpeoplestudy.net

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT Connecting People Study

Connecting_ppl