Transcript Slide 1

Involving vulnerable people a practical guide.
Torbay Supporting People Team.
June 2008
CONTENTS
Heading
Introduction to involvement
Why involve vulnerable people?
Hints to help you
What can vulnerable people get involved in?
Hints to help you
Who should be involved?
Hints to help you
How can vulnerable people be involved?
Where should involvement take place?
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12
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16
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22
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34
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CONTENTS
Heading
When should vulnerable people be involved?
Before you start involving vulnerable people
At the end of a specific piece of work
TOOLS
What’s happening in Torbay
Document links
Good luck!
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INTRODUCTION to involvement (1)
This guide aims to help you involve vulnerable people who
receive your services. It is linked to the Torbay Supporting People
(SP) Communication and Involvement Strategy.
Throughout this document the term ‘vulnerable people’ or
‘vulnerable client’ refers to anyone who currently receives, may in
future, or has received, an SP service. It highlights the fact that this
person may have extra support needs due to their circumstances or
disability.
When involving vulnerable people who currently receive SP services,
you should aim to focus on finding out their needs, concerns,
priorities and service satisfaction levels; along with those of exclients, and potential future clients to gain a more rounded picture.
Everyone has a unique set of needs and views. It’s your job to
discover and respond to them. This guide will help you to involve
vulnerable people and keep them at the heart of everything you do.
This document can be made available in a range of languages, on
tape, in Braille, large prints and other formats. For further
information please phone 01803 208706.
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INTRODUCTION to involvement (2)
This guide will help you to involve people in their services by addressing the
following questions; the answers to which you must be clear about in order
to involve vulnerable clients.
1. Why?
2. What?
3. Who?
4. How?
5. Where?
6. When?
By answering the above questions, reading about opportunities and
methods for involvement in Torbay, and using the linked example
documents, you should be better equipped and more confident to involve
vulnerable people more effectively in your area.
Although targeted at SP clients, most of the information and tips in this
guide are transferable, to aid the involvement of vulnerable people in any
setting.
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WHY involve vulnerable people? (1)
Vulnerable people should be involved in their services because:
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The meaningful involvement of people receiving services in the
planning, commissioning, monitoring and review of those services
will lead to better services. Clients are an expert resource, with
unequalled service experience and insight, and only with their
continued and meaningful input can every aspect of SP service
delivery be improved.
We need to ensure that the views of vulnerable clients are taken
into account, and acted upon. This can be at service or strategic
levels, addressing standards, policies, priorities and budgets.
The views of vulnerable, sometimes socially excluded, groups have
until now often been unheard, so there is considerable work to be
done in this area to discover and act upon them.
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WHY involve vulnerable people? (2)
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Improved access to training and volunteering opportunities, through
supported involvement, will build the skill base of vulnerable clients,
enabling them to take an increasingly active part in strategic
decision making and operational work.
Involvement strengthens 360º client-provider-council relationships,
and promotes a culture of openness and transparency.
Evidence shows that vulnerable people benefit from being
meaningfully involved in their services through improved confidence
levels and social activity.
Increased social activity and participation of individuals, through
being involved, will lead to stronger communities, social inclusion,
and a sense of well-being amongst vulnerable people.
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WHY involve vulnerable people? (3)
National Indicators
The meaningful involvement of vulnerable people can also directly affect
Council performance according to the following National Indicators,
amongst others:
1 = % of people who believe people from different backgrounds get on well
together in their local area.
2 = % of people who feel that they belong to their neighbourhood.
3 = Civic participation in the local area.
4 = % of people who feel that they can influence decisions in their locality.
6 = Participation in regular volunteering.
7 = Environment for a thriving third sector.
11 = Engagement in the arts.
110 = Young people’s participation in positive activities
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WHY involve vulnerable people? (4)
National Indicators
138 = Satisfaction of people over 65 with both home and neighbourhood.
139 = People over 65 who say they receive the information, assistance and
support needed to exercise choice to live independently.
140 = Fair treatment by local services.
141 = Number of vulnerable people achieving independent living.
142 = Number of vulnerable people who are supported to maintain
independent living.
143 = Offenders under probation supervision living in settled and suitable
accommodation at the end of their order or license.
144 = Offenders under probation supervision in employment at the end of
their order or license.
145 = Adults with learning disabilities in settled accommodation.
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WHY involve vulnerable people? (5)
National Indicators
146 = Adults with learning disabilities in employment.
147 = Care leavers in suitable accommodation.
148 = Care leavers in employment, education, or training.
149 = Adults in contact with secondary mental health services in settled
accommodation.
150 = Adults in contact with secondary mental health services in
employment.
151 = Overall employment rate.
Are any of these indicators included in your Local Area Agreement? If not,
should they be?
Look through the full list of 198 indicators and try to spot any that we’ve
missed!
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WHY involve vulnerable people? (6)
The need to involve vulnerable people in the planning,
commissioning and development of their services is now recognised,
and rewarded, nationally.
Torbay SP Team won Regional Champion status for ‘service user
involvement’ in 2007. We offer vulnerable people who use SP
services in Torbay a range of opportunities for involvement,
including;
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Training courses to develop skills i.e. ‘speaking out in meetings’.
Attending local, regional, and national events.
Taking an active part in the recruitment of SP staff members.
Membership of the SP Service User Group (Torbay Voice).
Membership of sector-specific strategy sub-groups.
Taking part in the commissioning process.
Please see the Tools section from page 43 for more information.
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HINTS to help you!
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It’s important to involve
clients at the earliest
possible stages of
involvement! It may seem
obvious but involvement
itself should be planned
and developed alongside
the vulnerable people you
will be working with. This
is the best way to ensure
that you are clear about
the level and type of
support that they will
require in order to take
part, and that they will
get the most from being
involved.
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As part of the planning process, clients
should be made aware of the nature
and frequency of the involvement
opportunities on offer i.e. what will be
required of them, and others (roles
and responsibilities). Will they need to
attend meetings / events / local
service visits? Will they need to devote
time weekly / monthly or as a one-off?
All of this information should be
decided upon, and agreed with them,
at the outset.
Vulnerable people who use your
services should be made aware of, and
understand, the purpose of their
involvement, and the intended
outcomes. This is vital to build and
maintain enthusiasm, and give clients
and staff a sense of purpose, and
achievement when personal or
strategic goals are reached.
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WHAT can vulnerable people get involved in? (1)
Vulnerable people who access your services should ideally be involved in
everything! Certainly at all stages of service delivery i.e. planning, design,
commissioning, development and monitoring.
It is vital that ‘involvers’ fully support clients to be involved, the staff to do
so, and recognise that involvement is often painstaking, time consuming,
and resource intensive. It is better to meaningfully include a few
people in a key decision-making process than to attempt wide
scale involvement without the necessary resources or expertise.
Poor or tokenistic involvement will disempower those taking part and could
result in them having a negative or harmful experience. This may reduce
the likelihood of that person getting involved in future.
If you have limited resources, choose to involve vulnerable people in work
which will provide them with a clear result and sense of achievement –
focus on areas where they can truly influence the future. Planning and
forethought are key to involvement and will enable you to work best with
your clients.
Please see the Tools section from page 43 for some examples of
involvement opportunities offered to Torbay SP clients.
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WHAT can vulnerable people get involved in? (2)
Here are some ideas for ways in which you could involve people:
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Planning future services – you could invite clients to get involved
in strategic work such as sector-specific sub groups to help you
decide future priorities.
Commissioning services – you could support them to play an
active role in the commissioning process, such as contributing to the
development of funding proposals or planning meetings.
Monitoring services – you could offer them the opportunity to
take part in service reviews, mystery shopping, visits, or
performance management to shape the way services are delivered.
Job shadowing is one way to find out whether a client enjoys the
type of work carried out in a certain field.
Recruitment of staff – you could support participants to take part
in the interviewing and selection of candidates for both service and
SP team vacancies.
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WHAT can vulnerable people get involved in? (3)
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Road testing new ideas or initiatives – ideally clients will have
played a fundamental role in such innovation. If not, involving them
at an early stage to discover their reaction to new initiatives is
preferable to rolling them out with no input at all.
Accessing other clients’ opinions or views – involvement is
invaluable when devising surveys i.e. self-assessments or
questionnaires. People who receive SP services can provide crucial
insight into how to approach other vulnerable people, and how best
to design and phrase documents and strategies to get more
meaningful responses.
Mentoring – you could encourage some of the more confident or
experienced clients to act as mentors or buddies to any new or
inexperienced ones. This can help to develop a mentoring skill-base,
and overcome any confidence problems that may otherwise have
caused barriers to involvement.
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HINTS to help you!
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The key to involving vulnerable
people is flexibility. Try to
adapt your approach, and the
opportunities you offer, to best
suit the needs of those you
wish to involve. A clear way to
discover these needs is to ask
your clients! Torbay Toolkit
Team developed a selfassessment questionnaire to
discover the needs of people
who receive SP services in
Torbay, in order to improve the
opportunities for involvement
to fit in with their preferences.
Please see the Tools section
from page 38 for details on the
process itself, template
documents, and some key
findings from the pilot
exercise.
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When asking people for information,
ask them what they would like to tell
you. Often, customers are asked
similar questions by different
organisations, and have a wealth of
other opinions they would like to
share, therefore open questions can be
a great way to access this information.
As well as sector-specific needs i.e.
wheelchair-friendly locations for
physically disabled, there are more
general preferences that you can
ascertain and try to cater for. Find out
whether participants prefer to meet at
a particular location, time, day, what
food they prefer to eat (not everyone
wants the same sandwiches weekly!)
and how they would prefer to be
contacted about future meetings. Such
details show that you appreciate their
efforts and will encourage them to
continue to be involved.
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WHO should be involved? (1)
Ideally you would involve everyone who receives or is affected by any of
the services you offer. This is very unlikely because of limiting factors such
as resources, high volumes of people in receipt of services, and the lack of
desire of some clients to be involved.
A realistic aim is to reach those vulnerable people who want to become
involved, and offer them as many attractive opportunities for involvement
as you can. You must have the necessary systems in place before you do
this, to ensure people are properly supported from the start.
A critical factor in involvement is accessing those clients who would like,
and are in a position, to get involved in their services. An effective way to
do this is via a self-assessment questionnaire. This can enable you to tell all
of the people who are in receipt of your services about the opportunities
available to them, and ask whether they would like to be involved in the
future, and if so, what their preferences are i.e. meetings / events /
strategic work. You can then follow up any expressions of interest, and
tailor what is offered to the preferences of the majority, using this
document to help you and your clients get the most from their involvement.
Please also see the Tools section from page 43 for more information on the
Torbay Self-Assessment tool.
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WHO should be involved? (2)
Hard to reach groups
Some vulnerable groups can be more difficult to make contact with, and
may be resistant to involvement for a variety of reasons. These reasons
could include lifestyle, perception, scepticism, and social barriers.
These hard to reach groups can differ between regions due to
demographical variations. It is important to regularly evaluate involvement
in your area, to identify any groups which may not be represented.
Similarly, different consultations and engagement methods may result in
varying groups being hard to reach, as different sectors may be more
difficult to access, need a higher level of support in order to carry out
certain types of work, or not enjoy certain types of activities.
One way to access to hard to reach groups is to consider which other
organisations may already be working with them, and make links through
these channels. Are other Council departments, the Care Trust, voluntary
organisations or Probation Service already working with the groups you are
finding hard to reach? It is often timely and cost-effective to approach
vulnerable clients via people they already work with, and can lessen the
likelihood of trust barriers being raised.
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WHO should be involved? (3)
Hard to reach groups
Initial access is often the first hurdle in the path to involving these particularly ‘hard
to reach’ vulnerable groups. Be pragmatic in your approach. Try to answer the
following questions, they may help you see involvement from your clients’
perspectives, and overcome some of the hurdles:
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Where could you reach them i.e. day centres, hostels, community centres?
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Should you go to them, rather than expect them to travel to a meeting or event?
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What is likely to encourage them to get involved i.e. a clear idea of how they and
their services will benefit, a free lunch, organised childcare?
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May these groups be suspicious of local authorities, or perceived power?
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What can you do to overcome this suspicion and build trust?
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What would deter you from being involved if you were in their position i.e. practical
problems such as physical access to venues, language difficulties, assistance for
carers, transient lifestyle e.g. travellers? Can you tackle any of those deterrents?
How? What steps need to be taken? How soon can you start? Who can you work with
to make the process more effective i.e. other agencies / partner organisations /
voluntary sector / existing community groups?
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WHO should be involved? (4)
This guide is primarily aimed at helping you to involve vulnerable people
who are currently accessing your services. However, other individuals or
groups that have a stake in service delivery may also want to get involved.
These could include:
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People who experience services indirectly i.e. carers, partners, family
members, friends, visitors.
Service providers.
Dissatisfied ex-clients.
People who are as yet unaware of the services available.
People who may require a service at a later date.
Other organisations i.e. voluntary, public and private sector.
Residents / local people.
Any of these groups, and many more, may be able to provide their views or
help. You, along with your clients, need to decide whether any / which
other groups should be involved in any work you plan to undertake. Please
see Partnership Working below for examples and guidance.
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WHO should be involved? (5)
Partnership working
The aims of partnership working are to achieve efficiencies by cutting costs, and
reducing duplication of effort and bureaucracy. Pooling and sharing resources i.e.
staff hours, venues, and transport helps to promote a joint working culture and
improve capacity.
Partnership working enhances involvement options and often results in clients being
offered opportunities they might not otherwise have had access to.
Who are your partners?
Consider how you could jointly fund a specific piece of work or service with:
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Care Trust
Probation Service
3rd sector organisations
Police
Community Groups
and as many others as you can think of. List the pros and cons for your clients, and
your team – you’ll be surprised at how beneficial partnership working can be!
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HINTS to help you!
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Thank people! Try not
to forget that people are
giving up their valuable
time and energy; often
overcoming difficult
hurdles in order to do so.
It may seem obvious but when you are busy at
work and thinking about
your next job it can be
easy to forget to show
your appreciation. Thank
you letters, certificates,
or just taking time to
thank everyone
personally are a few
options!
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Good communication is
crucial when involving
vulnerable people. You
should present all
information clearly, using
uncomplicated language.
Time must be taken to
explain new concepts and
pictures where
thoroughly, and
participants should be
encouraged to ask
questions and raise issues
of clarity when they arise.
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HOW can vulnerable people be involved? (1)
When you know what your clients would like to get involved in, and you know who
you would like to be involved, you need to work on how they can be involved. There
are a range of methods you can employ; key points to remember are that everyone is
different, and that flexibility is crucial when involving vulnerable people.
There are, however, some demographic patterns that can inform initial decision
making:
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The most popular methods of consultation are those where information is sent to
people i.e. home based consultation.
Vulnerable people tend to be more resistant to leave the home – adding weight to
the need for offering incentives for involvement.
People on lower incomes are less keen on getting involved, and feel ‘information
poor’.
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Young people like focus groups, street interviews, and on-line interaction.
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Older people often like neighbourhood fora.
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Receiving feedback on previous involvement is likely to encourage people to get
involved in the future; it enables them to see what differences their efforts have
made.
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HOW can vulnerable people be involved? (2)
Consultation and involvement are closely linked. Involvement is
more in-depth, and often a longer term commitment than a one-off
consultation where views are sought on a specific topic.
All techniques have strengths and weaknesses. Some are more
representative than others and will provide data that can undergo
statistical analysis. These are known as ‘quantitative’ methods.
Others can deliver more detailed, individual information or opinions.
These are called ‘qualitative’ methods. Try to mix quantitative and
qualitative approaches as this will provide you with a varied set of
results.
Please see the Tools section from page 43 for some examples of
how Torbay SP Team has involved vulnerable clients, and its plans
for the future.
The following pages contain information on, and examples of, some
consultation and involvement methods.
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HOW can vulnerable people be involved? (3)
Some classic consultation and involvement techniques:
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Postal surveys often get a limited response (20% or less) but offer you
the opportunity to tell give your clients information (i.e. details of future
involvement opportunities) as well as asking them for their views.
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Focus groups can explore issues in detail from the client’s point of view.
They can be great for obtaining clear opinions on specific topics.
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Telephone surveys can achieve quick responses, but require
straightforward questions to avoid confusion.
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Personal interviews are often the most statistically reliable, because you
are more in control of the responses you get, and can choose the people
that you invite to interview.
The table below shows some methods of involving and consulting people
that also apply to more vulnerable people. You may want to consider trying
some of these in the future; the main pros, cons, and resource implications
associated with each one are rated.
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Method
Description
Pros
Cons
Resources
Participation on
committees or
panels
Involvement in
strategic
decision making
Real power and
partnership
working
If facilitated by
staff, potential
for bias
Reimbursement
of expenses,
time – client and
staff
Large scale
events
Short term
involvement to
bring together
views
Allows for large
numbers of
views, good fun
Difficult to
capture detailed
views
High – venues,
refreshments,
travel
Client-focussed
meetings
Group meeting
in relation to
specific service
area/s
Groups allow
discussion, can
provide a steer
Personal
agendas can
disrupt
Low – expense
reimbursement
and payment for
time
Focus groups
Groups set up
to discuss
specific issues
Can provide indepth responses
on specific
issues
Often small
numbers – views
may not be
representative
Low – expense
reimbursement
and payment for
time
One-off surveys
– postal or
telephone
Accesses views
in own home –
can evaluate
service
Can access
large numbers –
can provide
good statistical
data
Responses can
be
misinterpreted,
low returns
Variable – postal
costs, staff time
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Method
Description
Pros
Cons
Resources
On-going
surveys – postal
or telephone
Accesses views in
own home – can
evaluate services
/ monitor
performance
Shows trends
over time
Time
consuming,
participants
may become
complacent
Varies, as above,
but continual
rather than oneoff
Public meetings
Open meeting
called to discuss
a specific issue
Invites opinions Can be
from a wide
dominated by a
audience
few – less
confident may
not give views
Medium – venue,
refreshments
Suggestion
boxes
Allows
anonymous
comments to be
made on paper or
online
Allows
comments and
reduces fear of
retribution
Low returns
unless well
advertised /
specific
questions asked
Low – set up of
box, staff time
Electronic
polling
Use internet to
obtain views or
set up debates
Good potential
for live
interaction /
debate via PC
Low returns –
some clients
have no access
to, or unable to
use, internet
Low after initial
set up
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HOW can vulnerable people be involved? (4)
As well as the tried and tested methods described above, there are plenty
of new and innovative approaches to involvement. An effective general
technique is to fit the ‘work’ around a fun activity which is an incentive that
enables participants to gain more from their involvement experience and
will entice them to be more engaged in the future.
Give new methods a go! Be brave and design some of your own – there are
always better ways to reach people. The key is to discover those that work
best for the vulnerable groups in your area and, as advised in the hints
section, a great way is to ask them via a self-assessment questionnaire or
involvement survey.
Please find some ideas for new ways to involve people below; one for each
letter of the alphabet. Work with clients to come up with an alphabet ‘wish
list’ of your own – it’s great fun - and work through the list to find the most
realistic options to try! It is important to make it clear that it is a wish list to
avoid disappointment.
Please consider health and safety issues before promising or undertaking
any of the more adventurous activities, and get help in doing so if
necessary.
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HOW can vulnerable people be involved? (5)
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Arts-based facilitation – drama workshops, art groups, and music clubs can
all be used to involve vulnerable people and break down social barriers.
Book clubs – can be fun for older people or physically disabled clients.
Cooking clubs – fun for all ages.
Dance groups – great for young people.
Education – you could join up with local schools / colleges to offer courses
to enable academic or vocational development.
Fundraising – get clients involved in raising money for local causes.
Gardening – clients can help to make their home environment better by
working with their SP service provide to improve the surroundings.
Housekeeping – as above.
Internet / online discussion fora – great for young people.
Joinery - you could join up with local schools / colleges to offer training for
specific skills to aid employment opportunities.
Key workers – work with them to improve client involvement within
services.
Line-dancing – speaks for itself!
Mime - see arts-based facilitation.
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HOW can vulnerable people be involved? (6)
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Needlework – a great way to relax and get to know other participants.
Orienteering – you could get in touch with local groups who regularly take
part in such activities – remember health and safety!
Picnic – summer is a great time to hold outdoor meetings and combine
them with a picnic / activities day – also cuts down on venue costs!
Quality assessment – get clients involved in monitoring their own, and
other, services.
Rugby – either start your own team or attend local matches if you have a
good local league!
Sightseeing – take your clients out to a local attraction, you’d be amazed at
the morale building potential of such trips.
Treasure hunt – always good fun and can be tailor-made to accommodate
varying abilities.
Upside-down cake making!
Volunteering – working for local charities is a great team builder.
Walking – short walks around your local area cost nothing and can be
rewarded with a coffee or lunch.
Xylophone playing – X is a tricky letter!
Yachting – many coastal locations have companies who offer organised
trips for disabled people.
Zoo trips.
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HOW can vulnerable people be involved? (7)
Your responsibilities
Whatever involvement opportunities you can offer vulnerable people, there are a
range of things that you MUST always do in order to succeed. Not fulfilling your
responsibilities will demoralise your participants, and lose their interest and
commitment.
It is your duty to ensure that everything is in place before the process
begins.
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Planning and preparation are essential to achieve meaningful involvement.
Factors such as:
- realistic resource allocation (staff hours, expenses, materials)
- location accessibility
- transport
- breaks and refreshments
- purpose of involvement and intended outcomes
- reimbursement policy
- contingencies
amongst others, must be organised / agreed with participants well in advance.
Effective communication is a common stumbling block when dealing with
vulnerable people, so make sure you get it right! Some essentials include:
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HOW can vulnerable people be involved? (8)
Your responsibilities
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clear, accessible information
simple language, no jargon, large font, multiple languages and formats, Braille
pre-meetings to give confidence and support to participants
defined roles and responsibilities
agreed commitment level i.e. length, frequency, and type of meeting
confirmation of involvement details
regular updates
all of which will give participants confidence in you and your organisation, and help
them to overcome the obstacles that often inhibit involvement.
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Follow up such as feeding back information to clients on outcomes of involvement,
is a proven necessity of engagement, and makes future involvement much more
likely. Everyone likes to know how their hard work has improved things so do your
participants the courtesy of telling them!
Gratitude is especially important to let participants know that their work is
appreciated by you personally as well as by your organisation. A simple thank you
can boost morale, and is the least that participants deserve. Thank you letters,
certificates or gifts are great to acknowledge more in-depth pieces of work and are
well worth the time spent arranging them.
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HINTS to help you

Be realistic about the
resources you will need to
devote to carrying out
effective, meaningful,
involvement. Be clear that true
involvement must be fluid, and
it’s timescales subject to
change, due to it’s nature. You
must support your staff, as
well as participants, by
acknowledging that
involvement done well is often
time-consuming and
unpredictable. If in doubt,
over-estimate staff and
financial costs to avoid
problems down the line.

Can you stretch your
resources by being
imaginative when
arranging:
- venue?
- joint working?
- catering?
- activities?
- commissioning?
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Where should involvement take place? (1)
Involvement can take place anywhere – on the street, at a surgery, in a café, at the
beach, in a supermarket. As long as you are talking and listening to vulnerable clients
in order to inform and improve your service delivery, then you are on the right track.
Involvement can be planned or unplanned – you’ll be surprised how often you bump
into your clients once you get a regular group established.
For organised meetings or events, there are some standard places for involvement
that you may or may not have considered. Do you have access to:
- Offices in your building?
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Council venues?
Local colleges / training centres?
Local attractions?
Outdoors?
Community / youth centres?
Places of worship?
National / regional / local events?
As already mentioned, flexibility is crucial to involvement. Finding vulnerable people
and taking opportunities to them – wherever that may be - is the key to success!
34
Where should involvement take place? (2)
Vulnerable people often require special arrangements in order to be
involved. You need to think about factors such as:
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Getting there…
Clear directions.
Good local transport links.
Suitable location (town centre / rural?).
Clear signage to venue.
The venue itself…
‘Welcoming’ venue i.e. not intimidating or overly officious.
Helpful staff.
Easy to navigate.
Minimal stairs or hills.
Wheelchair accessible.
Hand rails.
Continued overleaf…
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Where should involvement take place? (3)
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The venue itself (continued)…
Car parking facilities.
Smoking areas.
Crèche.
Disabled access toilets near to the room(s) you are using.
Adequate fire and safety systems including risk assessments, fire marshals,
first aiders etc.
You won’t always be able to fulfil all of these requirements, but
aim to cover as many as possible. It is your responsibility to make
participants as comfortable as possible while they work with you,
and achieving as many as possible of the above will encourage
them to return.
Consult the suggested venues on page 34 to begin with, and cross-check
against the lists on this and the previous page to discover which offer the
best facilities and are good enough to accommodate your participants.
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When should vulnerable people be involved? (1)
As much as possible! Meaningful involvement of vulnerable clients will enhance the
services you provide, your participants’ quality of life, and your job satisfaction.
Ideally, clients would be involved in every aspect of your work, although this unlikely
for a variety of reasons such as resources, high volumes of people in receipt of
services, and the lack of desire of some of them to become involved.
As a result it is important to carefully prioritise opportunities for involvement. Choose
pieces of work that will provide those involved with clear evidence that their
involvement has had an impact, such as during key decision making, recruitment and
selection of staff members, and event organisation.
The ‘best’ time to involve people who receive an SP service is as much as possible
throughout the life of a process or service. They should play a part in planning and
development - the earlier their expertise is drawn upon the better. See pages 14 and
15 for examples of how clients can get involved in the monitoring and review of
services.
The worst time to involve people is only at the end of a process. This appears
tokenistic, and even if it is with the best intentions it is not conducive to confidence in
the involvement process, or your Council’s commitment to it.
Do not underestimate the people who receive SP services. If you follow the
suggestions on how you can involve your clients in order to make involvement more
accessible, then there should be no reason why they can’t get involved in top level
work or decision making.
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Before you start involving vulnerable people (1)
Use this checklist to help you ensure that those being
involved know:
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Who is being involved and why.
The level, frequency and type of involvement.
The purpose and aims of their involvement i.e. what decisions will
be influenced.
Their roles and responsibilities and those of others.
Who will have the final say / take the decisions.
How the results of their involvement will be fed back to them.
Anonymity will be respected if agreed.
Who they can contact about the involvement i.e. if they are
unhappy or need more support.
That they are not obliged to take part – it is their choice.
If / how they will be financially rewarded for their involvement
That you are grateful they plan to be involved and will support
them.
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Before you start involving vulnerable people (2)
Use this checklist to help you ensure that you have defined
your own responsibilities (please see pages 31 and 32 for
some specific examples). Have you:
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Planned every aspect including resources, communication,
access and requirements, timescales, intended outcomes,
contingencies?
Used plain English and not jargon?
Worked out who your hard to reach groups are, and got a plan in
place to involve them?
Received ethical approval where necessary?
Constructed a definitive list of who to involve and made sure you
haven’t forgotten anyone?
Liaised with other departments, organisations or sectors to establish
any opportunities for joint working, and minimised duplication?
Selected the most appropriate methods of involvement?
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At the end of a specific piece of work (1)
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Research has consistently shown that what goes on afterwards is
vital to the involvement experience, and will encourage repeat
engagement. Ensure that you have fed information about what’s
happened as a result of the process back to those involved.
Be realistic about the amount and type of resources it will take to
analyse and process the information that has come from your
clients. It is easy to underestimate the number of staff hours
required, and to do so will result in either reduced quality work, or
demoralised workers.
You will probably need to adopt or adapt processes to achieve
quality and service improvements based on what you have
discovered through involving your vulnerable clients. Keep records
of how your clients’ input has informed decision making to evidence
the value of involvement for both clients, and future budget
decisions.
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At the end of a specific piece of work (2)
Evaluate the involvement method, and the process itself. Ask
yourself the following questions, amongst others!
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General
Are there things you would change next time?
What really worked?
What could you improve upon?
Was there conflict?
How could this be resolved in future?
Did you utilise all the opportunities for joint working?
Was any part of the process innovative?
Could it have been?
What were the main lessons learned?
How can you develop your involvement techniques for next time?
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At the end of a specific piece of work (3)
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Specific
Did all the participants understand the objectives?
Did the methods allow you to achieve the objectives?
Did you receive representative views?
Did you adhere to planned timescales?
Was everything accessible – communication, location?
What were the costs – time, money?
What has changed as a result of the process?
Has this been transparent?
Have you recorded details of the involvement, and its evaluation ?
Answering these questions will help you learn what methods work
best to achieve different outcomes and develop the involvement
opportunities you can offer vulnerable people in the future.
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TOOLS!
This section contains brief descriptions of
involvement methods used in Torbay, our
plans for the future, and links to related
documents.
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What’s happening in Torbay (1)
Torbay Voice.
Torbay Voice is a group of people who receive SP services and meet roughly
every two months, along with some members of the Torbay SP Team.
The aims of the group are to give Torbay SP clients a voice, influence all
stages of SP service delivery, take part in training and skill development,
and review policies and procedures.
Torbay Voice initially held successful fora to encourage new membership
and advertise the group, and developed terms of reference and job
descriptions for members. Members have more recently visited SP services
in Torbay, taken part in varied training courses and the recruitment of SP
staff members, and helped to produce their own newsletter. A Torbay client
currently chairs, and helps to circulate meeting agendas and minutes to the
group, from the SP office.
Plans for the group include more training opportunities, events organisation
and participation, involvement in recruitment and selection, the monitoring
and review of services, and much more!
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What’s happening in Torbay (2)
Core Strategy Group.
The Core Strategy Group was set up to shape the direction and priorities for
the SP programme in Torbay.
Membership included people who were in receipt of SP services,
representatives from Torbay Council, Devon and Cornwall Probation Service,
Torbay Care Trust, Devon Partnership Trust and Torbay SP Team members.
The group was soon devolved into sector-specific Strategy Sub Groups –
please find more information below.
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What’s happening in Torbay (3)
Strategy Sub Groups.
These sector-specific Strategy Sub Groups were devolved from the Core
Strategy Group. Members include SP clients (who feed information back to
Torbay Voice and vice versa), representatives from service providers,
referral agencies, and other stakeholders in the SP programme.
The aim of each sub group is to address the priorities for the client group it
represents e.g. older people, physically disabled, people with mental health
problems.
Each Strategy Sub Group has recently produced a strategy to outline its
proposals and priorities for future SP services, including an accessible audio
CD version for clients with learning disabilities.
Strategy Sub Groups will continue to shape and develop the services to best
suit their sector’s needs, and support people who currently receive services
to attend the groups by meeting them beforehand and ensuring that all
information is clear, and easy to understand.
46
What’s happening in Torbay (4)
Regional Champions!
Torbay SP Team was awarded Regional Champion status in 2007, alongside
Bolton SP Team, to acknowledge it’s success in involving vulnerable people
in the delivery and development of the services they receive.
The award was given by the Department of Communities and Local
Government, and enabled a worker to be employed for one year to develop
client involvement across all SP sectors in Torbay.
Achievements during the first six months of the Regional Champions work
include the instigation and facilitation of a Toolkit Team, development of a
Client Involvement Self-Assessment tool, organisation and hosting of a
national event (please see the following pages for more information), and
the production of this guide!
Future work will focus on peer-focussed initiatives, the development and
integration of involvement methods across Torbay, and independent
advocacy.
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What’s happening in Torbay (5)
Toolkit Team.
Torbay Voice members were offered the opportunity to join the Regional
Champions worker to form a Toolkit Team. A small team was set up and
met fortnightly.
The main aims of the Toolkit Team were to work on a toolkit on ‘best
practice in service user involvement’ with Bolton SP Team, develop and pilot
a self-assessment tool, and work on the involvement of vulnerable clients in
processes such as commissioning and business planning.
The Toolkit Team produced an involvement self-assessment tool, and
piloted it by sending it to nearly 200 clients from a variety of sectors and
services across Torbay (please see the following page for more
information). The team also organised and hosted a client-oriented event to
celebrate good practice in involvement, attended by nearly 100 SP clients,
staff members and service providers from across the country.
People receiving SP services will continue to be involved through small
outcome-targeted groups, focussing on involvement in strategic processes
such as Local Area Agreements, business planning and commissioning.
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What’s happening in Torbay (6)
Self-assessment.
Torbay Toolkit Team developed and piloted a self-assessment questionnaire, which
was then built upon to create a more in-depth tool (please see the Torbay Service
User Involvement Self-Assessment in the links section on page 57).
The aim of the self-assessment is to enable people who receive SP services to
evaluate and provide information on their levels of involvement both in their SP
Team, and service itself. Their level of involvement is measured according to how well
it meets their desire to be involved.
The questionnaire was sent to nearly 200 clients from a variety of sectors and
services across Torbay. Visits were made to each service manager / worker involved,
and clearly worded letters explaining the process and its importance were sent to
each client, support worker and service manager who took part. Over 70 responses
were received, and some key information was discovered such as:
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61% of people receiving SP services in Torbay would like to be referred to as a
‘client’.
Only 7% would choose the term ‘service user’.
Over 50% of clients would like to be more involved with Torbay SP Team.
48% of Torbay SP clients would like to be involved in choosing and planning SP
services.
It is hoped that a full survey of all Torbay SP clients will take place in the future.
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What’s happening in Torbay (7)
Recruitment.
Some Torbay SP clients have been involved in the recruitment and selection
of SP staff members.
The aim is to use the expertise and service experience of the person
receiving a service in order to choose the most appropriate person for the
post, whilst building their own skill base.
Example.
The Regional Champions post, mentioned on page 47, was filled following a
recruitment process that involved vulnerable people at every stage i.e. job
description, main duties, person specification and requirements, interview
and selection.
The candidates were asked to give a presentation, the title of which was
decided by Torbay Voice, to an audience mainly consisting of Torbay SP
clients. The audience marked each candidate against set criteria, and the
total scores were calculated. The candidate was also formally interviewed
by a SP staff panel, and the scores from the two sessions were combined,
and given equal weighting, to determine the most suitable candidate.
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What’s happening in Torbay (8)
Partnership Working.
Torbay SP Team works with it’s partners, Torbay Care Trust and the Devon
and Cornwall Probation Service to achieve efficiencies by jointly
commissioning and funding where possible.
The aims of partnership working are to achieve efficiencies by cutting costs,
and reducing duplication of effort and bureaucracy. Pooling and sharing
resources i.e. staff hours, venues, and transport helps to promote a joint
working culture and improve capacity.
Joint funding of services and staff posts already takes place in Torbay.
Partnership working enhances involvement options and often results in
clients being offered opportunities they might not otherwise have had
access to.
Future partnership working plans include joint commissioning of training,
workers and services e.g. arts-based facilitation and advocacy – please see
page 53 for more information.
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What’s happening in Torbay (9)
Training.
Torbay Voice members have been offered, and undertaken, a variety of training
courses including:
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Speaking up at meetings.
Making meetings effective.
Training on how to become a chair person.
Outside speakers visiting the meetings.
The aim is to build a skill base amongst the vulnerable people accessing Torbay SP
services, enabling them to be better involved in the delivery of those services, and
increasing their opportunities as future volunteers / employees.
Torbay SP Team liaises with trainers before and throughout training programmes. A
key factor is accessibility – the range of client groups and abilities means it is
imperative that course content is accessible to everyone on the course. An
experienced staff member knows the clients and often spends significant time with
the trainer in preparation for the training.
Plans for training courses in Torbay include ‘confidence building’ and ‘service
reviewing’, please see the following page for more information.
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What’s happening in Torbay (10)
Innovation.
Two new, innovative involvement methods are in the early stages of development,
please find details below.
Mystery shopping – drama.
Drama will be used to empower clients and enable them to become ‘mystery
shoppers’. A voluntary organisation with vast experience in working with vulnerable
groups, is working with Torbay SP staff to develop a comprehensive set of drama
workshops to help increase clients’ confidence, support them to create the criteria
against which evaluation will take place, and embed the skills required for mystery
shopping.
The mystery shoppers will present themselves as new clients to frontline Council
departments, and services, and evaluate the service they receive against set criteria.
This will be a rolling process, and part of performance management structures – the
results of the mystery shopping will eventually be used to target client-led training for
Council staff.
Arts-based facilitation, such as drama, is widely recognised as being effective in
engaging and empowering vulnerable people of all abilities, and the outcomes of this
pilot are anticipated with much enthusiasm by Local Authorities nationally, and
partner organisations in Torbay.
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What’s happening in Torbay (11)
Innovation continued.
Service reviews.
The second process being developed is client service review. Training, by a
voluntary sector organisation, will be given to some Torbay SP clients to
enable them to undertake performance reviews of local SP services through
talking to clients.
The reviewers will ask questions about the service, to find out how well the
service is meeting it’s contractual requirements, and involving people who
access the services. Criteria will be devised by SP clients and trainers, using
the Quality Assessment Framework and other measurable outcome sets.
The results of both the service reviews, and the mystery shopping will be
used to inform contract monitoring and performance management, and to
identify training requirements for Council staff, and service providers.
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What’s happening in Torbay (12)
Local, regional and national events.
Regular SP events take place in Torbay, and offer clients and staff the
opportunity to take part in planning, organisation and hosting. Events help
to raise the profile of the SP programme and services, and provide fora for
networking and relationship building across and within sectors.
Example.
An event was held in April 2008 to celebrate good practice in involvement.
Delegates included a Communities and Local Government representative,
and SP clients, team members, and service providers from across the
country.
Torbay clients were instrumental in planning, organising and hosting the
event. They designed the invitation, registered delegates, took part in
presentations and drama shows, hosted a Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Quiz, and much more.
The event was a great success, and Torbay SP Team received lots of
positive feedback from those who attended, and even people who didn’t but
had heard about it! Future events are planned, with a toolkit launch
planned for autumn 2008 so watch this space!
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What’s happening in Torbay (13)
Cross-authority work.
Torbay SP Team members are involved in cross authority groups such as the South
West Regional Implementation Group, and the South West Officers Group. These
mixed authority meetings allow sharing of opinions, plans, and ideas for future work.
A new piece of cross authority work is underway in Devon, called the REACH 2
advocacy project. Devon County Council, Torbay Council, people with learning
disabilities who use SP services, service providers, carers and a host organisation will
be involved.
The aim is to develop a service to empower and employ adults with learning
disabilities to audit their supported living services against REACH 2 standards, and
become accredited through doing so. The project will cover four main areas in Devon
– Teignbridge, Exeter, South Hams and Torbay.
The initial project is expected to last for two years, and will develop a skills base in
people with learning disabilities who use the services, improve learning disability SP
services in the four areas mentioned above, and strengthen cross authority
relationships.
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Document links
Please find links to:
- Torbay Voice Terms of Reference.
- Torbay Voice member job description.
- Torbay Voice leaflet.
- Torbay Voice example minutes.
- Guidance – ‘making meetings easier to understand’.
- Good Practice Event agenda.
- Good Practice Event report.
- Torbay Supporting People Communication and Involvement Strategy.
- Torbay Service User Involvement Self-Assessment (Involvement Triangle
and Questionnaire).
- Good Practice Website – www.serviceuserinvolvement.co.uk
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Good luck!
We hope you have enjoyed using this
guide and that it helps you to involve your
vulnerable clients in the future. Good luck!
Please feel free to contact us to discuss
any of these issues in more detail:
Phone: 01803 208729
Email: [email protected]
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